Editor's Letter: Issue 02: Sonia Choquette

Kristen Noel, photographed by Bill Miles

Dear Best Selfers:

Is a walk ever just a walk, or is it nature’s way of communing with us in the form of active meditation — shaking us by both shoulders as if to say, listen to me.

Nothing seems to solve the immediate problems of the world better than a good walk.

So, step away from the desk and go breathe some fresh air. These boots were made for walking.

When world-renowned intuitive guide and spiritual teacher, author of 19 international best-selling books, Sonia Choquette, found herself on the floor — broken and humbled, begging for guidance — she got the hit to embark upon the age-old practice of spiritual pilgrimage, to walk the Camino de Santiago. She had never done anything like this before in her life, but desperate times required desperate measures. In this refreshingly candid, real and raw account, she not only bares herself within her new book, WALKING HOME: A pilgrimage from humbled to healed, in a very personal way, but by sharing this experience she paves the way, reminding us that we are each availed of the same possibility — it is ours for the choosing.

We decided to build issue #2 around this notion of the journey home, the journey back to our authentic selves, our inner compass and calling.

At the pinnacle of her success, Sonia experienced a face-off with herself that needed tending to. None of us, even our beloved spiritual guides and teachers, are immune to the human experience. Potholes arrive for all of us, in all shapes and sizes. But what if we could reassess how we view these perceived hiccups — what if we could embrace them as teachers and gifts, not “problems?”

Whether we embark upon an 800 km spiritual pilgrimage or a brisk walk around the block, we are each afforded the opportunity to treat our emotions as a holy experience. Sonia’s book (which is a must read at least 2x) stands as a testament to what is possible when we do not shove our emotions aside. We are not meant to get over them, we are meant to feel them. In doing so, we move closer to our best selves, to our true soul-calling and purpose. And in a world of great upheaval, pain and suffering — it allows us to be the light, to do our part to shift the collective consciousness.

We have to decide what side of the line are we standing on — the side led by fear, or the one that resonates true love.

Light extinguishes darkness. Be that light for your own emotions and watch the world around you illuminate.

When we embrace possibility, wondrous things appear — just peruse the line-up of my latest co-creators who are each in their own divine way spreading their brilliance in the world. As they tap into their unique gifts and share them, we are all touched by a piece of greatness igniting something within us.

Home for the holidays? For each of us, home can mean something different. During this holiday season and at the onset of a new year… what are you going to gift yourself? What emotions have you been shoving aside, suppressing, trying to ignore? Could you allow yourself to redesign this relationship to your human experience and, in the spirit of Sonia, pack a backpack (even a virtual one) and give yourself permission to feel? Wrap it in a bright red bow, place it in a pretty box and bring on your new year with a new you!

And remember to walk.

The best in me reaching out to the best in you.

Love and Walking shoes, Kristen