Excerpt from Daring to Share Chaos to Calm:
Awakenings Through Covid - Special Edition 2020
Chapter 2 - Chaos to Calm by Julie Gauthier - Freedom

Maureen’s emotional suffering was extensive and her path through life was filled with obstacles, but she discovered there were angels everywhere, reaching out to her every time she needed support—she humbly accepted their kindness to guide her from the disempowerment of showing up as a victim to the empowerment of embracing being a survivor.

Julie is an advocate for those managing eating disorders, however, as Julie says, this is not about the food because this story is one that supports each of us suffering from the disempowerment of succumbing to society’s subliminal messages, no matter the message or the sender. Julie is an advocate for us all to see and be our truth.

Ashley is wise beyond her years and dedicated to experiencing the trade-offs necessary to live a life beyond the suffering of her past trauma. I find it fitting that Ashley wrote this compilation’s foreword as she constantly seeks her next evolutionary destination while moving forward in her life’s journey of healing.

Kay is loving and extraordinarily lovable. Kay is the friend and sister we all strive to be, the mom you wish you had and the child you want to love and keep safe from monsters in the night. She was courageously open about what COVID could teach her, and I don’t think Kay regrets the lessons she received—her story will enlighten your own awakenings.

Through deep meaningly conversations with her soul, Michele discovered that her go-to feeling of calm was a defensive shield she used to protect herself from past trauma. By digging into her truth, albeit often exhaustingly uncomfortable, Michele discovered that feeling comfortably calm can come from acknowledging who you really are and then committing to being that person. Michele’s calm became her purpose.

I believe that Bristol discovered the powerful energy that being vulnerable creates while moving through adversity. She is strong but also unafraid to succumb to moments when being unguarded serves her well. She is the rock who knows when to rest in the softness of the earth’s nourishing soil. Her perception of balance is one of accepting imbalance—a contradiction of sorts, and yet, it makes perfect sense.

Olli Greenwood-Vidal is one of the most Authentic individuals I know. I bestow this accolade on them at their young age because they often make me reflect on what I might have achieved in my life had I earned the level of wisdom they have at the age of 22. I say earned because Olli journeyed through the degree of emotional trauma that no child should ever endure. They are another child survivor who, at one point, did not want to experience the feeling of being Alive.

Michelle is an organized thinker who writes for a living, so simply trusting her story and writing it from a purely intuitive approach was outside her norm. But these were not normal times and being the problem-solver she is, Michelle found a way to write her story combining her methodology and intuition. She was encouraged to write her story her way, and the result is a well-thought-out story, including her perception of abundance and how experiencing loss throughout her life has made her more resilient during times of misfortune.