Notes To My 25 Year Old Self ... A Spiritual Journey
()
About this ebook
The New Testament book of Titus speaks to how the older women, through their lives, should model reverence for God and good behaviors for the younger women. This then, coupled with a mother’s love for her daughter, became the impetus and the inspiration for “Notes”. Because older women remember and know what it was to be younger woman, rather than lecture to ears that had grown tired of the broken record, it was simply easier to let my life experience speak. And through these words, through my mistakes, my lessons learned, hopefully, and finally, I could feel that I had birthed not a daughter, who saw herself as a small, insignificant creature, beat up by circumstances and relationships, but a woman, proud of who and what she is, with the knowledge that she matters, she is worthy, and that she is fearfully and wonderfully made, and that God has uniquely purposed her, equipped her, through her gifts and talents to do great things and to touch people’s lives. The ultimate lesson, perhaps the final “Note”, for the woman that I birthed, is that the world will ultimately be a better place, when she, when all of us, show up fully in it.
Juliet Dorris-Williams
Juliet C. Dorris-Williams is a wife, mom, professional licensed social worker. Throughout her adult life, she has learned to successfully navigate the challenges that come with being a survivor of trauma and its accompanying twin, depression. Juliet credits the transformative power of her Christian faith, clinical intervention and peer support as instrumental for her healing. Other than the articles in her local church newsletters, and collaborative efforts with others, this is her first venture as a published author. Juliet lives in Reynoldsburg, Ohio with her husband, #1 cheerleader, and soul mate, Timothy, Sr. Their blended family includes four adult children, which includes two daughters along with one very special daughter-in-law. It’s to these unique young women that this book is especially dedicated. Juliet is a lifelong learner with an insatiable curiosity and a seriously expensive addiction to books.
Related to Notes To My 25 Year Old Self ... A Spiritual Journey
Related ebooks
The Parables of a Single Mother Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsReclaiming my Life - my Journey Back to God Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsI've Been There...I Feel Your Pain Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsChanging Directions: Forming a beautiful bond between a mother and teen daughter Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDysfunctional Bonding Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsI'm Celibate, Now What? Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDefeating Tinnitus and Hyperacusis Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsI Prayed You into Life Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPreparing a Fruitful Harvest Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDetermined Destination: Life’s Imperfect Journey of Learning and Love Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Burnout Solution: 12 weeks to a calmer you Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Hidden Truth Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Mindful Guide to College Preparation:: A Five-Day Retreat for Students and Their Parents Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsForgiveness is Freedom: Live Out Loud! Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLove In Disorder Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLiving My Best "Single Mum" Life Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsInner Compass Mom: Finding Peace and Purpose in the Midst of Motherhood Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAlzheimer’s Caregiver—a Daughter’s Story: Alzheimer’s Took My Mother from Herself and Her Family. It Also Gave Gifts. Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Cautionary Life: A Science Fiction Approach to Trauma Management Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe First Stone: A Gay Daughter's Survival in a Religious World Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFor Every Mountain Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEVOLVE: From Heart Breaks to Hearts Healed Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOn the Receiving End: A Memoir of a Nurse Who Met, Tackled, and Overcame Insurmountable Obstacles Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPerfectly Flawed Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Game of Intrigue: Life Awakenings in Pursuit of the Mystery Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHope Inspires Strength: How One Woman Overcame Insurmountable Odds Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsArthritis and Me: An Illness Is One Thing, but My Life Is Everything Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings21 Days: Overcoming Heartache and Pain; Finding Strength and Healing Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsShe's Dope: From Single Mom to CEO Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThree Roses and a Thorn Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Personal Growth For You
The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Courage To Be Disliked: A single book can change your life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Talk to Anyone: 92 Little Tricks for Big Success in Relationships Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: The Infographics Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You're Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Alchemist: A Graphic Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Big Magic: How to Live a Creative Life, and Let Go of Your Fear Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before? Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Die With Zero: Getting All You Can from Your Money and Your Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life: Life-Changing Tools for Healthy Relationships Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Super Learning: Advanced Strategies for Quicker Comprehension, Greater Retention, and Systematic Expertise Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Rich Dad Poor Dad Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Art of Thinking Clearly Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Everything Is F*cked: A Book About Hope Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Pathless Path Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The 5AM Club: Own Your Morning. Elevate Your Life. Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem: The Definitive Work on Self-Esteem by the Leading Pioneer in the Field Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Not Die Alone: The Surprising Science That Will Help You Find Love Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Big Book of 30-Day Challenges: 60 Habit-Forming Programs to Live an Infinitely Better Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Outsmart Your Brain: Why Learning is Hard and How You Can Make It Easy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Almanack of Naval Ravikant: A Guide to Wealth and Happiness Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Happiness Trap: Stop Struggling, Start Living Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ego is the Enemy: The Fight to Master Our Greatest Opponent Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Notes To My 25 Year Old Self ... A Spiritual Journey
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
Notes To My 25 Year Old Self ... A Spiritual Journey - Juliet Dorris-Williams
Notes to my 25 Year Old Self…
A Spiritual Journey
Juliet C. Dorris-Williams
Ebook Published by Smashwords.com
Copyright © 2017 by Juliet Dorris-Williams
No part of this eBook may be reproduced or shared by any electronic or mechanical means, including but not limited to printing, file sharing, and email, without prior written permission from Fideli Publishing.
Smashwords License Notes
This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Table of Contents
Dedication
Introduction
Facts of Life
The Notes
Note #1: Don’t be afraid! BE YOU!
Note #2: Men – Women – Guts
Note #3: Betrayal
Note #4: Be Accountable to Yourself
Note #5: Just Go
Note #6: You Matter
Note #7: Owning your Power
Note #8: Using your Superpowers for Good
Note #9: Act on what YOU know!
Note #10: The Price for Wisdom
15 Things Every 25-year-old Woman Needs to Know
A Conversation…an Epilogue Perhaps
Tiffany’s Response to Notes
Author’s Bio
Notes to my 25 Year Old Self…
A Spiritual Journey
Dedication
Especially to Tiffany, the daughter of my body, but also to Kimberly, and Shannon and all the young women that I have mom-ed
in one way or another on this journey called life.
Introduction
The motivation for what became this book was simply a mother’s love for her daughter who was just turning 25. She, along with girlfriends in her same age group, seemed to be struggling — struggling with life, with men, with careers, with men, with big decisions, with small decisions. Struggling with men!!
Notice the theme?
Like all mothers it is difficult to sit and watch while your children struggle. In the recent months prior, compounding what was already a difficult time, my beautiful and talented daughter, after an unexpected job loss, moved back home. Not only was she struggling, Mom was forced to observe that struggle in an uncomfortable up close and personal way.
Mothers who want to foster and maintain a strong and healthy relationship with their children, start learning and practicing ways to keep our mouths shut when those children are in high school. We instinctively know that the time is growing short for ‘hands on parenting’. Our children are going to go off to college, or to actuate some other plan that will take them to a new place, a new environment, a new town even, where you cannot follow. You will not be there to kiss their hurts away, set limits and boundaries, or keep them from doing things that you consider risky.
So, while they are in their teen years, we don’t rush to heal the hurt. We encourage our babies to make their own decisions. We give them information. We try to teach them things they will need to live independent of us. We hope and pray that we have given them the information, the skills and the tools to make good decisions for themselves. Because when they go away from us — because they must go away from us — they will be safe and we won’t have to worry about them. Well…we try real hard not to worry about them.
Our babies are SO anxious to be ‘grown-ups’. And then they are. Thus begins what I have come to appreciate as the parent/friend dance.
So on my daughter Tiffany’s 25th birthday, I wanted to mark this milestone with something more substantial than an I love you
happy birthday card. I wanted to give her something that would speak to what I saw her struggling with, that would encourage her, but would not make her feel that she was a failure.
This because another recurring theme is that because of her struggles, a frequent quote from her was, I suck at life.
And that, to me, was just unacceptable, that a child of mine, or any mother’s child, would walk another day in life not understanding that ‘hard knocks’ were just a normal part of life, and that we ALL have to, and HAD to go through them. It was — is the only path to wisdom.
So, while watching a marathon of recorded Oprah shows a week or so before Tiffany’s birthday, I was intrigued by a question that she asked a couple of her guests, as they were looking at themselves when they were many years younger. That question was something like, ‘What would you now say to that young woman/man?’
The implication in the question is that now that you are much older, and hopefully wiser, what would you say to your younger self to ease their journey forward? My inspiration to share with my daughter, on the 25th anniversary of her birth, the things that I would say to my 25-year-old self, through the lens of a 53-year-old woman who