Reframe Your Life

Do you like clothes? Do you love fashion? Do you enjoy putting together outfits? Or are clothes more utilitatrian for you? My mother has told me I've always loved fashion. I remember riding my bike to a casket factory and dumpster diving for silk remants to make my Barbie doll clothes when I was a kid. (Clearly that was back in the day when ten year olds were out exploring the neighbourhood on their bikes without parental supervision.) My friends and I would go find all kinds of beautiful fabrics and come home and hand sew outfits. And it wasn't just my dolls that were well dressed. I started carrying a purse when I was 5. I worked in retail stores throughout high school so I could buy clothes with an employee discount. I can tell you what I was wearing in all of the significant memories of my life.

So when I started looking at the bigger impact of my clothing purchases it was disturbing. Was I supporting garment factories? I had no idea how much water it took to make one T-Shirt. (It takes 2700 litres of water to make one T-Shirt.) This awareness that my choices were actually hurting people and our planet created a crisis for me. Then to top it off the first time I went to Cambodia I saw first hand the living conditions of garment workers. It was deeply disturbing.  

When I returned to Canada I decided to start being more thoughtful about my purchases. And I took to social media to find out more. On Instagram I discovered this week's guest, Leah Wise. She is a writer and blogger based in Charlottesville, Virginia. Her expertise in the fields of sustainable fashion and social justice have afforded her the opportunity to write for publications such as Elephant Journal, Mind Body Green, Relevant Magazine, and Christianity Today, as well as on her own blog, stylewise-blog.com. Over the past five years, Leah has created successful influencer marketing campaigns with dozens of ethical brands on her blog platform. Leah has been named a top sustainable blogger by Bustle, ORIGIN Magazine, AGAATI, FeedSpot, and Moon Cloth, and has received various write-ups on ethical lifestyle blogs and brand websites.

Here are some of the highlights of what we talked about and links to some of her articles for more on those topics.

Capsule Wardrobes: If you love expressing yourself through fashion and the idea of limiting yourself to 33 items makes you feel stifled creatively check out Leah’s take on capsule wardrobes. Read her blog post here: Why I Quit My Capsule Wardrobe Leah also talks about the Wonder Wardrobe Capsule Closet Course - read her blog post about it here and if it appeals to you there is a discount code at the end of her post if you decide to sign up.

Are you wondering about sustainable/ethical/fair trade and other terms? When you start to think about your purchases including clothing you begin to encounter a lot of new terms. Leah defines them in this episode and in more detail on her website. This resource is very helpful as you start to navigate this new world in your clothing shopping.

We discussed Leah's blog post:

I've been eager to get this new episode up and to share this new venture with you. And a little freaked out as well!  I've always related to these words from the T.S. Eliot's Four Quartets: 

I've experienced this truth in my life many times. And so it wasn't surprising to me that after years of rethinking my faith and beliefs that I would find myself back where I started - wanting to share my story with women. I am wired to want to pass on my learning to others. I call myself a 'learning catalyst.' I like to share resources and have conversations that will help you navigate life transitions and challenges. For me, that includes spirituality and faith.

I am drawn to big questions of life. All of us, wherever we sit in our beliefs are trying to make sense of the world. And many of us have found our faith lacking (my apologies to G.K. Chesterton). So when Jo-Anne decided that her time with Reframe Your Life was coming to an end, I was ready to take it into a new direction. I've been interviewing guests and I'm starting to see that a new path opening up as I move forward. I hope you will hang in for a little while why I sort it all out. And please give me feedback as well!

(Photo credit: Jose Antonio Gallego Vazquez)

I'm interested in knowing what will be of interest and helpful to you in your life.

On this episode I give you a bit more of my background and how I am refocusing.

Get out your journal! I hope your summer includes some time for reflection. I've created a download for you called "Reclaiming Your Faith." It's a one pager with some questions to get you thinking about our relationship with faith. Get it here

Thanks for being on this journey with me! If you know someone who you think would be interested in this conversation please share this podcast with them.

We could all use a little more kindess in our lives. Being busy is a cultural norm that leads many women feeling exhausted and out of control in their lives. Lara Heacock has experienced that unending pressure to do more, be more and have more. And the subsequent burn out that is the inevitable result.

We get it. Jo-Anne has talked previously about how she reframed the word 'busy' to 'full' in her vocabulary. Our language is important and we want to make sure we use it to help us own our lives fully. Lara suggests we stop saying "I don't have time" and get clear by saying, "I didn't make time." Let's take responsibility for the things we have done or not done. And for how we talk about our choices.

Lara shares her story starting with committing to Self-Care Saturday - a weekly commitment to spending time doing things that would help her restore balance in her life. This commitment changed everything for her.

And kindness extends beyond self-care - it involves how we treat each other personally and professionally. Lara works with her corporate clients to help them develop a kinder aproach to how they work together. Imagine being part of a corporate culture where kindness is a value! If you've ever wished you responded with more kindness OR wished you had been treated more kindly this episode will inspire you!

If you are new to Reframe Your Life after you listen to this episode we suggest you listen to Episode 70 - Practical Ways to Practice Self-Care. 

It's our two year anniversary! We want to thank you for being with us on this journey. We had no idea we would be still recording two years later - we weren't sure how it would go but here we are! This journey has taught us a lot. We've been learning just as much as our listeners from the topics and guests we have discussed. And as a result we are also continually reframing our lives. After all Reframing Your Life is not a one time thing.

In this episode, Sandy gets personal about reframing her business to work with women to help them become spiritually aligned in their lives. What does that mean? You'll have to listen to the episode to get the details.

If you have ever experienced a spiritual crisis or if you have spiritual story that needs reframed this episode is for you. A spiritual crisis happens when you experience a drastic change to your meaning system. Maybe you are questioning your purpose in life or your values. Maybe your beliefs have shifted or you are in an identity crisis. Perhaps you are undergoing an awakening to a new or deeper understanding of the world around you. Your dismantling or deconstructing can be very difficult and painful. It's happening externally as you confront some of the systems and ways you have participated in them. It's happening internally as you work through your own anxiety and fears about this shift and the way you have internalized your beliefs.

Sandy is working with women to help them:

• Explore their values
• Unpack their beliefs (whether they have shifted, need to be discarded or reclaimed)
• Establish practices that support you in establishing the connection you desire
• Get support in navigating the conversations and changes you want to make to live truthfully
• Test new ways of being

Sign up for Live Truthfully and start reframing your spirituality at a special price to celebrate this new direction. Click on picture for details.

Not ready to take that step? Explore Sandy's recommended reading list for spiritual health.

Start aligning your life to reflect who you really are. And be sure to follow Sandy on Instagram!

Memoir writing expert, Patti Hall joins us for our final episode in this three part series on memoir writing. Honestly, we have learned so much from Patti that we feel like she is part of the Reframe Your Life team. This isn't the last time you'll hear her voice!

NOTE: If you haven't listened to the first two episodes you will want to start there. 

In Week One we addressed the barriers we face when it comes to writing our memoir or story. If you didn't get a chance to listen to the episode you can link to it here.

In Week Two we looked at tools to collect our memories and how to draw out themes. We talked about where to start your story and where to end your story. Link to the episode .

And now in this final week: Patti helps us to explore where we are in our writing journey to date. Once you get started you soon begin to uncover some of your personal barriers and challenges in the writing process. It can be an emotional process and you find yourself unearthing all kinds of feelings. It can be easy to back off or avoid those feelings. Working with a writing coach can provide the support and accountability to keep you going.

If you would like to get some of the resources available including a 34 page What's Your Story Memoir workbook sign up for our Memoir Writer's list.  We will also send you a special code for 75% off any of the courses in the Memoir Writing Studio. You will be added to the Patti's memoir writing mailing list at the same time.