Fear. Disruption. Loss.
No one experiences these sensations more acutely than an infant snatched from their mother’s womb. Tranquility, predictability, warmth are instantly replaced by the blinding glare and cacophony of the outside world.
And then, snip.
With that unkindest of cuts, this helpless being is untethered from the comfortable, familiar universe they’d known for months.
This grim existence gives way to an invigorating rebirth of sorts. The child learns how to love other human beings; how to paint beautiful dreamscapes; What was once scary and familiar is now replaced by a boundless panoply of possibilities. The cosseted, helpless, mindless embryo evolves into a bundle of creativity and energy.
This untethering does not end here.
For 40 years, I lived in a gilded cage: an upper middle-class childhood, followed by education at top universities, a series of jobs at reputable companies, and a picture-perfect marriage.
Like an infant, I was suddenly yanked from this illusion of tranquility. My loving husband — who had suffered from undiagnosed bipolar disorder for decades — suddenly transformed into a cold, vengeful monster. Each day I walked on eggshells, fearful of the havoc he continued to wreak on the lives of my 3 helpless children and me. Friends and family who I looked to for safe harbor only exacerbated the situation, forcing me to question my own sanity. Engulfed in this smoldering hell on Earth, I sat back while my career, physical health, and faith in humanity eroded before my eyes.
Then, suddenly the turmoil gave way to a renaissance. My husband assented to my frantic pleas to seek treatment. We began rebuilding our marriage and family to become stronger than ever before. And finally, I leveraged the insights from this experience in a dramatic professional shift. I committed myself to healing the most intractable diseases known to man, with the launch of GIOSTAR’s Chicago location.
This untethering — which I once viewed with dread — was liberating. I learned to trust myself, and trust in the energy that I put out to the universe, and what it would return to me. I now approach each day with vigor by tackling apprehensions about the unknown with the stamina of a precocious child unconstrained by doubt and fear.
I hope that by sharing my story, my audience will experience the infinite rewards of untethering their mind, body, and soul.
My manuscript depicting this journey is ready for publication. Please contact me at: shelly@giostarchicago.com for inquires or interview requests.