The Full Story
More About Me
There is so much to talk about these days, and that's my plan. Writing, Saying, Doing, has been a part of my pattern in the last quarter of my life. Along my way I found something uniquely incredible... I found meaning, truth, and understanding in the power of writing. I truly want to bring you along this unedited journey, but not just my journey, your journey, our journey. Our lives have such an amazing purpose, and I firmly believe that the purpose is YOU!! It is our moment to look within and thrive... So, before we get into it, allow me to tell you a little about myself, then we can truly embark on our journey together!
My HOME
Well, I was born right after New Years on the 75th Birthday of my sweet coastal town as the Jubilee Baby of Glacé Bay (which means, Bay of Ice). Glacé Bay is on the Island of Cape Breton in the Beautiful Province of Nova Scotia... If you are from there, or you know someone from Nova Scotia, I hope you are smiling as you read this, because I am. There is something magical about that place.
I was blessed to have had a pretty amazing family, and childhood! I mean, did we all agree on everything -No- but, my father worked hard to give my mother, my two sisters and myself everything. We were very aware of how hard my mother and father worked to make our family whole. They actually got married, worked, saved the money, and bought the land to build the house that we were all raised in. What a dream. As I write this the tears roll down my face because as a little one, even a baby in diapers I have very vivid memories of my parents holding me in their arms, laying in bed with them. I can still feel it. I close my eyes and I can smell my mothers homemade bread, taste her fruitcake (that stuff is labour intensive) and the smell of Pine-sol. Its embedded in my soul.
Still to this day, the memories of my youth bring me more appreciation than one could ever imagine. My father was my hero and just knowing my mother was an honour. But one thing will never change, being my mothers daughter will always be my claim to fame!!
Our summers were filled with camping vacations, and they were action packed!
We stayed busy always.....the idol hand... you know the saying. All too well for me!
Love Hard and Work Hard
So, I loved sports, community, the environment, seniors, babies, boys, my girlfriends, neighbours, relatives, animals. I grew up with a horse, Chadabrette, I had two childhood dogs. Bear-AKA- "The Bad Ass of Dominion Street" and when Bear passed away (which still moves me) we adopted J-SEA. So J-Sea was the dog my mother picked, my father wanted a boy dog, but Mom wanted this little ball of love, so she came up with the Name which was J (for James, my father's name) S (for Shauna, my older sister) E (for Elizabeth-me) and A (for Andrea my younger sister). Could there be anything more perfect!! My mother always made everything that way. I had a gerbil named Speedy, and two domesticated mice named Buddy and Gretchen. Buddy and Gretchen lived a little past five years, and they were the sweetest little creatures ever to live!
Well as life went on, I contributed to the sleeve of organizations by volunteering. I was a brownie, girl guide, sang in the choir, took piano lessons, was a tap, jazz and ballet dancer, was a member of police girls club (floor hockey) — I played ice hockey, rugby (stand off). I was a lifeguard, surf guard, I taught first aid, CPR, water safety, ice safety, boat safety, diving safety. Worked at a video store, a convenience store. I and worked as a server, graduated from University, travelled around, passed the board exam and became a registered acupuncturist. It was then, experiencing the great honour of being trusted with my clients' health, that I started to become enlightened in a way that made me want to help everyone in a more personal way. So, I started writing. However, I really started discovering my love for writing when a patient suggested to me that I should start a podcast about health and Chinese Medicine. As my research detailed on what was required to get a podcast started, I recall reading the importance of having prerecorded episodes, and lots of ideas ready to go.
On my journey of researching topics, I noticed that that the topics were looking more like a collection of experiences. I started to read some of my ideas, and hopeful compelling content to my partner. I remember he looked at me and said, “That's not a podcast, Elizabeth, that is a freaking book.” He was right, I felt it, and that really got the ball rolling.
As the flow of ideas from my experiences kept coming to me, I found myself filled with immense emotion. I just wanted a positive message to reach my readers, and I wanted them to share it, with anyone that would listen. If we are here on earth, well, This is It, this is our moment. We have noting else, so let's make it count!
Truth, Love, and Respect,
Elizabeth Ann O'Handley Coles
