Assertive is an interesting word... I love seeing you stand so firmly in your power and owning your value, Rocio. Your reflection sparked a new MindShift for me: true assertiveness actually has to start with being fiercely assertive with myself. Through the lens of Authentic Relating, I'm learning to view assertiveness less as a shield to protect my energy, and more as a tool to be truly known. When that feeling of "being used" arises, my practice challenges me to drop the story about the other person and strictly own my internal experience—saying, "I'm noticing I feel undervalued right now." It shifts speaking up from trying to control an outcome into building a bridge for a deeper, more transparent connection. I always love exploring these layers with you! ✨

I notice that tis may sound really bizarre! What landed with me as I read your prompt I realized that my honest approach is to consider me as my hero. The 'now' conversations I am having with myself are no longer related to 'how can I be safe", they are now focused on "how can I show up fully for myself, learn what matters, what empowers and what connects me more deeply to my authentic humanity and how can I embrace other humans consistently with my humanity. I clearly need, friends, coaches, brilliant mentors, deep relationships, guides and many other resources that my hero can learn from and embody. I'm convinced that 'me as my hero' is my best way forward. Thank your for asking beautifully inspiring questions. It provoked into making a powerful assessment.🥰

From the Cliff to the Sea The Gratitude for Momentum: I am grateful for my momentum on the long, winding path that keeps revealing me to myself. Just last week, I found myself clinging to a rocky cliff — high above the ocean, alone in the dark, the old childhood shadows of fear and hiding rising up to swallow me whole. The pull downward into oblivion was real. The temptation to simply let go, to disappear into it, whispered beneath the waves. But the momentum in me held on. And then morning came — I slowly relived my previous experience, and with it, came a strange and quiet power. I understood that the fall I feared was never the danger. The danger was staying frozen. The breakdown was a doorway. A dramatic necessary reincarnation. Slowly, deliberately, I found my way down the cliff face — not falling, but descending with intention and a develping sense of willingness. — Finally my feet touched the bottom of the cliff. I then walked stoically toward the beach, Landing on the beach I could breathe again. I could meet my transforming life. I could connect with other humans in it, from a place of wholeness rather than need. I am grateful for the momentum creating practices and the other humans who made this possible — for coaching that transformed me into a life I could not see before and alone, For my embodied spiritual traditions that held me when I had no grounding, for Authentic Relating that taught me to stop performing and start belonging, and for the momentum in aging — of being in my mid-seventies with enough accumulated grace to keep choosing a health filled life, and my commitment to keep choosing truth, keep choosing me. The cliff is still there. It always will be. But now I have the momentum and courge to create my own path on the beach and and though the cliffs and steadely into my human future..

I encounter a saying today "When is Now! - I loved it and thought about transforming into "Win is Now". Which one do you like better. Tee shirts to come.

I found peace in conversations with my family, friends, and associates by connecting through authentic relating.