Written by: Nancy Simpson, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
I have seen a lot of posts recently on social media, commenting on the show 'Maid.' It really is the truth, honest and stripped down. I saw my life in parts of it portrayed accurately and deeply on TV, which leads me to this post.
At the time that I was in it, I didn't see it in that way. It was my normal, and I just thought that people always fought like that and marriage was just that way. As unbelievable as that sounds to me now, I really thought that.
So what changed? A perfectly timed post from a high school friend on Facebook was the catalyst.
It was December 2018 and he invited anyone who happened to be in town from our high school class to meet up for coffee.
That coffee chat was a whirlwind 30-year catch-up and swap of stories. I saw myself in his when he shared the details of walking away from a toxic marriage. When I shared mine, he very directly pointed out that my current life was what he left.
Until he said abuse and labelled it, it wasn't real to me. That was something that happened to someone else, and I felt I should stop complaining and be much more grateful.
I will forever be thankful for that conversation with my friend. I didn't expect it or see it coming that day, but it was the one thing that lead to so many transformations.
It was the first time I had told anyone what I felt truly and deeply without censoring. He was the space outside of inner circles that gave me permission to start to look at all of it truly.
He didn't tell me what to do, he didn't judge me. He just deeply held space, talked to me, and reflected back on my words as he heard them. When we left the coffee shop that day the last thing he said was, "Keep talking. You need to talk about it. Find someone and keep talking." I did.
In the changes that followed that conversation, so much was saved; my well-being, that of my children, and also my ex. It was a lot of endings, reinvention, and better beginnings.
In sharing this, I want to tell you how worth it is to engage in the conversations your heart and soul are asking for. Find the person, the place, and the space where you can be listened to. Your words are yours, and they are worth speaking. You need to hear them out loud. No matter what.
Nancy Simpson, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Nancy Mae Simpson is an intuitive professional with a background in the corporate world of medical research. She knows strategy and structure as it applies to good science but knows to be effective on a personal level, it needs to match up with intention and a complete sense of inner that what is being looked at is the correct fit. After leaving a long marriage that was not working, Nancy is passionate about guiding high achievers to navigate personal change and create deep joy and fulfillment by living the life they most want. She uses her intuitive gifts to assist others in connecting with their gut instinct and truest voice in the safe space of strategic and meaningful conversations that make her clients feel deeply understood and heard.
