My Story
Hi, I'm Clara Goldberg-Freeman. I've been an Army military spouse since 2005 and have learned that chocolate, coffee and my instant pot would keep me going on a desert island- or certainly between our many moves! So far, we've lived in Texas, Maryland, Kansas, Kentucky, Alaska, Germany, Hawaii and now Oklahoma City!
All of these moves have certainly been challenging and quite a drastic life change from growing up in Brooklyn, New York! But I would say the most challenging and soul-searching experience was figuring out my sense of self and purpose, while being a stay-at-home mom. Even with my master's degree and “knowing” that I was more than what my day-to-day response of “what did you today?” appeared to look and sound like, I have really struggled to gain a sense of purpose in which I feel valued.
Not feeling valued is more than a feeling of not being “recognized”—that’s more of the ego talking. But I've learned that not feeling valued is that whisper, or sometimes, yelling out from the soul to really dig deep to find a sense of purpose or figure out what your calling is. There are times in my journey when I ignored the whisper, felt sorry for myself, or just didn’t have the energy because of my hectic life as a mom and military spouse. But then there have been the quieter times and the opportunities to listen to what my soul was asking. And even when I did listen, it wasn’t always a straight line of “a ha!” and “light bulb” moments. But little by little, I have learned to again invest in my well-being, on many levels; learning strategies to have my behaviors, my thoughts, and my intentions become aligned with the essence of my true self.
Many times, this process has felt uncomfortable, as my brain and body adjusted to the new rhythms of interacting with my old patterns of doing things. But I’ve been able to come to a place where I now trust that discomfort as a sign that I’m doing the right thing. I don’t believe that saying “everything happens for a reason.” But I do believe that with intention, meaning can come from everything we go through in life. And now I want to share with other women, the lessons and the strategies I’ve learned from my professional background, trainings and workshops I’ve attended, and the dozens of books I’ve read. We may not have the same life experiences, but I believe the struggle to get some clarity with a more confident sense of purpose, and sense of self, is one of those journeys all women are called to experience at least once in their life. I'd be honored to join you on yours...