Storyteller
Writer
Certified Empowerment Coach for Women, S.W.A.T. Institute
Advocate for Better Living Choices
Mentor for Women
Solutions and Possibilities Mentoring
Teacher of Lifestyle Wisdom
Gentle Rebel
Writer
Certified Empowerment Coach for Women, S.W.A.T. Institute
Advocate for Better Living Choices
Mentor for Women
Solutions and Possibilities Mentoring
Teacher of Lifestyle Wisdom
Gentle Rebel
My Story
My name is Mary Robertson.
I am a woman and like all of you, I have a story.
From an early age I was an observer, a learner and a storyteller who had a wonderful imagination. I enjoyed listening to people because I had a need to figure out their stories so that I could better understand them.
Growing up, life happened and the days of my life turned into the pages of what seemed, at times an unbelievable story. I tried to handle each challenge with all the kindness and understanding that I could find within me, as each new scar settled into my broken innocence.
Now, I realize that each player who became a part of my life was living through their own dramatic story. Each being and acting the only way they knew how, according to the narrative they believed about themselves.
My Choices Have Brought Me to This Place in My Life
I live on the beautiful Gaspe Coast of Quebec, Canada. My home is a cozy little place that I bought in 2000. Actually I tore down my father's barn and moved an old mobile home here on the property and started over again from scratch after my separation. It was a lot of hard physical work and I tried to do as much as possible by myself because I had been faced with many financial challenges.
I hired carpenters to install new doors, windows and exterior siding because it really needed a facelift. I laid new floors and built some of my own furniture. I also picked rocks one at a time and poured bags of soil on top of the rough terrain that was a discouraging mix of gravel and stones. I raked and planted grass seed hoping that I would have a real lawn someday. I dug up small trees from my mother's property and planted them to create the feeling of a normal yard that blended in instead of reminding everyone about what happened to me. I was determined to build a new life for myself and turn my property into a place called home. It wasn't easy but I had my daughter with me and I wanted to do everything possible to make her happy. She was and will always be the best thing that ever happened in my life. It took strength, time and tears but I lived through it and today I am still living here facing the next part of my journey.
I suppose you say that I am a gentle rebel because I never felt the need to follow the crowd. I was always more interested in my many creative pursuits because since early childhood, all I wanted to do was to tell stories, write, create and play with colours. Which is why I have a large stash of wool and material waiting for me to use in playful delight. To live life on my own terms, I know that I have to look after myself so that I can remain healthy and physically strong. I am also into juicing my veggies and yes I have a Vitamix!
I love organic gardening and over the last few years I have been building raised bed gardens so that I can grow some of my own food. I built a small greenhouse, which was a total challenge especially the roof, so that I can have a longer growing season. I have a great respect for the land that I grew up on and I want my small piece of property to be filled with vegetable gardens, beautiful flowers, strawberries, blueberries and fruit trees. To most people, it might seem like a lot of work and it is, but there is so much to be gained by watching something grow. Flowers, home grown organic food, feeding the birds, a cat, fresh air, sunshine and freedom ... what else is there except family, friends, laughter, good music and a lot of great books. Yes I am also a bookaholic!
In 2011 on my way to do some Christmas shopping, I remember having a silent conversation with my mother who had died in 2006. I still missed her especially at that time of year, for she had been my best friend. Somehow I felt that she could still hear me as I thought about how to live a life that reflected my values and a purpose that I believed in. Time was passing and I wasn't getting any younger. If I didn't take a chance to do what I felt was important, I would end up an old woman with the regret that I had been too afraid to try. As I listened to the Christmas music playing, I realized at that point, that if I wanted something different, I had to make more life changes.
The road to change is never easy, for it is filled with unexpected happenings, some that you could never imagine, nor think that you would have the strength to get through. Yet change is a road that we all must take at different times in our lives and unfortunately there are no guarantees of what it will bring us. Our fear of the unknown is the reason why we avoid taking the first scary step towards bettering our lives. Fear holds us back and we spend too much time focused on the worries instead of the possibilities. I have taken on many changes, faced my fears, dealt with the disappointments and learned to be grateful for the good things that I found along the way. I know that there is still a long road ahead of me and I will make the best of each day that comes along for who knows what is waiting for me just up ahead on this journey called my life!
The Day My Life Changed
On July 22, 2013 my beautiful 25 year old daughter was operated for a brain tumor. It brought back the memories of losing my father to the same operation years ago, when I was 25 years old. They took her in for her surgical procedure on a Sunday night at 7 p.m. and by 3 a.m. on Monday morning, after almost eight hours, it was over. We still did not know the details except that she was alive and that she responded to a few question when they woke her up minutes after the operation.
On Tuesday morning, the day after her surgery, the man who had been in my life for six years took his own life. It was surreal and impossible to believe. Inside, I was shattered and at that moment I knew that the only way to get through my life storm was to begin to change the words to the story of my life.
I stepped back from the busyness of "normal" life, bowed my head and surrendered to the storm that I was lost in. It was the most difficult challenge I had ever experienced and I knew that no one was coming to save me. No one could make it all better and no I did not fall apart for I knew that it was not the story that I wanted to live.
“Not until we are lost do we begin to understand ourselves.”
Henry David Thoreau
During this difficult time I became a student of the SWAT Institute https://www.swatinstitute.com/ and studied with an amazing group of women including Crystal Andrus, who is the founder and head of a unique world wide women's empowerment educational movement. I went on to graduate and became a certified Empowerment Life Coach after completing an intensive educational program that took me several years to complete.
Today I work to help women overcome their challenges by using a program called, The Gift of Retelling Your Story©. I developed this comprehensive course after an extensive search to find the answers for my own life challenges. I have always been a student of personal development and my home library holds a collection of hundreds of books that I have read over the past 30 years to help me understand the seemingly complex world of being human. This program is the result of a lot of book learning, educational interactions and life experiences. It's concept changed my life and I know that it can make a difference in yours. I also know that I would never have been able to move past my personal life storms if I had not learned how used this type of process that helps you move forward even when life becomes overshadowed by life changing challenges. It is still what I use everyday to remind me to live my life according to a story that reflects my values, beliefs and purpose for living. It is what lifts me when I face discouragement and fear. It is what keeps me going when I feel that I am lost or unsure of what to do next because life is always in the process of change. It is the gift that I continue to give myself and one that you can easily learn to use as well.
For more information about the Gift of Retelling Your Story
A Woman's Story This Much I Know
We cannot un-live the days of our lives, but we can use every experience to understand who we are, what really matters and how to find contentment in the life we have chosen.
I wrote this eBook to share some of what I have learned through the many twists and turns in my life. You can buy it from my Book Shelf or sign up below to get it as a free welcome to my website gift.
Sign up to get your copy of the eBook
"I know that I am no longer the woman that I used to be before the storms of life changed me. And yet I am the same person that I have always been, before I got caught up in the stuff of life."
I invite you to LIKE and SHARE my Facebook Page A Woman's Story to help me build a supportive community where we can all inspire each other.
Thank you!
We cannot un-live the days of our lives, but we can use every experience to understand who we are, what really matters and how to find contentment in the life we have chosen.
I wrote this eBook to share some of what I have learned through the many twists and turns in my life. You can buy it from my Book Shelf or sign up below to get it as a free welcome to my website gift.
Sign up to get your copy of the eBook
"I know that I am no longer the woman that I used to be before the storms of life changed me. And yet I am the same person that I have always been, before I got caught up in the stuff of life."
I invite you to LIKE and SHARE my Facebook Page A Woman's Story to help me build a supportive community where we can all inspire each other.
Thank you!