Did you exchange a walk on part in the war, for a lead role in a cage….?” Pink Floyd
Genius lyrics, for sure, as it always made me ask myself, “Am I compromising my hopes and dreams for the easy way out?”
There comes a day in everyone’s life when we have to find the courage to break out of the usual and into the unknown.
As a full time COTA, I worked with the geriatric community. Often, regardless of the individuals circumstances and needs, there always appeared to be the prevailing problem of fear. Fear of change, fear of the future, fear of not surviving, and believe it or not, there was the fear of only surviving, and not really living. And there it is, the cruel truth of our real battle. I spent many sessions with people helping them understand and accepting a new way of living. No, it may not be what they were always used to, but it can be an adventure and the place that they are mean’t to experience. ‘When one door closes…. ‘ And while their bodies may have changed, their minds may be stuck in a place where they no longer live. The challenge is to achieve balance of mind, body and spirit.
Now the time has come for me to venture out of my comfortable cage, and to transition to giving massages full time. Just as difficult as change has been for my patients, now I face the same challenges. I choose to see this as a wonderful adventure, as I have always faced the many changes in my life. Opening a massage business has been a dream of mine for a long time. I want a place that eventually includes a wonderful team, much like the team I left behind. A ‘family’ of healthcare workers that share the same passion I have… to help people find and live the best lives they can. All the answers are ultimately within ourselves. We just need the assist to find it and the courage to use it. My mission is, and always has been, to do just that…with all my clients.
Bodywork is the portal to the mind and spirit… and I use it to achieve balance to enable my clients to move forward in their lives with ease… without pain and without fear.
Massage is a passion of mine, as it enables me to help people one on one, with the complete focus on them, without distractions. The results I’ve seen have been
amazing. I’ve been giving massages to clients in their homes for twenty years, and now I’m bringing clients to my office space in SeaBreeze Plaza, at My Salon Suites, in Palm Harbor. Very exciting!
Through it all, I feel gratitude. For a career that gave me so much joy, for having a passion that I can transition to, for the wonderful support of family and friends, for a husband that only wants the best for me, and yes, for the angels that kicked me out of my comfortable cage.
If you stuck with this blog to the end, then I invite you to come back and read the continuation of my journey. I seek to fill these pages with uplifting news, health and exercise tips, laughter, and all that I’ve learned in life up to this point.
Thank you for being a part of my journey!
Diana T. Matthews, LMT, COTA
License MA31431