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I’m
amazed at the changes that have happened over the past year. Many of
you know me through my columns, radio, or television. I try to be
open and honest about the hurdles in my life, the mistakes I make
(there are plenty) and the lessons I learn.
But
this past year has been simply unbelievable. Twelve months ago, I
was earning less than the national poverty income level, yet I was
working 60 hours a week, going to graduate school and in love with a
recent divorcee (that’s asking for heartbreak). I was also
recovering from a year of health problems: tonsillitis, chronic
fatigue, adult- onset acne, insomnia and finally Bell’s palsy.
Somehow, I kept a smile on my face in front of others but often
cried myself to sleep at night. I battled low self-esteem,
depression and compulsive overeating.
I
prayed for the compulsive behavior to leave me, and those prayers
were answered with Bell’s palsy. (When half your face is
paralyzed, you don’t feel like overeating.)
I
discovered my worth without the physical body. I learned the number
on the scale doesn’t determine my value, an issue many women face
daily. Nor does the figure on my paycheck or what other people think
of me have anything to do with my merit.
I
slowly weaned off my “people-pleasing” patterns. I discovered
meditation, the value of alone/self-nurturing time and getting
enough sleep!
I
learned about Eastern and holistic healing. I turned 31. I ended the
relationship with the man I loved but I was tired of feeling drained
and unfulfilled. I increased my yoga practices and spent a month in
a yoga teacher training program. I began putting my attention on the
love, prosperity and abundance around me, instead of what I thought
I lacked.
I
lost one job, only to be given the opportunity to pursue of my
life’s dreams – to have a talk-radio program. But I quickly
learned talk radio is not my passion. Almost instantaneously, I was
offered an on-air news director position on a top morning show with
some of the best guys in the business, The Wake-Up Crew on Hot 93.9.
I
learned to love work again. I found a mentor that I was able to
learn from and admire. My salary went up, slightly, but I finally
made it over the poverty cutoff.
I
began to sleep more. I began to get healthy. I focused on seeing the
good in people and in all situations, even when they disappointed me
or didn’t match my visions.
I
read empowering books, envisioned spreading love, healing,
harnessing positive energy and warding off negativity.
Things
started to happen. I was asked to co-host 808 Golf TV, simply
because I was at the right place at the right time and knew the
right person. Coincidence, or fate?
A
few months later, I was offered two more TV jobs. I met another man
and fell in love again. My heart felt healed, complete and at peace.
We got engaged with dreams of living happily ever after, but
different life-paths forced us to take off the rose-colored glasses
and look at life in “real” terms (something I have never done
well). We called off the engagement.
Still,
I am a dreamer. I choose to keep my head in the clouds and live in a
world where anything is
possible.
I
don’t believe in “I can’t.” I don’t believe in
limitations.
Now,
I continue to write and continue to work on my craft –
communicating. I continue on my spiritual quest for happiness and
peace. I give back as often as possible (and you don’t need money
to do that): a simple smile, a “thank you,” letting someone know
you appreciate them, donating to charity or volunteering your time
are all ways keep the cycle of abundance flowing. Try buying a
hungry stranger a plate lunch, or secretly leaving a flower on a
co-worker’s desk, and reap the benefits of feeling good.
Most
important, I take time each day to be grateful for all the blessings
in my life. The ups, the downs, the poor times, the prosperous
times, falling in love and breaking up … these are all gifts, of
being given the opportunity to learn a life-lesson.
I
can hardly wait to see what happens in 2005! Happy New Year!
KHNL
News 8’s evening newscaster Melisa Uchida is a Boston University
graduate.
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