Happy Birthday, Arlene

My sister Arlene was a doer. Full of life and smiles, ready to help anyone with her kindness. She was involved in everything and created magic for her students at La Guardia College and the children and adults she touched throughout her life. The plaque is located on a lamppost on W. 69th and Columbus Avenue on the West Side of Manhattan and stands proudly as a living testimonial of her achievements, accomplishment, and kindness.

She was a great gal. Unfortunately, we lost her at the young age of 63 to a heart attack. Was she a highly sensitive person? I will never know but her heart might have given out from loving everyone but herself too much. Her story reminds me of Anita Moorjani's story and countless other women who sacrifice their health for high achievement and everyone but themselves.

Because I lived 3000 miles away, I was not close to my sister but every Christmas both my daughter and I would receive gifts that arrived on time. Birthdays, too. She never forgot us even though we were estranged. I have no idea how she had the time to remember to buy us gifts. I heard that her Christmas tree was piled with more presents than anyone could imagine.

The sad part is that her life was cut short because her body could not keep up the energetic output she demanded of herself year after year. I don't believe she ever took time to nourish herself physically, emotionally, or spiritually, at least not enough to live a long, healthy life.

Because of the void that my sister's death left and my unfilled desire to get to know and be close, I am now dedicating my work to intelligent, educated, high-achieving women who live demanding lives but neglect their own emotional, physical, and spiritual needs. Without attention to their inner needs, the stress on the body can breakdown causing disease, psychological and relationship problems. I am now dedicated to helping women take steps to nurture themselves and their deepest desires. Some of them might also be highly sensitive women who have ignored the calling of their inner voice to stop and care for themselves first. I get it.

If you find yourself running ragged and don't know how to stop and smell the roses or attend to your tender heart and soul, let me help. I work with high-achieving, successful women with too much on their plate who are unable to ask for help. In other words, they believe they have to be wonder women and do it all themselves. None of us can do it all ourselves.

Perfection is an unachievable goal. We must learn that we are all one-of-a-kind spirits, perfectly imperfect but perfect as ourselves, designed to explore and develop our uniqueness and give our one-of-a-kind gifts in the world.

If you are interested in reading the full article written about my sister in the New York Times, here is the link: https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/17/a-plaque-with-a-love-story/

My work with women like Arlene is ongoing and I offer coaching programs that bring them mental, physical, and spiritual health. Check out my website dedicated to successful, overworked sensitive people. More information on important programs is to come at www.trueheartraining.com or contact me through Linkedin. I am always open to conversations about life balance and self-care for women like my sister.