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Hello Friends/Family/Community/Tribe.
As some of you know, the past few years I've been wrestling with symptoms of a chronic illness in which until recently, I've understood very little about.
I had developed an arsenal of tools/practices that had allowed me to work around what I was feeling, and it wasn't until this year that I was ready/willing to slow down enough to address the symptoms directly, on a body-based level.
After consulting with a naturopath and doing various blood tests, we uncovered that I do indeed have a chronic illness due to untreated parasite I had contracted nearly 7 years ago that have slowly been destroying my gut and brain function, as well as leaving my body malnourished and unable to sustain energy.
At their worst, my symptoms have kept me in bed for days at a time, unable to sleep, unable to speak, and unable to to make basic decisions and logistical coordination. The symptoms can also make it very difficult to interact with the outside world without feeling pain and depletion.
I have not been fully transparent about what I've been going through as I've led much of my adult life with the virtues of perseverance and resilience and have only recently developed a healthy relationship with the honoring of my limitations.
As you can imagine, these symptoms have had a tremendous impact on all areas of my life, particularly my work.
The last 5 years I've seen a great deal of expansion through the arena of work and business, beginning with my success in the sales world managing stores for Verizon followed by my initiation into the coaching/facilitating world that led into my own unique flavor of community building and leadership.
I am incredibly proud of the contributions I've been able to make and the structures I've created the past few years, AND I'm also present to the fact that part of this expansion has come at a great cost, specifically to my body. When I'm honest with myself (and now you), despite the movement in my life, the past few years have revealed a more hidden Truth I'm now learning to accept -- that lurking in the shadows of my expansion has been an inability to take care of myself on a very basic level (that my chronic illness is merely a symptom of).
The gift of this illness is that it's forcing me to slow down enough to begin the reconciliation process with the parts of me I've left behind in my expansion -- and with that comes an honest reassessment of all the facets in my life I've been expanding into.
I've been in treatment for the past 3 months and it's been extremely hard on my body (when parasites die they release toxins and activate stress hormones in the body). I even decided to lead my first 3 day retreat from this place 2 months ago and although it was a success, it was brutal on my health and it was the last straw that had me realize the fact that I cannot continue creating/outputting from this place. Not only is it damaging to me but it's simply out of integrity from a leadership standpoint.
Rather than continue this pattern, I'm simply going to honest with what's transpiring for me and ask you -- my community -- for support.
I, Nile, the human being -- am asking for your support on a very personal level (and this is a very edgy thing for me to do). I have been going through much of this alone, and it's wildly uncomfortable (and immensely necessary) to let you all in.
I have another 6 months or so of treatment and what my body needs is to be able to put all of my attention on my healing and recovery process. I am asking you to help fund this process.
My "goal" is to raise $10,000 for the next 4 months of recovery. The money will go towards housing, treatment, health and comfort. Simply put, this will afford me the space to fully make it through this chapter of healing so I can begin living my life again (in a whole new way).
I love you all very much, and appreciate the support many of you have already contributed to me.
Shoutout to my boo Elsa who has been an anchor of love through this entire process. We are planning on living in the jungles of Costa Rica for a while starting next month -- me with the intention of healing in deep nature, and her to focus on her creations.
As some of you know, the past few years I've been wrestling with symptoms of a chronic illness in which until recently, I've understood very little about.
I had developed an arsenal of tools/practices that had allowed me to work around what I was feeling, and it wasn't until this year that I was ready/willing to slow down enough to address the symptoms directly, on a body-based level.
After consulting with a naturopath and doing various blood tests, we uncovered that I do indeed have a chronic illness due to untreated parasite I had contracted nearly 7 years ago that have slowly been destroying my gut and brain function, as well as leaving my body malnourished and unable to sustain energy.
At their worst, my symptoms have kept me in bed for days at a time, unable to sleep, unable to speak, and unable to to make basic decisions and logistical coordination. The symptoms can also make it very difficult to interact with the outside world without feeling pain and depletion.
I have not been fully transparent about what I've been going through as I've led much of my adult life with the virtues of perseverance and resilience and have only recently developed a healthy relationship with the honoring of my limitations.
As you can imagine, these symptoms have had a tremendous impact on all areas of my life, particularly my work.
The last 5 years I've seen a great deal of expansion through the arena of work and business, beginning with my success in the sales world managing stores for Verizon followed by my initiation into the coaching/facilitating world that led into my own unique flavor of community building and leadership.
I am incredibly proud of the contributions I've been able to make and the structures I've created the past few years, AND I'm also present to the fact that part of this expansion has come at a great cost, specifically to my body. When I'm honest with myself (and now you), despite the movement in my life, the past few years have revealed a more hidden Truth I'm now learning to accept -- that lurking in the shadows of my expansion has been an inability to take care of myself on a very basic level (that my chronic illness is merely a symptom of).
The gift of this illness is that it's forcing me to slow down enough to begin the reconciliation process with the parts of me I've left behind in my expansion -- and with that comes an honest reassessment of all the facets in my life I've been expanding into.
I've been in treatment for the past 3 months and it's been extremely hard on my body (when parasites die they release toxins and activate stress hormones in the body). I even decided to lead my first 3 day retreat from this place 2 months ago and although it was a success, it was brutal on my health and it was the last straw that had me realize the fact that I cannot continue creating/outputting from this place. Not only is it damaging to me but it's simply out of integrity from a leadership standpoint.
Rather than continue this pattern, I'm simply going to honest with what's transpiring for me and ask you -- my community -- for support.
I, Nile, the human being -- am asking for your support on a very personal level (and this is a very edgy thing for me to do). I have been going through much of this alone, and it's wildly uncomfortable (and immensely necessary) to let you all in.
I have another 6 months or so of treatment and what my body needs is to be able to put all of my attention on my healing and recovery process. I am asking you to help fund this process.
My "goal" is to raise $10,000 for the next 4 months of recovery. The money will go towards housing, treatment, health and comfort. Simply put, this will afford me the space to fully make it through this chapter of healing so I can begin living my life again (in a whole new way).
I love you all very much, and appreciate the support many of you have already contributed to me.
Shoutout to my boo Elsa who has been an anchor of love through this entire process. We are planning on living in the jungles of Costa Rica for a while starting next month -- me with the intention of healing in deep nature, and her to focus on her creations.