I am starting my story with a quote my father often cited in efforts to emphasize on the real treasure we should all be aware of.
“A healthy man has a thousand wishes, yet an ill one has only one - to be healthy ”
In a world of today, where we are often distracted by the demands of modern life, we can't deny the fact that we take such little time to appreciate the greatest gift of them all - OUR HEALTH.
The truth is, my quest on all things health and wellbeing started with a remarkable light of a man that cited that quote often - my father who vanished from my life a little too soon. A man that left me so much to be proud of, a man for whom I have been seeking a miracle cure for during the last years of his journey on Earth, a man who left me with a life long lesson and a mission to relentlessly believe in my worth and heal through compassion, curiosity, understanding and unconditional presence. His name was Zdravko, coincidently enough a literal word for “health” in my native Serbian, and although I no longer have the honor to have him recite this powerful quote or to hear his voice - on July 22, 2021 I pledged that I would continue to preserve his memory, live my mission and carry a legacy he left behind so I can do my fair share of making this world a better, brighter, more compassionate and a healthier place - one life, one mission at a time.
So how did I become someone who preaches health and coaches for a living?
Well, the story continued to where the story was meant to stop. In the depths of my grief, I started questioning it all. Not only my father's life path, my amazing mother's role as his primary care taker and love of his life, my sisters longing for more memories with him, all of their purposes, life choices, life after, life within but most importantly my very own. This was the only life I had power over.
Long drives, even longer time spent in nature and hours of writing and solitude have eventually brought much needed clarity that I was determined to apply to the rest of my life. We only get one shot and we are here for a purpose. It all became clear to me. I am alive, I am healthy, I am loved and I am worth it. Always have been. Always known it. So how come I feel that I haven't been living the happiest and healthiest life I possibly could? Maybe I got a little distracted for a bit trying to keep up with the demands of the outside world and interpersonal connections, workplaces and expectations that perhaps I even assigned to myself, or maybe picked up as a baggage others didn't want. I was ready to leave that baggage behind and pour unconditional love and acceptance of my own authenticity into my own gifts like I have been pouring in the lives of those I care for so deeply. Everything was going to change now. It was my time to thrive even through grief. I realized an important lesson. My father spent his adult life reminding me of who I was and I wasn't going to forget that by having him go into eternal rest. Just like he, just like you - I too was created by a miracle. I was going to be aware of such a privilege more than ever before. Aware of it and grateful for so much I couldn't help but wonder - is my current life reflecting all I know, all my worth, health and love? The answer was not really.
I didn't have it all figured out then, and I don't have it all figured out now but I knew one thing - this life was given to me for a reason and I was going to heal, thrive and elevate so I can help others heal, thrive and elevate. This is who I am when all the roles vanish and I am allowed to be a work in progress and perfection at the same time. And so are you. Led by this mission I then looked at the life I was leading and how it was contributing to my health. Greatest wealth. And inner peace. Greatest luxury. It needed some improvement. So I started diving deep. Into my work, into my eating habits, sleeping habits, into my spending habits, into what I consume, into what is consuming me. And I decided to dedicate my time to dive even deeper and instead of come from a place of judgement, I decided to map out who I truly and authentically was and where I want to focus my intention so I can be the healthiest and happiest version of myself.
Prior to this realization I was someone who against all odds fulfilled all her expectations as an immigrant from a war torn Bosnia with scarcity trauma, whose 10th move landed her in captivating New England, someone very responsible and aware of her privilege for education, work and better life conditions. So I wanted to do it all. To prove my awareness and worth by working all the time. After high school I studied at the University of Connecticut School of Communication sciences. It was a slightly more creative alternative to the School of Business. The truth is I was led by the fear and lack of privilege to study what I truly wanted to study - Psychology, Nutrition, Literature, Philosophy or Art. After all, business like degree would land me a job sooner. So I forgot about my dreams and climbed the corporate latter, switched jobs at slight increase of salary, trained and built teams, lived missions of other employers and made other peoples dreams come true by simply bringing my characteristics into the workplace. I embraced being human a little too much and forgot about my own needs, those voices that all these years were hoping I'd give them the time and attention they deserved.
Missing my father dearly and long talks about all the things that truly matter in life, caring a little less about chasing sales goals, and superficial demands that lined up with me less and less - in the midst of my grief I was thirsty for knowledge and conversations that would propel and inspire me so that in my later thirties I went back to college to study what I always wanted to study. Human Development and Family studies, Adulthood and Aging, Psychology, Environmental Science, Nutrition, Literature, History, Art and Philosophy. I was beginning to thrive. I approached each lesson with yearning to learn, so inspired by my professors, befriending them so I could feed of their knowledge and often inspiring my younger classmates to speak up and live their truth, guest lecturing lessons that I found to be beneficial for people to know and when it was my time to complete my education this time around - the truth is I was a changed person. I knew I had a higher calling and I needed to do something different with my life, I just didn't know how. I just knew I would.
That very autumn during my fathers favorite month of September, my job of 13 years gifted us a wellness retreat and team building at Miraval Resort in the mountains of Berkshires, Massachusetts. We were about to spend a long weekend completely disconnected from our phones, simply nourishing our body and mind with assortment of culinary delights and educational classes. Little did we all know - this was a much needed nourishment for the soul too. Each person had a budget that they could apply towards self care or educational activities, and majority of my time went to trying to absorb as much knowledge as I could from health coaches in different spheres of expertise. I have learned and practiced grounding, Ayurveda, introspective journaling, bee keeping, paddle boarding, kayaking, breath-work, tai chi, nutrition, cooking, connecting and simply being. This was revolutionary for me. I had such clarity of how I wanted to benefit lives of others being inspired by professionals alike and I would finally know how to integrate all my skills, interests and desires in one. I was going to become one of them. Leaving the resort inspired, recharged and with such immense clarity on the ground I found a gold keychain that said “ MIND.BODY.SOUL “ and just like that I knew.
I knew that from that point on I will lead my life fearlessly being a nurturer of all things mind, body and soul. For me. For you.
One year later and one degree wealthier I am proud to be an
Internationally Accredited Health Coach of Integrative Nutrition.
More about that journey and what it truly means to me in the next post.
Until then…
To health and happiness,
Sladjana Sea