014. On Being Seen

(n): a sense of fluidity between your body and mind, where you are totally absorbed by and deeply focused on something, beyond the point of distraction.

DAMN. I mean really damn.

What a year.

You might have to make space in your heart for one more New Year reflection/recap. I know, I know — it’s a lot. I’ve seen every social media post and read every LinkedIn update (side note: LinkedIn will forever be the bane of my existence, but I will learn to LOVE IT FOR THE SAKE OF MY BUSINESS, GODDAMN IT)….

Anyways, needed to get that one out….

I have to say, this year has forever changed me. Some years are made for that. And this one didn’t disappoint.

It shifted me. It matured me. It taught me not to take life too seriously. It showed me that noticing the little things in life is arguably the secret to happiness. It opened my heart to love nature again. It reminded me that I love to sing. It taught me I can trust my body to do incredible things, like climbing the tallest waterfall in North America. It broke patterns. It helped me shed skins and awakened something new within me.

The most surprising gift it’s given me is the gift of connection.

I noticed that for the last few years of my life, I’ve been operating a bit in the shadows. I have purposefully been off social media, as many of you know, and have since made my TRIUMPHANT return (lol). As I began to interact with it more and catch up on people’s lives I hadn’t thought about in years, I realized how much I had closed my heart. Afraid to take up space and be loud. Afraid to connect.

Learning to emerge and be visible again has pierced through my deep wound of being seen, rooted in my fear of being judged. I had kind of disappeared from showing myself publicly for a number of different reasons. Some of it was fear of my weight being judged (as you know from a previous newsletter, I’ve struggled with that deeply). Some of it was because I realized I had an unhealthy scrolling habit. But mostly, it was because I could tell I wasn’t being authentic and was merely “performing” for views and validation.

Because I was offline, my circle of exposure narrowed significantly. I was directly in contact with a handful of people who were in my immediate orbit and closed myself off to the rest of the world.

I mean I’m definitely being a bit dramatic 😂 - but it’s true.

As I’ve slowly started to regain confidence and love for myself, I’ve had to address that specific fear: being seen without caring who judges me. Opening my heart back up to the amazing people I’ve encountered along the way has been such an unexpected gift. What I’ve loved about being back online is noticing how my perspective of others has changed. Seeing the faces of my old friends smiling at me through the screen has brought me so much joy and warmth. I don’t know if I used to have that feeling before….

It’s given me the ability to reclaim lost ties and connections that were once so deep and meet each other as adults. Having all gone through our own experiences of loss and joy, our faces a bit older, I’ve been so touched to reconnect with old friends. I’ve been met with extreme support and happiness, and it’s warmed my heart even more.

Instead of being afraid of connection for fear of being judged, this new year and season are all about opening my heart fully to everyone in my life. Allowing people in. Building strong community. Leaning into the magic of collaboration and togetherness.

After all, we’re all just different versions of each other doing the best we can with the tools we have 😉. So why not support each other along the way? This life isn’t meant to be lived in isolation — it’s meant to be lived in concert with every other note.

As I build The Rewilding Collective, I know a big part of it has to be online. It’s part of the work that needs to be done — not just for others, but for myself as well. I’m excited to leverage it to help amplify the mission of what I’m building, and my aim is to be as authentic and grounded as I can while maintaining strong discernment around how much I use it.

So with that, this newsletter might start shifting slightly into content focused more on the entrepreneurial journey, what I’m experiencing as part of this work, and the things I’m learning along the way. I want to invest time in developing new and updated newsletter sections and play around with different designs.

I hope to still have you here as I move into this next season 🙏.

I hope you all have such an incredibly restful holiday season and I can’t wait to connect with each and every one of you more personally in the New Year 💓 

Warmly,

Dina

I’ve shared this podcast in the past but I wanted to flag it again for those who are looking for a heart-centered podcast that helps you uncover the deeper meaning of things. I love Andre’s style as an interviewer - he’s great at looking at things from multiple perspectives and the guests he has on his podcast are extremely mentally stimulating. Not for the light hearted though, it’s for when you’re in the mood to ponder the meaning of life and your purpose within it.

Until next time! 👋