Burn It Down and Start Fresh: A Creative Journey
Can you identify any unfulfilled creative passions in your life? That's the big question we dive into today as we chat with Laura Workman, who's all about pursuing her artistic dreams.
We explore Laura's journey of a professional singer, actor, and author whose life reflects the power of creativity and the joy of chasing one's passions. It’s a heartfelt reminder that it’s never too late to rediscover your inner spark and express yourself fully, even if it means starting over from scratch.
We also touch on some personal stories about overcoming fears, healing from past traumas, and finding joy in unexpected places—like a dog named Winnie! So grab a comfy seat and let’s get inspired to unleash those creative vibes together.
Takeaways:
- Identifying unfulfilled creative passions is crucial for personal growth and happiness.
- Starting over can be daunting, but sometimes you just need to burn it all down.
- Creativity flourishes when we embrace our inner child and let go of past traumas.
- Pursuing what brings you joy is essential, even if it means stepping outside your comfort zone.
- Journaling and writing can be powerful forms of expression and healing, so don't hold back.
- Finding a supportive community can help you navigate through life's challenges and rediscover your authentic self.
Connect with Laura on her social media platforms:
YouTube Chainbreaker: https://www.youtube.com/@chainbreakeraz2024
YouTube Winnie & Greg: https://www.youtube.com/@TheEnchantmentsofWinnieandGreg
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lauraworkman.work
Facebook personal: https://www.facebook.com/laura.workman.140/
Facebook Chainbreaker: https://www.facebook.com/precioustimeaz/
Facebook Winnie & Greg: https://www.facebook.com/lauraandtheworkmen/
Instagram personal: https://www.instagram.com/workman.work/
Instagram Winnie & Greg: https://www.instagram.com/enchantmentsofwinnieandgreg
Transcript
Hey.
Speaker A:Welcome back to another episode of A Warrior Spirit, the show where the inner warrior shines in their light.
Speaker A:Presented by Praxis33, the company that aligns your thoughts, goals, and actions to create your best life.
Speaker A:I'm your host, Darrel Snow.
Speaker A:Can you identify any unfulfilled creative passions in your life?
Speaker A:Have you ever been too afraid to truly express yourself?
Speaker A:Well, joining me today is Laura Workman.
Speaker A:And Laura is a professional singer, actor, and published author whose career is a vibrant blend of artistic passions.
Speaker A:And Laura's life is a testament to the power of creativity and the joy of pursuing one's passions.
Speaker A:Her journey serves as a reminder that dreams can become reality with heart, hard work, and a little touch of magic.
Speaker A:And, Laura, I appreciate you joining me today.
Speaker B:Thank you.
Speaker B:Thanks for having me.
Speaker A:So you're currently in Arizona.
Speaker A:Did you grow up in Arizona?
Speaker B:I'm originally from Cleveland, Ohio.
Speaker B: I moved here in: Speaker A:A new life from the winter or a new life from personal stuff?
Speaker B:All of the above.
Speaker B:Sometimes it's better to just burn it all down, start over.
Speaker A:Yeah, I've done that several times in my own life.
Speaker A:I just.
Speaker A:I used to just throw a map, throw a map, throw a dart at a map, and wherever it landed is where I'd go.
Speaker A:So how.
Speaker A:How did you find the differences between, you know, Ohio, Midwest, and Arizona?
Speaker A:Was it a little daunting, or was this something specific you chose for a specific reason?
Speaker B:I chose Scottsdale because my best friend lived here at the time, and it just kind of worked out.
Speaker B:She needed to move out of her condo and I needed to move in, and we just kind of worked it all out.
Speaker A:Were you a performer and a singer back in Ohio, or did you start that?
Speaker A:Where'd you start becoming an onstage presence.
Speaker B:In the church?
Speaker B:School.
Speaker B:You know, just growing up as a kid, being in school plays and choirs and stuff.
Speaker B:And then I dove head first into the church world, and I had drama teams, like teen drama team.
Speaker B:My ex husband and I were youth ministers, and he had a worship team, which I sung, you know, did harmony and stuff.
Speaker B:And then I had a drama team, and we were very, very busy.
Speaker B:And then, you know, any plays or whatever that the church had.
Speaker B:I was fortunate enough to go to a large church that had a wonderful group of people that were.
Speaker B:Were into drama and theater as much as I was, and practices were a riot.
Speaker B:But so it started there, and I wanted desperately to do, you know, explore my creativity, music and whatever, and just felt like I was in a dead end.
Speaker B:I Was at the time, the economy was really bad.
Speaker B:I was a server.
Speaker B:You know, that was the best job I could find.
Speaker B:But that meant working Friday, Saturday night.
Speaker B:And I want to be, you know, in plays or music or something.
Speaker B:I can't be serving tables on Friday nights.
Speaker B:So I moved here and ended up going to real estate school and tried.
Speaker B:My motivation was I had to get a serving job here, of course, and just was like, I got to get out of this.
Speaker B:So I went to real estate school.
Speaker B:I got a real estate license and tried about eight different kinds of real estate, desperately.
Speaker B:My parents were into real estate and loved real estate, and I wanted to jump on that wagon, but I just couldn't make it work.
Speaker B:I would rather sing a song, do a show than sell a house, even though selling a house you get paid a whole lot more money.
Speaker B:But, you know, yeah, I was in.
Speaker A:Real estate for eight years.
Speaker A:And you definitely don't do it if you don't.
Speaker A:If you're not passionate for.
Speaker A:For.
Speaker A:For doing it, because it's a lot of hours, a lot of work, a lot of driving, cranky people around from house to house, and very little room for creativity.
Speaker A:So, yeah, I can see why it was frustrating for you in school when you were growing up.
Speaker A:Were you in the plays and the drama team in school as well?
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah, I was in high school.
Speaker B:We had a really cool drama team and we would sing and stuff, but I was the kid, you know, like, at Thanksgiving or Christmas, I'd set up, like a little puppet thing and do little shows for the family and stuff.
Speaker A:So you.
Speaker A:You've been creative your entire life, it seems.
Speaker A:Is that what also led you to be an author?
Speaker A:Did you write as a child and then it just carried on or what.
Speaker A:What caused the writing bug?
Speaker B:I.
Speaker B:Well, if you asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I.
Speaker B:I would always say a singer, actor.
Speaker B:And then I kind of thought to myself, a writer.
Speaker B:I mean, it kind of goes hand in hand.
Speaker B:But the kids books, that all started with my daughter, she's got the.
Speaker C:The cute.
Speaker B:Well, one of them has passed, but the cutest dogs.
Speaker B:And Winnie is like a person in a dog suit.
Speaker B:And my daughter would tell me these stories of what Winnie was doing that really.
Speaker B:It sounded like a little kid, you know, just an ornery little kid.
Speaker B:And she told me the first story about how they were sleeping, and in the middle of the night, she just jumped out of bed, ran downstairs and ran over to the sliding glass door and was howling like crazy.
Speaker B:And there were coyotes outside so she was like channeling her inner voice and getting in touch with her ancestors.
Speaker B:And I was just kind of mulling over that story and thought that'd make a really cute children's story.
Speaker B:And then one led to another, which led to another.
Speaker B:And I've got, I've got six single books and then matching coloring books as well.
Speaker B:So I've got 12 single books available on Amazon.
Speaker B:And then I also did a collection because I thought it'd be really cool to put them all in one book.
Speaker B:So I've got a collection, hardcover, soft cover, and also the coloring books.
Speaker B:And I've got on YouTube, I've got a YouTube channel.
Speaker B:I made video books.
Speaker B:I also am on Audible and Kindle.
Speaker A:Wow.
Speaker A:Yeah, you really went the whole route with the children's books.
Speaker A:How have you found the response to them to be.
Speaker B:I mean, everyone loves them.
Speaker B:I'm just working on marketing more.
Speaker A:So is the entire series based around your daughter's dogs or.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:So you're bringing reality into the creative side, bringing it into, you know, what, the children find more joy in life than us adults anyway, or most of them.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:So you're.
Speaker A:So you're bringing that in.
Speaker A:Did, did you, did you illustrate it all yourself or did you go out and get an illustrator?
Speaker A:What did you do to, to bring this book to life?
Speaker B:I.
Speaker B: I, I wrote the stories, like: Speaker B:And then a friend of mine self publish on Amazon and I thought, you know, it's time to do that.
Speaker B:So I, I wish I could illustrate.
Speaker B:I wish I had that talent, but I had to find someone on a website and she's from the Ukraine and I just love her illustrations.
Speaker B:She's.
Speaker B:The colors are so vibrant and the way she, you know, incorporates light in.
Speaker B:I don't.
Speaker B:It's hard to describe, but I, I feel like I found the perfect illustrator for what I wanted to capture the feeling I really love.
Speaker B:Actually, I've got a Richard Scarry book over there, but really inspired by Richard Scarry and Winnie the Pooh and, you know, the old classics.
Speaker B:And I wanted the illustrations to have like a classic look to, to them.
Speaker A:You, in your bio and on your website, you say that your life's a testament to the power of creativity and the joy of pursuing his one passions.
Speaker A:When you were in Cleveland, in your, in your marriage, were you able to outside of the church and your acting in the church, were you able to really enhance that part of you or was the personal life kind of Stifling the creative side.
Speaker B:Yeah, exactly.
Speaker B:Now, I.
Speaker B:I wasn't.
Speaker B:I was just too busy being a mom and a youth pastor and, you know, all these other things.
Speaker B:I, you know, I neglected me.
Speaker B:I didn't do that.
Speaker B:So when I moved here, I was determined to find a way to make it happen.
Speaker A:And from someone who goes from really creative, like, all through school, you know, in the church, creativity, and then neglecting yourself, when you come to the realization that, oh, my gosh, I really did leave part of me behind.
Speaker A:What did you do to kind of help bring that back to yourself?
Speaker B:Well, it's been a journey.
Speaker B:I moved here and fell apart.
Speaker B: he last, however, years since: Speaker B:So, you know, it's.
Speaker B:I just told a friend of mine recently.
Speaker C:That I'd be further ahead in life if I would have come from a healthy family.
Speaker A:We.
Speaker A:We all kind of go through some things that make us realize.
Speaker A:I just went on my own Alchemist journey two years ago.
Speaker A:I just turned 60.
Speaker A:And I went on my own alchemist journey when I was 58.
Speaker A:I thought that I had healed.
Speaker A:I thought that I had dealt with it.
Speaker A:I thought that therapy and all the other things had brought me through it.
Speaker A:And then I realized all those other things just helped me kind of bury it.
Speaker A:And until I dug in and really did the hard part, I didn't get to become who I was.
Speaker A:And I remember saying that same thing, Laura.
Speaker A:I remember saying, man, I've really wasted 58 years.
Speaker A:And I've lived a lot of places, but I've never lived in any of those places.
Speaker A:I've just kind of ghosted my way through life to get there.
Speaker A:And I really feel the last two years are the only.
Speaker A:Only two years that I've really been authentically me and being able to live my life.
Speaker A:And I look back and I said the same thing.
Speaker A:You did.
Speaker A:All those things I was doing.
Speaker A:How much better would it have been if my mom and I could have healed our traumas, if I could have just forgiven her decades ago and moved past it so I could just be me?
Speaker A:And I felt like I lived a wasted life, which is why I'm determined that the next 40 years are not going to look like the first 58 did.
Speaker A:I am going to find my inner child.
Speaker A:I'm going to heal that inner child, and I'm going to live the life I was meant to live.
Speaker A:And I sense you feel the same.
Speaker B:Oh, I love that we're in the same place.
Speaker B:I know menopause isn't A sexy word, but good lord.
Speaker B:I, I just, I, I feel like I've been in this cave for, like.
Speaker C:The last five years, and I, I just came out and, you know, I just.
Speaker C:People talk about menopause and, you know, like, the obvious physical things, but it's like, it's like a reckoning.
Speaker C:And it sounds like you had a menopause.
Speaker A:Yeah, I had a manopause.
Speaker A:My wife has definitely been experiencing it.
Speaker A:She's been chronically ill for 10 years, and one of the things that they had to do or convinced her to do was a premature hysterectomy, and that centered into early menopause and that also all the physical things that you're talking about, but people see the physical, but they don't see the mental and the emotional.
Speaker A:I can't tell you how many days she battles her mind as much as her physicality.
Speaker A:And, you know, one minute you're happy and joyous, and the next minute you're like, cradled up in a ball trying to find out why you're so sad.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Are those some of the things you've experienced?
Speaker B:You, you really have to deal with your past trauma.
Speaker B:I mean, if you don't.
Speaker B:I, I can't, I, I can't imagine having so much denial that I, you know, I, I, man, I've been through the ringer.
Speaker A:Did you find that you gravitated towards other people who were able to support and relate through that, to kind of help you out?
Speaker A:Where did you find any relief to kind of come out this other side?
Speaker A:Even though you're still going through it, you're still.
Speaker B:Well, hormone therapy.
Speaker B:I'd be a total mess without that.
Speaker B:And I had, like, actual therapy the past couple months, and my therapist suggested that I listen to a book called Wise Power.
Speaker B:Wise Power.
Speaker B:Who is it by?
Speaker B:Oh, by Alexandra Pope and another author's name that I can't pronounce.
Speaker B:But it was.
Speaker B:I found out there's five stages of menopause, and I was at the last stage, like, just, just coming out of the chrysalis, you know, but just hearing this book and this author and realizing I'm not crazy, and I thought, you know, my heart palpitations were so bad, I thought I was going to die.
Speaker B:The night sweats, you know, just the mental torment, the rumination.
Speaker B:Good Lord.
Speaker B:The depression, anxiety.
Speaker B:But I, I gotta tell you something.
Speaker B:I, I have a dear friend in Sedona.
Speaker B:This is gonna get a little woo woo for you, but I, I'm, I'm really understanding the value of ceremony and.
Speaker C:You think of ceremony.
Speaker C:Like, I think it's like when the.
Speaker C:The Jewish boys turn 13, they, you know, they.
Speaker C:They have a ceremony and, and you know, Hispanics, when the girls turn 16 and in weddings and we need more ceremony.
Speaker C:Like, menopause has been, like, kicked under the rug.
Speaker C:No one wants to talk about it, but March 23rd was my.
Speaker C:My one year anniversary.
Speaker C:I mean, we're getting a little personal here, but I feel.
Speaker C:I feel like me.
Speaker C:Like, I finally feel like me.
Speaker C:And we had a ceremony there and I.
Speaker C:I drove home just on a cloud.
Speaker C:Like, this is.
Speaker B:I'm.
Speaker C:I'm healed enough.
Speaker C:There's enough duff duct tape and stuff.
Speaker B:I'm healed enough that I can really.
Speaker C:Take on the world now.
Speaker A:I think the personal is where people learn because they can relate.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker A:And you talked about the, the woo.
Speaker A:My, my company, Praxis 33 is one of my taglines, is where the woo meets the work.
Speaker A:And so you're never going to get too wooey for.
Speaker A:For me, My.
Speaker A:My wife is a shamanic reiki healer.
Speaker A:My.
Speaker A:She's a Reiki master, traditional reiki master.
Speaker A:She does hypnotherapy and several other modalities.
Speaker A:And there's nothing energetically and spiritually that cannot be talked about enough to bring light and understanding to it.
Speaker A:And there is healing in that, because in the ceremony, not only is there the celebration, but there's the forgiveness, forgiveness of self, forgiveness of whoever the trauma was caused by, forgiveness of whatever it is.
Speaker A:But through the forgiveness and the gratitude and the celebration comes the joy that you're supposed to be experiencing.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:March 23rd.
Speaker A:Wasn't that too long ago?
Speaker A:Did you find that after the ceremony.
Speaker A:Yes, she came home feeling on a cloud.
Speaker A:But did you find that your body also felt different?
Speaker A:And I say this because in the healing that I've experienced and witnessed other people experience, a good practitioner of mine, she always says there's issues in our tissues, and we hold a lot of our traumas in our body.
Speaker A:So when I saw the release that not only I did, but my wife did, there was actually a physical transformation to the actual body because a lot of that stuff was released from our tissues.
Speaker A:Did you notice anything like that?
Speaker B:I'm not sure, but I have been doing things like doing Epsom salt baths and like the foot pads and like, feeling the need to help cleanse my body, I guess.
Speaker A:Yes, yes.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:To wash all that away.
Speaker A:Did you find that it transformed your music or your joy in what you were performing?
Speaker B:I haven't.
Speaker B:The only thing I've done musically, publicly, since that is my.
Speaker B:The celebration of life for my friend Joey.
Speaker C:And I rewrote a song, rewrote some lyrics to make it fit.
Speaker C:And, and I was in the.
Speaker B:It's Joey by Concrete Blonde.
Speaker B:And the original recording, like, she's just like ra.
Speaker B:You know, she's like really belting it out and, and I was feeling like I wanted to take it softer.
Speaker B:You, you know, so I was, I.
Speaker C:I got halfway through the song and Joey was there and like, it, it just, it just burst out of me like I was like in another world for the rest of the song.
Speaker C:I, I don't know how I kept it together.
Speaker C:Another singer came up to me and.
Speaker B:He'S like, I don't know how you.
Speaker C:Held on to that last note.
Speaker B:I'm like, I did.
Speaker B:I.
Speaker B:I don't know.
Speaker B:But it's like, it's like I feel, I feel like I, I'm able to express myself fully and speak my truth.
Speaker B:And if people don't like it, that's just too bad.
Speaker C:One thing that hit me in therapy.
Speaker B:Was this God awful sense of responsibility for everyone else's emotions.
Speaker B:So I could feel okay.
Speaker B:And I, I can't do that anymore.
Speaker A:Nor should we.
Speaker A:Standing in Our authenticity is the greatest gift we can give ourselves.
Speaker A:When I'm dealing with my clients and I talk to them because a lot of my clients are struggling to step out into their own authenticity and, you know, connect their passion and their purpose and find out who they are.
Speaker A:And I remind them that their job is to two things.
Speaker A:Your job is two things.
Speaker A:Your job as an authentic person is to be a magnet.
Speaker A:And a magnet doesn't care if it retracts or repels.
Speaker A:The right people will be attracted and the right people will be repelled.
Speaker A:Just be the magnet.
Speaker A:Don't be concerned on which end of the magnet you are.
Speaker A:Secondly, be a lighthouse.
Speaker A:And a lighthouse does not run up and down the shore looking for boats.
Speaker A:It stands on the shore shining its light and the right boats come to it.
Speaker A:So if you're an authentic magnet lighthouse, you will attract and repel, but you will draw near what is yours.
Speaker A:And that's all you need to do.
Speaker A:Be authentically you and who you are.
Speaker A:We are not responsible.
Speaker A:They never built a statue to a critic, but everybody's going to be criticized.
Speaker A:The only way you're not going to be criticized is if you're staying in your house and not doing anything.
Speaker A:And then someone will criticize you for staying in your house.
Speaker A:So live authentically who you are and that's where the joy and the real magic happens.
Speaker A:I'm going to take you back a second to this girl.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:You have the tribute to the Pat Benatar, the Precious Times, and then the Chain breakers and then Workman Productions.
Speaker A:Can you kind of explain some of those?
Speaker B:Sure.
Speaker B:So Precious Time was my first.
Speaker B:My first show.
Speaker B:It was an hour and 45 minutes, 22 pap and a tar songs.
Speaker B:So I had had that show for a couple years, and the band kind of blew up, and then I created a new band.
Speaker B:I wanted to incorporate another character.
Speaker B:And I love Chrissy Hine.
Speaker B:She's.
Speaker B:I'm from Cleveland, she's from Akron.
Speaker B:She has lived in Cleveland.
Speaker B:I love her music.
Speaker B:It.
Speaker B:It felt like a challenge to take her on, and so I decided to go with Chain Breaker.
Speaker B:So I cut Pat's show in half, and I do one hour.
Speaker B:Pat.
Speaker B:One hour of Chrissy.
Speaker B:And the.
Speaker B:The pink wig thing, I guess you'd call it my alter ego.
Speaker B:I have a.
Speaker B:Well, I don't know if you can see it.
Speaker B:It's the.
Speaker B:It's the tattoo here.
Speaker A:I'll bring you on.
Speaker A:Go ahead, show it.
Speaker B:Oh, yeah, I have it.
Speaker B:So when.
Speaker B:Oh, when I look at it.
Speaker B:Oh, my gosh, I'm going the wrong way.
Speaker B:This is so funny.
Speaker B:But it's on my.
Speaker B:My T shirt as well.
Speaker B:And the banner.
Speaker B:It's me with my pink hair.
Speaker C:It's.
Speaker B:It's like the superhero version of myself, I guess.
Speaker B:It's.
Speaker B:It's like the strongest, sexiest, doesn't screw up, fierce.
Speaker B:That.
Speaker B:That's.
Speaker B:That's my alter ego.
Speaker A:And what do you.
Speaker A:What do you call her?
Speaker A:Because she looks like a badass.
Speaker B:Phoenix.
Speaker A:Phoenix.
Speaker A:There you go.
Speaker A:Phoenix and the Workman Productions.
Speaker A:I love the logo, by the way.
Speaker B:Thank you.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Chad gbt.
Speaker B:I gotta.
Speaker B:What can I say?
Speaker B:Well, I.
Speaker B:So I created Workman productions.
Speaker B: Was it: Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:10 years ago.
Speaker B:Just to encompass all the creative things that I do.
Speaker B:I.
Speaker B:I make videos and reels and books, and it's pretty much just, you know, it's an LLC just to kind of blanket whatever creative thing I'm doing.
Speaker A:Well, there's a lot of creativity and power in that, and you can really see the, you know, the essence of what you're trying to accomplish.
Speaker A:Especially when you got the wig on, you're just like, you know, you step into that new world.
Speaker A:Have you found a way to step into that person without the wig?
Speaker B:Yeah, I have.
Speaker A:Good.
Speaker B:It's just more fun when I have all the stuff on right yeah.
Speaker A:The more joy.
Speaker A:That's for sure.
Speaker A:You say in your bio that your life is a blend of artistic passion.
Speaker A:What did you mean by that?
Speaker B:There's just so many things that I want to do that I get.
Speaker B:I overwhelm myself.
Speaker B:Like I.
Speaker B:I've got a list of stuff I'm always working on.
Speaker B:I'm.
Speaker B:I'm writing a new book.
Speaker B:I'm editing it right now for grown ups.
Speaker B:I'm writing not adult books, but books for adults.
Speaker A:There's a difference, right?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And it's actually kind of birthed out of the last couple months and another breakup and taking a good hard look in the mirror at my anxious attachment style and how to deal with it.
Speaker B:So my, my new book is called.
Speaker B:It's got a long title, Avoidant or anxiously attached.
Speaker B:The no BS guide to heal your attachment style, Release fear and break free from toxic cyc.
Speaker B:Goes to build a relationship.
Speaker B:That.
Speaker A:That's going to roll off the tongue, right?
Speaker A:That.
Speaker A:That's definitely going to roll off the tongue.
Speaker A:And what are you finding is one of your root causes for this codependent type behavior?
Speaker B:Oh, my family just growing.
Speaker B:I grew up to my family members, so it's, you know, I had three.
Speaker B:Two older brothers, eight and nine years older.
Speaker B: The oldest one passed in: Speaker B:Nine.
Speaker B:A while ago he was diagnosed with schizophrenia and manic depressive disorder.
Speaker B:The younger of the two has his own undiagnosed issues and we no longer talk.
Speaker B:The parent was a narcissist, my mom was a narcissist and the undiagnosed brother was a narcissist.
Speaker B:So there was a lot of hard things going on at home.
Speaker B:It was not a good atmosphere for a young girl to grow up in with two brothers like that.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:And you know, my mother, she did a pretty decent job till they just.
Speaker B:They got involved in selling log homes.
Speaker B:They had, we had a family grocery store and then they got another franchise selling log homes and it was like I disappeared.
Speaker B:So it was just hard growing up with that much mental illness and just being alone.
Speaker B:Left alone with my brothers a lot and mommy issues, you know, it's no wonder.
Speaker A:How did that translate?
Speaker A:Like, how did you meet your husband then?
Speaker B:Oh, I met him in high school.
Speaker B:I.
Speaker B:I got married two months out of high school.
Speaker B:I.
Speaker B:Why didn't someone stop me?
Speaker B:I.
Speaker B:I tried to break up with them it the April before we got married.
Speaker B:But whatever, it's too late now.
Speaker B:I was going to an all girls Catholic high school at the time.
Speaker A:There you go.
Speaker A:Do you.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:That.
Speaker A:That says a lot.
Speaker A:Did you feel.
Speaker A:Or as you look back, do you feel like you were running towards the marriage to run away from the house?
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:And then how long did you stay in that relationship?
Speaker B:Too long.
Speaker B:21 years.
Speaker A:Wow.
Speaker A:That is a long time for that.
Speaker A:Was the awakening in you what created the separation, or was it just time to figure out Laura?
Speaker B:Yeah, he just was getting more abusive, and I just needed to get out in order to get healthy.
Speaker B:And it's taken me since.
Speaker B: Well, we got divorced, what,: Speaker B:It's taken me almost 20 years.
Speaker A:Well, sometimes, you know, we.
Speaker A:We lose ourselves in a long period of time.
Speaker A:It takes a long time to rebuild ourselves.
Speaker A:How has this shaped your relationship with your children?
Speaker A:I know that you're, you know, using your.
Speaker A:Your daughter's animal life to propel your stories, but how's.
Speaker A:How's the relationship overall with your.
Speaker A:With your children?
Speaker B:That's a hard one.
Speaker B:My oldest, it's.
Speaker B:It's fine.
Speaker B:My youngest and I had to work through some stuff, and my daughter's not talking to me right now.
Speaker B:I, unfortunately got married so young and so unhealthy that I passed my trauma onto my kids.
Speaker B:So now they've got to deal with.
Speaker A:Happens.
Speaker A:Gene generational trauma is a real thing, and until someone is willing to break the cycle, it is a hard thing.
Speaker A:And knowing, even in my family, I mean, I think there was 20 years where I didn't talk to my sister, and we're just now starting to reconnect.
Speaker A:I don't talk to any of my other siblings for various reasons.
Speaker A:And when my mom passed away in October, our relationship was very superficial because she never wanted to ever talk about anything that happened with us growing up.
Speaker A:And part of the forgiveness and part of my own ceremony is I began to realize that she just didn't have the tools in her toolbox because it was passed on from her father, who was an absolute tyrant.
Speaker A:And if you don't have the tools in the toolbox, but you're not willing to talk about any of that.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:You know, it becomes very hard to have a decent relationship.
Speaker A:And so she, you know, we were.
Speaker A:We were civil and acrimonious, and I love my mom, but we weren't close, and we weren't as close as we could have been if she would have just been willing to talk about any of it, you know, so I totally understand the dynamics of what you're going through.
Speaker A:And when people break the chain, sometimes you don't have the same people around you.
Speaker A:And some of those People are family, you know, they don't, they don't come along with the same desire for healing.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:Well, I, my, my mother had the same issue with her mother and probably the same, you know, on and on, and I just decided I'm not, things aren't right.
Speaker B:You know, I, I, I can feel from you the feelings I used to have for my mother.
Speaker B:I feel that from you.
Speaker B:And that hurts.
Speaker B:And we need to fix that.
Speaker B:And whatever you need to say to me, say it.
Speaker A:Well, I, it's interesting.
Speaker A:My, my wife had a ceremony of her own a while back and within that ceremony she saw her mother in the womb.
Speaker A:Not her in her mother's womb, but she saw her mother in her mother's womb.
Speaker A:And she could feel the things that the grandmother was passing down to the unborn child, which were then passed down to my wife.
Speaker A:And we don't, some people don't understand that when a female is born, she's already born with eggs.
Speaker A:And so those connections to her lineage are already inside her.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker A:And unless she grows up understanding how to break that cycle, whatever that cord that connects to the past, connects to your present, and it takes a great amount of awareness and a lot of work to really break all that.
Speaker A:So kudos for you to step out in whatever capacity that needed for you to start your own healing journey.
Speaker A:And it is a journey, it's not a destination.
Speaker A:You know, you referenced that it's been 10 years here or 20 years there and it's truly going to be a lifetime of healing.
Speaker A:But it won't be as painful as you continue to heal along the way.
Speaker A:But yeah, time is irrelevant as long as you're doing the work.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:I kind of feel like for me the worst is over.
Speaker A:Time to get back to time to get back to this woman right here.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker A:We'll take away this one, we'll take away that one.
Speaker B:There you go, that one.
Speaker A:We'll just leave this one.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker A:Time to get back to this woman right here.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:So I, I definitely feel that you're on the right track.
Speaker A:The enchantments of Winnie and Greg is your current one and the long titled one is your writing.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Avoidant or anxiously attached.
Speaker A:When you were writing the book, what did you sense from the animal that you could bring into your own reality?
Speaker A:Because there is a connection there or you wouldn't have written 12 books about it or had a series.
Speaker A:So what were you finding in the animal that you were also channeling through yourself?
Speaker B:I, I adore Winnie.
Speaker B:I love I loved Greg, but Winnie, I don't know, she's like my spirit animal or something.
Speaker B:I just, I just adore her.
Speaker B:And so my daughter moved to Arizona when Winnie was a baby.
Speaker B:And I actually changed the story a little bit.
Speaker B:In the book, she.
Speaker B:She moved here with Winnie and then she got Greg.
Speaker B:Whatever, it doesn't matter.
Speaker B:So was I gonna say I lost my train of thought?
Speaker A:That's okay.
Speaker A:You were channeling the dog.
Speaker A:And what kind of dog is it, by the way?
Speaker B:Oh, I am so bad with remembering breeds.
Speaker B:It's like a, it's called a teddy bear dog.
Speaker B:She can get, like long eyelash.
Speaker B:I think she's like a shih Tzu mix.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:So my daughter moved here and moved in with me and my dad, I don't know, 10ish years ago and had Winnie.
Speaker B:And Winnie was a maniac.
Speaker B:She was just running, like, just running, running.
Speaker B:She would not stop running.
Speaker B:And the only thing that I found to calm her down, I grabbed her and I, I went and I'm growling in her ear and she stopped moving.
Speaker B:She stopped moving.
Speaker B:She.
Speaker B:It's, it's a weird thing they have with a dog, but she loves me.
Speaker B:And when I saw her for Thanksgiving, she stuck her head out.
Speaker B:She's like, oh, do it, do it.
Speaker B:And then, and then she flipped her other ear.
Speaker B:She's like, I'll do that one too.
Speaker A:That's awesome.
Speaker B:I just, I love them.
Speaker A:But did you find.
Speaker A:Other than the love, because animals are, are easy to love, did you find some kind of solace or connection to this dog that caused you to write about this dog?
Speaker B:Just.
Speaker B:Well, I lived with her for a few years, you know, like one year here, one year there, and taking care of her, and she's just.
Speaker B:I guess she's like a grandkid in a way.
Speaker B:I don't know.
Speaker B:I, I don't have any real grandkids.
Speaker B:She's.
Speaker B:I guess she's just like my.
Speaker B:My fur grandkid.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:She's your fur grandkid?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:I mean, I love putting dresses or on her and stuff.
Speaker B:She's so fun.
Speaker A:Oh, you're one of those owners My.
Speaker B:My daughter's got outfits for.
Speaker B:She doesn't wear them very often, but.
Speaker A:That's funny.
Speaker A:Does she have, does she have.
Speaker A:Does she have a wig like this?
Speaker B:No, she doesn't have a wig.
Speaker B:She has a Christmas dress and she had it on for Christmas.
Speaker B:And I'm looking at her, I'm like, wait a minute.
Speaker B:The front of her dress is really on her back.
Speaker B:I don't know, it just struck me as funny.
Speaker A:So Winnie's one of those kind of dogs.
Speaker A:I see.
Speaker A:If you were to, if you were to reach out to somebody or someone was to reach out to you, and they were going through, whether it be the trauma, release the menopause, finding the creativity in the spirit, you know, fulfilling their passion, what would you, what would you say to those people?
Speaker B:Oh, my gosh, I don't know where to start.
Speaker B:I guess I start with asking, what did you, what did you want to do?
Speaker B:Who did you want to be when you were little?
Speaker B:Like 5ish?
Speaker B:You know, old enough to, to know stuff, but not old enough to be affected by the world too much?
Speaker B:I don't know, I, It's.
Speaker B:I mean, it starts with discovering what makes you happy, what brings you joy, and then learning to tune into that and follow that and follow your intuition.
Speaker B:I mean, like, just be.
Speaker B:When I was waiting for this interview, I was like, what am I going to do right now?
Speaker B:And then I, I thought about something.
Speaker B:There's this, this meme that's taken off and I thought that'd be a really good T shirt.
Speaker B:So I was working on T shirt, but it's, it's like, like getting to the point where you're in touch with yourself enough to know what will bring you joy and then to be attentive enough for when those little nudges hit you.
Speaker B:Like, I don't, I don't know if you've noticed my goofy videos on Facebook lately, the dog videos, but I was just, I get inspired to do, to film videos sometimes, and it's not always when I look nice.
Speaker B:My hair was atrocious that day, but I'm like, eff it, I'm just gonna film a bunch of videos.
Speaker B:So I filmed a bunch of videos and kind of played off the whole messed up hair thing with a few of them.
Speaker B:And, and, and yeah, like, I, I've had a lot of those and I'm learning to listen to that.
Speaker B:And that T shirt thing this morning.
Speaker B:I'm like, wait a minute, is that one of those.
Speaker A:Well, I appreciate that you are unabashedly you.
Speaker A:And you just show up being you and living in your joy and your happiness.
Speaker A:And that's a place that I hope a lot of my listeners can get to because we all have stuff, but we all have to also find the joy, whatever that is for us.
Speaker A:So, you know, the creativity, the.
Speaker A:I, I don't know that a lot of people want to be authors, but I think a lot more people should definitely write.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Even if it's a sentence or silly poem or whatever.
Speaker A:Just write stuff down.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Journaling.
Speaker B:Just get it out.
Speaker A:Yeah, get it out.
Speaker A:Because it.
Speaker A:It's.
Speaker A:There is something truly cathartic about putting your thoughts, experiences, passions, whatever it is, on paper, and I think that's creativity.
Speaker A:Kids.
Speaker A:Children have unabashed imagination and creativity, and then the world around them crushes it out of them.
Speaker A:And as adults, I think we need to learn how to reconnect with that and bring it back out, whatever that is, you know?
Speaker B:Absolutely.
Speaker A:Tap your fingers on a.
Speaker A:On a.
Speaker A:On a desk, you know, shake a tambourine, whatever it is.
Speaker A:Just find some form of creativity, because you'll be surprised at how much joy that brings back to your life.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:You know, and try new things.
Speaker B:You just don't know.
Speaker B:Just because you're older doesn't mean you can't try new things.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:I think if you're compelled to even think about it, you should be compelled to at least say yes to it once.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:I mean, I.
Speaker B:I'm not considering myself a painter, but I remember as a kid loving to play with watercolors and stuff, and I've got this huge canvas sitting in my storage room, and I'm like, maybe I'm supposed to start painting.
Speaker B:I don't know.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Anything that brings that creative joy back out to you.
Speaker A:And you don't have to be using paint as an example.
Speaker A:You don't have to be a fantastic painter.
Speaker A:I mean, go to any art gallery.
Speaker A:There's people that get paid to put a taped banana on a wall.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker B:Don't be afraid to try.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Don't be afraid to try.
Speaker A:Laura, I appreciate you coming on and doing this today.
Speaker A:I'm going to ask you one final question that I do ask all my guests.
Speaker A:What does a warrior spirit, or having a warrior spirit mean to Laura Workman?
Speaker B:Just not giving up, even.
Speaker B:There were so many times I'd.
Speaker B:I just didn't want to wake up in the morning and just.
Speaker B:Just having the resolve to hang in there and not let people or life experiences make you bitter and change who you are inside.
Speaker A:Well, you're doing a great job of.
Speaker A:Of showing up in spite of all that's going on.
Speaker A:And I appreciate you doing this today, and thank you for joining me on the show.
Speaker A:I appreciate you very much.
Speaker B:Thank you for having me.
Speaker A:All right.
Speaker A:And if you'd like to get in touch with Laura, there's her social media platforms, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, and also her book is available as well.
Speaker A:So feel free to reach out, explore your creativity, and do your best to find joy in your life.
Speaker A:And as always, I want to thank you for joining us on this edition of A Warrior Spirit.
Speaker A:Be sure to like or subscribe to catch all those episodes and make it your best day.
