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When Life Breaks You Down · Is Your Way In Your Way?

0:25
Cassandra: Good day out there to all my listeners.
0:27
Cassandra: And I'd like to welcome you to Is Your Way in Your Way.
0:32
Cassandra: And for those new listeners out there, that's actually the name of my book, Is Your Way in Your Way.
0:37
Cassandra: And if you think about it, just kind of um ruminate on that a bit.
0:42
Cassandra: You'll probably say, Yeah, I am in my way.
0:44
Cassandra: So this podcast is all about for us to uncover the fears, the habits, even behaviors, barriers, beliefs that's preventing you from living your best life on your terms.
1:03
Cassandra: So, um, and today is going to be a conversation that one this is going to be one you will not forget.
1:11
Cassandra: And I like to talk about topics related to self-improvement, uh, uh personal improvement.
1:19
Cassandra: And as we do so, you will do a lot of self-reflection.
1:23
Cassandra: And my prayer has always been for this podcast for somebody to hear the message.
1:30
Cassandra: And as a result of it, you will have an epiphany.
1:33
Cassandra: And the epiphany will enable you to say, you know what, I've I this is things that in order to live my best life, I need to do this, and I need to get rid of the fears and the the barriers, the internal and external barriers, so that I can move forward for what I am ordained for to be here in this life.
1:52
Cassandra: Because for many of us know that there are always life interruptions, you know.
1:58
Cassandra: So even my guest by the name of Shannon, Michelle, even though she actually mirrors to me the heart of this podcast through her carriage and her faith, no matter how broken your past is or how broken you are right now, there's always a way to rise, restore, and live your best life.
2:23
Cassandra: So I'm gonna introduce you to Shannon right now.
2:27
Cassandra: And hello, Shannon.
2:29
Cassandra: Welcome to Is Your Way in Your Way.
2:33
Shannon: Thank you.
2:33
Shannon: Hello, hello.
2:40
Cassandra: So, my listeners, the title of this podcast is gonna be When Life Breaks You Down, okay, and life does break us down.
2:51
Cassandra: As I indicated earlier, we are definitely in a posture because we are living that there are going to be life's interruptions.
3:03
Cassandra: So I want to read Shannon's bio so that you will understand what qualifies her to always find a way to rise, to restore, and start living her best life in spite of.
3:18
Cassandra: Now, Shannon is a living testament to resilience, faith, and the power of perspective.
3:26
Cassandra: After surviving a devastating motorcycle accident that left her with the memory loss, and later confronting a breast cancer diagnosis, Shannon refused to let brokenness define her story.
3:42
Cassandra: Instead, she transformed her pain into purpose, reclaiming her joy, balance, and strength through mindset shifts, gratitude, and daily growth.
3:54
Cassandra: So today she inspires others to rebuild their lives piece by piece, reminding us that even in our most shattered moments, brilliance can emerge.
4:06
Cassandra: Her journey is not just about recovery, it's about rediscovery.
4:12
Cassandra: Author of Step Into Your Miracle.
4:14
Cassandra: And man, let me tell you, Shannon is walking miracles.
4:19
Cassandra: So let's get started with this conversation.
4:22
Cassandra: Shannon, what was your life like before the motorcycle accident?
4:28
Shannon: Ooh, that's a great question.
4:30
Shannon: I call it Shannon Michelle 1.0 versus 2.0.
4:33
Shannon: And in my previous life was I led a very um successful business, a high-end interior designer for in the city of Los Angeles, and um and just lived my life to every extent that I could, honestly.
4:53
Shannon: Um down to riding my motorcycle with friends on Sundays.
4:59
Shannon: It was like my mini Sunday school in a different way.
5:02
Shannon: And um and it was just I I my daughter had just uh started college um in California and um proud of that.
5:12
Shannon: But there was this freedom that I felt as well because the the mommy in the house was allowed to just explore her new self in a way, and so that's where I was at.
5:25
Shannon: I very successful um company, uh beautiful clients, I made gorgeous environments, you know, for people, and I done it for 25 plus years with my own company, and I was very successful at all of that before I got really broken physically and spiritually, you know.
5:46
Cassandra: Yeah, yeah.
5:47
Cassandra: So so would you say it sounds like the work that you were doing you loved, and you knew from that that was what you were called to do because you had great clients and and you were doing well, and now that you were an empty nester, so to speak, you used the motorcycle as your freedom.
6:07
Cassandra: You just did things that you had not done before.
6:10
Cassandra: So tell us what happened on that motorcycle.
6:15
Cassandra: Tell us about that experience.
6:17
Shannon: So I can tell you from what I've been told because my accident was so severe, traumatic brain injury.
6:23
Shannon: I uh part of my memory got pretty well, most of my memory at the beginning was wiped clean.
6:28
Shannon: So um I can describe it how it's been described to me.
6:32
Shannon: Because it was a very severe motorcycle accident on Pacific Coast Highway.
6:37
Shannon: Um, somebody did an illegal U-turn, threw me up in the air from what I've been told, 30 plus feet, popped me back down and head first into the into the concrete.
6:49
Shannon: Um, but here the here are the blessings and miracles that were around me that day, even though that chaos happened, is there happened to be an EMT on the beach with his wife in front of an accident that ran up and did all the things that needed to be done to save my life at that moment.
7:05
Shannon: There happened to be somebody in the car that was that was that rode as well, that didn't know me, that basically blocked everybody from rolling over me post the accident.
7:14
Shannon: There were a lot of miracles that just happened right at that moment.
7:18
Shannon: They they drop shipped me um into UCLA and they'd keep me in coma for a few months because my brain trauma again in my every part of my body, like I I I've gotten a lot of the metal pieces are are gone, but I've got I've got new hips that are that are new new parts and pieces and my you know, my wrist, um, the eye is more obvious.
7:39
Shannon: Um and um and this and really traumatic brain injury was the most severe part.
7:45
Shannon: And they didn't know if I was gonna live, honestly.
7:47
Shannon: They were um they were my my daughter and um my friends and my family were told, you know, we don't think she's gonna make it through the night, you know.
7:58
Shannon: And I and again, it was like these small moments um that I survived through for some.
8:06
Shannon: And I I want I can't say for some reason anymore because I know that I have so much to share and give about coming through trauma and seeing yourself new and different, even though you think your life is unbreakable and perfect, or whatever words you want to put around it, you know, that you that we're all we all need to open up a little bit more to the to the realization that if we're learning and growing, that's all we need to be doing in this in this moment right now, and to find ourselves present, being present in each moment.
8:44
Shannon: And that's what that's what allowed me to recover, allowed me to survive and amount and allowed me to thrive in a way that I couldn't I couldn't put words around for a long period of time.
8:56
Cassandra: Yeah, yeah.
8:57
Cassandra: How long were you in the hospital?
9:00
Shannon: I was in the main hospital at UCLA for two months, and then um another hospital for a few weeks, and then a nursing hospital, but three months top to bottom.
9:10
Shannon: So three months, and then they brought me home.
9:12
Shannon: I begged them to bring me home because it was going to be my birthday, and I I said, I just want to wake up in my house.
9:18
Shannon: That was my goal.
9:20
Shannon: And um, and so three months in the hospital, and then you know, even post that there were um multiple surgeries that needed to still be done because of all of the different breaks and and problems, and um you know, brought me home in a wheelchair, couldn't walk for for a little while, and because of all the new parts and pieces they put in.
9:40
Shannon: So you've gotta you gotta let that sit for a minute.
9:42
Shannon: And so I had to relearn everything how to how to wake up and not be overwhelmed, how to wake up in pain and not focus on just the pain and find a place to to survive within all of that is is the I think I consider me sitting here today is I am a miracle, and I'm I'm here to to open up new doors for people to see themselves differently.
10:42
Shannon: I that's my home.
10:43
Cassandra: Okay, okay.
10:45
Cassandra: You know, you I love when you stated where healing begins.
10:51
Cassandra: You said step into a story that mirrors your own struggles and come away with strength to write a new chapter.
11:01
Cassandra: Understand that forward.
11:03
Cassandra: What what does that mean to you?
11:07
Shannon: I again in the realm of my short-term memory limitations, I would wake up each day having to um kind of know that I didn't know.
11:23
Shannon: And I had to find a way to to find softness and forgiveness within my story to start to see myself again and understand who I was.
11:35
Shannon: When I looked in the mirror, I mean, they you know, all kinds of obvious physical things buzzed my hair off and now I'm natural, like I was a redhead, you know, some really silly things.
11:45
Shannon: My eye patch.
11:47
Shannon: But um, I had to wake up each day and say, stay present.
11:52
Shannon: All you have to do is do what feels right for today in this moment.
11:55
Shannon: And what what what is that?
11:57
Shannon: What brings you door, what brings you joy, Shannon?
12:00
Shannon: I just want a cup of coffee, I want to, I want a tea, I want to, I want to learn how to cook again.
12:04
Shannon: These are the things that came to me and kind of reinventing yourself from a place you never thought it would be taken away.
12:14
Shannon: Yeah, taken away, and that's okay too, you know, um, change happen.
12:20
Shannon: Um, but to accept that change as growth and guidance, that's that's the part that I try never to forget, to to know that even though I sometimes forget how traumatic all of it was, I have to remind myself, like, Shannon, remember what you just went through and remember the strength you have.
12:45
Shannon: And it's okay to reflect on it, but don't live in it.
12:49
Shannon: I have to not live in it in a daily basis.
12:52
Shannon: And I think people again, if you go through any type of trauma, any kind of major change, you know, you need to learn how to wake up and and find a new you.
13:03
Cassandra: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
13:04
Cassandra: You know, um the power of the mind is unbelievable.
13:12
Cassandra: Because what or who do you think um gave you the strength?
13:23
Cassandra: Like, where do you believe that came from?
13:32
Shannon: I guess it um if if if we're talking full picture, yeah, um I me personally knew I was mid-state, I was between life and death, and I was in a place where I could see the abundance of what was outside of this body and this earth.
14:02
Shannon: Okay, and and and my father figure happened to have passed about six, seven months before my accident, and he was there so surrounded.
14:12
Shannon: I was surrounded by angels.
14:14
Shannon: I was surrounded by I I can't even put words around the beauty of it, the lightness, the the glory of what happens outside of this body is I mean, it's there's no words.
14:29
Shannon: Like I know that there are words around it in our human language, but the sense of it is so much even bigger than that.
14:37
Shannon: It's like, and we put we put words in different ways around God, Jesus.
14:43
Shannon: There's all kinds of words we can put around it.
14:46
Shannon: But when when I was there, it was it was like there human words don't even match it.
14:55
Shannon: Um and I mean they can, and I had to come to a place where I could, but it's it's it's breathless.
15:06
Shannon: It's it's so it's a piece of light, and it's just like and angels seems like a word that fits some of it, but like even saying that word, it's like I it's it's hard to explain.
15:25
Shannon: Yeah, I feel like I feel like there was a moment where Bell Langford is who I'm speaking of is my father figure.
15:33
Shannon: He's not my biological father, but he was strength within my life as a father figure and for my my daughter as well.
15:41
Shannon: And and he he he just kind of he calmed me down.
15:45
Shannon: He was kind of like you know, he just he calmed me down so that I didn't move on into and again I can put all kinds of words around it, but he he he knew that he knew, but I I think he needed to pause me to say it's gonna be okay.
16:07
Cassandra: Okay, and that that he is the father figure.
16:10
Shannon: Yeah, that's felt that was that was still within the realm of in-between.
16:14
Shannon: And so I felt um so blessed that he was able to that he was able to pause me in a way, you know, and and and the light and the angels and that all of that made me feel safe.
16:36
Shannon: Yes, in a place where I was kind of off filter in a way, you know.
16:43
Shannon: Um, and and that I and I remember that.
16:46
Shannon: I don't remember the accident, but I have a clear memory of what I'm explaining to you, which is again says so much about my experience and what you know I and and so I I I came back into my body and it wasn't it wasn't pretty, it wasn't easy, um, it wasn't something people want to step back into.
17:10
Shannon: Yeah, but yeah, it was but there was this white, there was this wet light guidance, angels, God surrounding to where I could have not come back into this body, and I would have, you know, um those are the best words I can put around it.
17:30
Cassandra: Yeah, it it kind of sounds to me like kind of an out-of-body experience.
17:36
Shannon: It it was, yeah, because I yeah, because I was, yeah, I was again, and whatever words, I guess all of us have different imagin.
17:47
Shannon: Not we don't imagine it.
17:49
Shannon: Well, let me take that back.
17:52
Shannon: I don't imagine it.
17:53
Shannon: I was it, I was in the realm of not being in my body.
17:58
Shannon: So, you know, whatever words we can put around it, but it was it again.
18:06
Shannon: There's no there's no definition for some of it when you've been right in the essence of between between, you know, and people again, life and death.
18:16
Shannon: And I I can't even say life and death because it those words don't even surround it.
18:20
Shannon: Like it's it's it's it's really empowering that you and it also creates a place of not being in fear of what you do, which is the most important because I woke up each day having goals that you know weren't goals before.
18:37
Shannon: Like, I want to be able to be able to walk myself to the bathroom so I can go pee, you know.
18:43
Shannon: Like what that was a goal.
18:46
Shannon: I want to be able to take a bath again.
18:48
Shannon: You know, I remember I wanted, I said to my daughter, I'm like, I can walk over to the bath and I can sit in it, but you're gonna have to get pull me up to get out of it because the strength of the broken parts and stuff.
18:57
Shannon: And just moments like that were like that's how I found strength and freedom in moving forward and and and wanting to find the new me, like see see her and not try to keep getting the old me because it's so easy for us to try to want to get back something we think was important for that time or who we were.
19:19
Shannon: But I really had to wake up each day and be like Shanna Michelle 2.0.
19:24
Cassandra: This is you know, yeah, it's amazing though how one processes the good with the bad.
19:34
Shannon: Oh, absolutely.
19:35
Shannon: I I used to only be able to process the good.
19:38
Shannon: I knew how to to hide from the bad.
19:41
Shannon: I had a lot of bad childhood stuff, and the more I can act like it wasn't a part of me and I hid from it, the safer I felt.
19:48
Shannon: China Michelle 1.0.
19:49
Shannon: Now I'm like, open book, I'll tell you everything.
19:53
Shannon: What do you want to know?
19:53
Shannon: I mean, all of all of the chaos I've been through in my life has made this person that chaos is that chaos is awesome.
20:00
Cassandra: So yeah, your whole perspective has just revitalized.
20:06
Cassandra: It's just revitalized, yes, yeah, yeah, it's amazing.
20:09
Shannon: It reawakened me and gotten me closer and more connected to yeah, exactly.
20:18
Shannon: In being present, it and that is the miracle, right there.
20:22
Shannon: If all of us can just stay present, no in each day, yeah, that that is a miracle.
20:28
Shannon: Just try it, just try it because it's not easy.
20:31
Shannon: We get distracted with so much stuff, yes.
20:33
Shannon: I want a cup of water, uh, I want to call my daughter, I want to like present moment.
20:41
Shannon: That's all you should do in each and every moment of every day.
20:45
Cassandra: Wow.
20:45
Cassandra: Wow.
20:46
Cassandra: Now, Shannon, if you could speak to yourself, that version of yourself who was lying in that hospital bed, what would you tell yourself now?
21:01
Shannon: It's okay to be different.
21:03
Shannon: I would tell I would tell myself that pain doesn't pain doesn't have to describe you.
21:13
Shannon: I would, you know, there was a lot of there's a lot of parts of me that were so fearful and scared because of all the because of all the different changes, because it took a while for me to even want to see myself differently.
21:27
Shannon: And and and I would tell her, not just it'll be okay, but it's okay to be different, is I think one of the biggest things that I gained.
21:38
Shannon: Um it's everything doesn't have to look and feel and sound a certain way.
21:43
Shannon: It can be it can be heavy and it can be dark and it can be light, and it's all going to be a part of who you are.
21:51
Shannon: I mean, that's that's this person, you know.
21:55
Shannon: She she she that wasn't the person lying in the bed, and that wasn't the person that first year of recovery, year and a half probably.
22:02
Shannon: Um, and then and then I loved the moment that you know, sometimes you think you've been through enough and you don't have to go through anything more.
22:15
Shannon: Like if I if I went through this much chaos, trauma, like no more can come.
22:21
Shannon: And for me, I got the call, um breast cancer.
22:27
Shannon: And I literally the first the first words that were out of my mouth was laughter.
22:31
Shannon: I'm like thinking, if I was gonna, if I was gonna die, this is what I thought.
22:36
Shannon: If I was gonna die, I would have been taken like that.
22:38
Shannon: I'd be I wouldn't be standing here, uh cancer.
22:40
Shannon: Yeah, and and but cancer is cancer, and my daughter.
22:45
Shannon: Had to say to me, mom, yes, you you are working on your brain and your body and you have more surgeries, but we're gonna focus on cancer next.
22:55
Shannon: We're gonna focus on this is bigger than some of the other repairs that you're trying to do.
23:00
Shannon: And that moment was a blessing that I needed to have in a way that nobody wants to hear they have cancer and nobody thinks it's funny.
23:13
Shannon: Shannon, that's that's serious stuff.
23:16
Shannon: Like know that no matter how broken you have been, if you could still be, it can still crack a bit more and be open to the idea that you are not breakable anymore because you are, and and just and again, you can tell yourself that because of the dark days and the light days, they both come, you know, and giving yourself freedom and grace within all of that is me again the most important thing I learned from the cancer.
23:46
Shannon: Multiple surgeries, like they were, it wasn't pretty.
23:50
Shannon: Um, but you know, it also broke and reawakened even more of me, like in a way that again, if we can look at our traumas in a way that they're they're not gifts at the moment, they don't feel like gifts, but they are they are lessons and or uh growth within who we can be in our bodies, I think that's important.
24:19
Shannon: Yeah, yeah.
24:21
Cassandra: And you know what?
24:22
Cassandra: I I used to hear that when things happen to you or us or whatever, it's not always for you, it's for someone else.
24:32
Shannon: Yes.
24:33
Cassandra: I've heard that and I was like, really?
24:34
Cassandra: I'm like, really?
24:37
Shannon: Well it's for it is, it's for it, it is for it, it does, it affects and and teaches all everything that's around you, you know, family, friends, what you do within, you know, your community, all of it gets, you know, them showing up for you, teaches them.
24:56
Shannon: Because that was something that I wasn't comfortable with either.
24:59
Shannon: I was a I was a doer, a fixer, and nobody ever had to do any kind of Shannon care.
25:09
Shannon: I wouldn't let it happen.
25:10
Shannon: I was a strong, you know, super woman, yeah.
25:13
Shannon: Yes, yeah, yeah.
25:14
Shannon: And and then I was so like, what?
25:17
Shannon: I can't, what I can't like I did again.
25:19
Shannon: We learned that just because you have built something that's beautiful, again, stay within the heart.
25:28
Shannon: Who you are is the most important thing.
25:31
Shannon: That's it.
25:34
Cassandra: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
25:36
Cassandra: You you know, you said something else that I like to highlight for my listeners as well about the relationships that you had.
25:44
Cassandra: You had the father figure, and that kind of those were the things you remembered.
25:49
Cassandra: You may remember the accident, what happened there, but and that's why I say there's there's so much power in relationships.
25:59
Cassandra: Never underestimate the power you bring to others, you know.
26:05
Cassandra: Um, so you know, it's kind of like so be kind.
26:08
Cassandra: He he probably had no clue.
26:11
Cassandra: He knew you admired him, but look what he did when you thought you weren't even gonna live.
26:17
Cassandra: How his presence permeated in your heart and in your the mind that you knew, and I just think that's important to remember that there are power in relationships, so don't dismiss them by I agree, I agree with all of that.
26:37
Shannon: And and you also, I at least in my experience, I had to understand opening the door that some people weren't able to show up very well and didn't want to be a part of it, and some people did.
26:49
Shannon: And even today, as I sit here, a lot of my best friends that I adore, yeah, um, you know, they are getting to know the new Shanna Michelle.
27:00
Shannon: They're they're you know, it's not old, it's not, it's not, it's not the old Shanna Michelle, it's the new Shanna Michelle.
27:07
Shannon: And some people just they from a distance do caring things, but really can't stay connected to me in this new with the new me.
27:16
Shannon: They had, yeah, I know, I know, but I I had to get comfortable with I can't be responsible for how people show up, and I think that's an important lesson as well, is like people who show up, show up, even ones that you think would have didn't.
27:34
Shannon: What?
27:34
Shannon: Huh?
27:35
Shannon: But that's again, that's a less that was a lesson for me.
27:38
Shannon: Like, arms always, but expectations need to somewhat be just within.
27:46
Shannon: I don't know what to add to that, but basically that that trying to lose the expectations of others is of hardest strength as well.
27:56
Cassandra: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
27:58
Cassandra: Um do you think you had some painful moments?
28:04
Cassandra: Do you think those painful moments became your greatest breakthrough?
28:11
Shannon: Yeah, absolutely.
28:12
Shannon: Both both the accident and my breast cancer both were um were were.
28:20
Shannon: I'd like to say eye-opening, but that's a bad, it's a bad way to put it.
28:25
Shannon: Um, but even just yes, um, I would not for me personally change a moment of it where we kind of think that we, if we make a different decision, we're gonna get a different result.
28:40
Shannon: Well, I I appreciate everything that I've learned and gained and what has broken through within me and my connection to a higher power that is undescribable to me.
29:01
Shannon: And words around it, many people do, and I can, but like to me, it's like whatever speaks to you, yeah.
29:10
Shannon: Knowing that there's more than just what this body and this human being that we have so much to give, and there's so much spoken through us and to us on a daily basis if we allow it, you know.
29:22
Shannon: Let let that speak to you, let that help you in your daily existence, whatever you're trying to do.
29:30
Cassandra: Yeah, you are the epitome of resilience.
29:35
Cassandra: It is amazing to me, resilience.
29:39
Cassandra: Wow, that's that's that's something you know.
29:43
Cassandra: Um, I want to go back to something because I'm I'm curious.
29:46
Cassandra: Absolutely.
29:47
Cassandra: Yeah, when you talked about the friends you had and the individuals that you thought would stay with you or be with you during this process, but some you you didn't come along, and some you gain knew.
30:01
Cassandra: What do you think the ones that didn't come along?
30:05
Cassandra: What do you think that was about?
30:06
Cassandra: Because that happens a lot.
30:09
Shannon: It does.
30:10
Shannon: I think well, I think the most important thing as we talk about this is that we have to understand that nothing that we do personally can affect the way people treat us.
30:25
Shannon: Meaning, in a maybe that's not coming out right, but like I know that I am nothing that happened to me and that is part of my life now is the reason why somebody isn't invited into my life, my existence, my front door, my my whatever.
30:44
Shannon: And I think for us all to not take personally why somebody isn't there is is a goal.
30:53
Shannon: Like I have one friend that I used to ride with every Sunday, and she was a big part of my hospital recovery and helping my my friends and my daughter through the major transition.
31:09
Shannon: But now she's she's shifted away, and I I'm guessing I can guess because I don't know for sure.
31:18
Shannon: Because but that you know what we used to do, I don't do anymore.
31:24
Shannon: I don't run motorcycles anymore, obviously.
31:27
Shannon: And that was a connection that we had, and I think that as us as human beings, we can connect in all kinds of ways.
31:34
Shannon: I think that eventually my hope is that she will be a part of my life again.
31:39
Shannon: Yeah, but I also can't sit in sorrow that she's not, because that's I uh I'm not willing to, especially with my brain energy and my my time, put my put myself in a position where I want to sit in in sadness and pain.
31:59
Shannon: I I wake up and I'm like, nope, I'm gonna start over today.
32:02
Shannon: This is my new day.
32:03
Shannon: And if we can do that, I think even with the loss, it's like understand ourselves a little bit better.
32:15
Shannon: I I'm not sure, honestly.
32:16
Shannon: I'm still learning.
32:17
Cassandra: Yeah, yeah.
32:18
Cassandra: And and and through those times too, we grow.
32:22
Cassandra: And yeah, like like I'm gonna share something.
32:25
Cassandra: I have uh a friend that I knew years ago, and we were pretty close.
32:33
Cassandra: I mean, I wouldn't say she was my closest, but then I moved away, you know, for years and you know, not around anymore.
32:41
Cassandra: And then when I get back in the area, she could she calls and wants to know, well, why don't you call me?
32:49
Cassandra: Why aren't we friends anymore?
32:51
Cassandra: Why?
32:51
Cassandra: And it's it's nothing personal.
32:54
Cassandra: Uh what I can only say is I've grown.
32:57
Cassandra: I'm not saying I've grown more than she has, but I'm just in a different place.
33:02
Cassandra: And I can't describe it like you.
33:05
Cassandra: I love her, but I'm I'm I'm just not there right now.
33:09
Cassandra: And I and if she's okay with it, that's beautiful.
33:13
Cassandra: If she's not, that's okay too.
33:15
Cassandra: But I can't explain it.
33:17
Cassandra: Yes, yeah.
33:18
Shannon: Well, and you and you you and how you just explained that is you can't take responsibility for what her needs are within your relationship, you know, and and there's a balancing of of that as well as you know, she has expressed that she would like to be closer to you again.
33:36
Shannon: Yeah, there's a need that she's trying to fill.
33:39
Shannon: And I I think what I've also learned is when we're trying to fill an empty gap, like that's the only point of our relationships, our friendships, our family.
33:49
Shannon: If we're just trying to fill empty space, yeah, that's that doesn't that that doesn't have a lot of value.
33:55
Shannon: It's only when we're trying to connect with what helps us and makes us feel good and makes us grow.
34:02
Shannon: Um and yeah, yeah, and you and you and you will know, and you you you would have known and you will know if there's more of a can connection that isn't gonna be important later in life for both of you.
34:15
Cassandra: Who knows?
34:15
Cassandra: Exactly, exactly.
34:17
Cassandra: Okay, now one other thing.
34:20
Cassandra: There are three components to your journey.
34:24
Cassandra: Okay, um, I want to know what are those, why should one follow them?
34:30
Cassandra: Um, and practices that aided your trauma recovery.
34:37
Cassandra: What were those three components?
34:39
Cassandra: Find balance was one.
34:44
Cassandra: Say I couldn't hear you say it again.
34:47
Cassandra: Um, find your balance was one that you talked about the components and reclaim your purpose was another and rediscover resilience.
34:58
Cassandra: Those were the three components to your journey.
35:01
Shannon: Yeah.
35:01
Shannon: Well, I love hearing that back because again, with my short-term memory, I have to keep relearning my story, honestly.
35:08
Shannon: So when you ask that question, I'm thinking to myself, I don't know, what are those three things?
35:12
Shannon: But all of those are are true.
35:16
Shannon: I mean, when I sit here today, I think of I I've come up with um, I take I've taken the word patch, P-A-T-C-H, and put words to it.
35:29
Shannon: And um, so me, that's that's to me, I have to remember that.
35:33
Shannon: And I'll we'll do it for a second if you'd like.
35:35
Shannon: Um, the first thing is P, pause and stay present, just what we've talked about already.
35:41
Shannon: The second is take action.
35:43
Shannon: The third is T for thoughtfulness, be thoughtful to yourself.
35:50
Shannon: Um, and and C is care, care for your heart, your mind, and your body.
35:58
Shannon: And H is this can create healing, heal yourself, heal others, heal within this realm of trying to stay present, take action, be kind to yourself, care, make sure you're caring for your heart, your mind, and your body.
36:17
Shannon: Like you have multiple things, there's even more than that, but that's the the three, and then that from that can come healing.
36:24
Shannon: What and whatever kind of healing that you need in that moment, in that you know, in that disease, in that care, in whatever you're in.
36:35
Shannon: Yeah.
36:36
Cassandra: Right, right.
36:37
Cassandra: Now, how did you find your per reclaim your purpose?
36:40
Cassandra: Which I think is it's it's so cool for the journey.
36:47
Cassandra: You you reclaim, you figured out because purpose is powerful.
36:53
Cassandra: Because I believe when you understand it, reclaim it, it keeps you going.
36:59
Shannon: It does.
37:00
Shannon: It does.
37:01
Shannon: It does.
37:03
Shannon: And it has.
37:04
Shannon: And I think that is a faith and believing in in who you are and what you have to share in in any format of the world, in any ways to yourself.
37:16
Shannon: Like, right, again, I say stay present, wake up, and you know, see the birds tripping outside my bedroom window.
37:24
Shannon: Also see the grass that needs to be mowed, like whatever it is, like just take in that moment and and that's and and and all of us have something to gain, all of us have something to share.
37:38
Shannon: None of us live our life in a way that we are not connected with so many human individuals and and hire sources that are a part of who we are.
37:53
Shannon: We're all we you know, we're just we're all of these things.
37:57
Shannon: Yeah, we are our minds, we are our bodies, but we are our spirits and our connections.
38:02
Shannon: And how do you how do you find that today?
38:05
Shannon: Like what what brings joy to you today?
38:07
Shannon: That is the only thing you should be focusing on.
38:10
Shannon: What brings me joy today?
38:12
Shannon: Right.
38:15
Shannon: Yeah, and it can be and it can be boring, and that could bring you joy.
38:20
Shannon: And it can be thrilling and visual and that could bring you joy, but it's all it's all in a horrible moment.
38:26
Shannon: Nope.
38:33
Cassandra: Okay.
38:43
Shannon: I can see you, I don't know if I'm frozen.
38:46
Shannon: This stuff always confuses me.
38:56
Cassandra: Yeah.
38:57
Cassandra: Listeners, just so you know, Shannon has frozen, but I will be back.
39:06
Cassandra: Something went went on, went wrong.
39:09
Cassandra: But um she's a miracle.
39:12
Cassandra: So and I'm hopeful she can hear me what what I'm shareing.
39:17
Cassandra: I can't.
39:40
Cassandra: There you are.
39:55
Cassandra: Okay, we're back.
39:57
Cassandra: You you a miracle, so I knew you were gonna come back some kind of way.
40:02
Cassandra: There's no way that this was gonna defeat us.
40:07
Shannon: We need but you know, but that gives you that moment.
40:09
Shannon: Sometimes we have to pause and stay present, and that's it.
40:12
Shannon: Like, you know, find our way back from whatever we're we're we're dealing with at this moment.
40:17
Shannon: This moment was a perfect example.
40:20
Shannon: Sometimes we just pause and stay present and and and have hope.
40:24
Shannon: And right, yeah.
40:29
Cassandra: This, you know what, it reminds me that um life's true riches are not found in accolades or luxury, but in connection, compassion, and authenticity.
40:43
Shannon: Absolutely, those are perfect words, yeah, yeah, they are.
40:46
Shannon: And and find and to find and to find yourself and your joy and your love from all of that, and not spend too much time worrying about the outside, you know, distractions, because it can that distract you from the beauty from within yourself, within you, within your community, within your friendships, within you know, whatever it is that is this present day for you.
41:13
Shannon: Yeah, and appreciate, appreciate this day, this day one at a time.
41:18
Shannon: One day at the time.
41:20
Cassandra: Yeah, and and I I am appreciative and so grateful that you and I had this opportunity to connect and for you to share with my listeners about your journey and all you've been through from the the accident, the the the cancer that came after the accident.
41:42
Cassandra: Is that right?
41:43
Cassandra: Yes, it was after the accident.
41:46
Cassandra: And you also said, okay, yeah, I went through a tough time, but don't think that something else will not happen.
41:54
Cassandra: You know what I mean?
41:56
Cassandra: Yeah, it's it's uh it's uh a scripture or in the Bible that states God will not put any more on us on us than we can bear.
42:06
Cassandra: And there have been times when I've questioned him, like, are you serious?
42:10
Cassandra: Are you serious?
42:13
Shannon: Because we can question ourselves a lot, we really are the ones that question ourselves the most, right?
42:18
Shannon: We do, we do, and and and yes, what we are in and what we um have in to to give and gain is is beyond what we could even ever imagine of ourselves.
42:30
Cassandra: I know beauty.
42:32
Cassandra: I know, right?
42:33
Cassandra: I know we we are created to do something before it's time for us to get out of here.
42:38
Cassandra: We're all miracles.
42:40
Shannon: Also, that's the thing is we all of us are miracles.
42:43
Shannon: Like that again, when that came to me like one morning, like step into your miracle.
42:49
Shannon: And I remember like thinking, that's that's the name of my book.
42:54
Shannon: What whoa.
42:55
Shannon: And then I remember taking time and going, step into my miracle or your miracle.
43:00
Shannon: No, it's your miracle because we all have miracles, yeah.
43:04
Cassandra: So and that was your trigger to write your book, yeah, yeah.
43:09
Shannon: Oh, yeah.
43:09
Shannon: I had many of them.
43:11
Shannon: But yeah, some major ones was the the wake up, you know, revelation and and then you know, the layers of how I was able to kind of unwind the old me and show the new me is you know, is definitely and also to remember myself.
43:31
Shannon: Honestly, when I wrote this, it was honestly to remember me and to remember who I am and what worked and what didn't.
43:38
Shannon: And that's how this began.
43:40
Shannon: It wasn't to, it wasn't to share with others, it was to like wake up and survive and thrive.
43:46
Shannon: And and and then that this is yeah, what came out of all of that.
43:51
Shannon: Yeah.
43:51
Shannon: But it was for me first and foremost.
43:53
Shannon: I'm like, I gotta remember that worked or that didn't work, or oh, that was awful, or whatever it was, you know.
44:00
Shannon: Yeah, I just show your book.
44:03
Shannon: You have your book with you.
44:05
Shannon: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
44:06
Shannon: I love that.
44:07
Shannon: I love the cover.
44:09
Shannon: Okay, let me just I was just about to tell you the other beautiful thing about this.
44:13
Shannon: My daughter drew this for me for my cover.
44:16
Shannon: And so she's a part, she's been obviously a big part of my recovery and my journey my whole life, but she drew this picture of me for my cover.
44:25
Shannon: Um, so she's, you know, so that's her, yeah.
44:27
Shannon: So step into your miracle, and then the back is a photo of me and a bunch of quotes already, which is beautiful.
44:34
Shannon: Um, and um, yeah, and oh, I have um I also have this, and we we could get into it in another another time, but I have this.
44:46
Cassandra: process that we did a little bit of is the patchwork and it's kind of a meditation on you know how to how to how to almost how to find peace within trauma and and that's and that can be something big and something small we all you know whatever it is is difficult uh it doesn't even have to be the word trauma but whatever is difficult for us today um is these small steps and how to get on the other end of anything um which is again part of my journey now yeah is the patchwork in your book it isn't it's not no it's not um it's not um it's um I'm starting to do uh book signings and events um and I um I had to come up with something that I could remember for myself again and um the word patch eye patch wasn't on this one so it's just um these beautiful little cards um and and then they they do they have the whole and I I think I don't know if this is on my website yet but if it's not it will be soon um okay but it's it's it's definitely it's it's worth a try like just whatever your whatever your whatever your need is please try to get my website reach out please everybody anybody you have a question please email me Shannon at step into your miracle I want to help as much as possible and it's and it's Janet Step into Shannon Shannon I'm sorry Shannon step into miracle step in your miracle dot com yep okay okay what about um um is that your website yes that sorry stepymiracle.com is my website I'm learning the terms right again and Shannon at Step in Your Miracle is my email okay okay okay well Shannon I am so glad that you reclaimed your purpose thank you and and I believe it's going to evolve over time but right now you are sharing your story and um and inspiring others they'll say wow if she's been there I can do this you know I can overcome whatever it is that's stopping me that's you can believe in yourself believe in in the in the in the in the each and every moment and you have the strength from within and from with with everything that surrounds you exactly yes yeah so I know that my my listeners have gained insight into navigating adversity empowering themselves through personal transformation and applying practical tools to live a purpose driven life thank you you're welcome thank you thank you so much yeah so I hate to end this conversation um continue you know um it was indeed my pleasure to have you on is your way in your way because you have overcome and I'm certain you've not fully overcome it's a it's a it's a work in process I'm sure so we all are we all are exactly so everyone listening I want you to be aware of that so my listeners as I always say bye for now God bless you all and again Shannon thank you so so very much all of us thank you bye