Feeding Your Hungry Wolf (an invitation)

Dear One,

I just returned from 6 of the most amazing days of my life, fulfilling a long-time desire to learn from the one and only Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes, the famous author and psychoanalyst who is best known for her groundbreaking work Women Who Run With the Wolves.

(Note: If you don’t own this book, please order now!! It will change your life 🙂 )

I can’t really put into words what the experience was like or what exactly happened to me last week as a result of it. But what I do know is that the best way I can share my experience is by going forth and teaching this work to all of you.

And really, it comes down to the power of story.

At the heart of what we learned was how to take stories (including the ones that we dream at night), lay our lives against them, and learn how the stories we have heard for the 1st or the 101st time apply to our own psyche, soul, and lives.

One story I wanted to share with you today is The Wolf of Gubbio, and to show you how powerful this simple story can be when you frame it against your own life.

I’m not sure if you’ve heard it before, but in case you haven’t, I’ll give you the quick and to the heart version.

Long ago, in the city of Gubbio where St. Francis lived for some time, there was a wolf who was terrorizing the town’s people, ferociously eating them and their animals alike.

St. Francis, who had a way with animals, decided to try and help the town’s people and went to speak to the wolf directly about his actions.

He asked the wolf why he was doing this; the wolf bowed down to him and explained that he simply couldn’t find any food, that he was hungry, and he just needed to eat.

It was really that simple.

And so, St. Francis told the wolf he would explain his side to the town’s people and see what he could do.

With this new insight, St. Francis was able to make a deal between the wolf and the town’s people, who were happy to help and put an end to the terror. He promised the wolf that he would be fed daily by the town’s people, that his bowl would never be empty, and in exchange, he had the wolf promise he would no longer terrorize the people of Gubbio.

From that day forward, the people of Gubbio left the wolf food. And because he was no longer hungry, he grew to be sweet and gentle, so much so that he became friends with the villagers.

They grew to love the wolf dearly.
They would tell him what a kind wolf he was…and he really, truly was.

The wolf would play with the children of Gubbio. He cared for their elderly. He gave comfort and love to all the town’s people.

The villagers and the wolf lived in harmony for many, many years…they fed him and in return, he gave his love and care freely.

And when the wolf died, it was said that they gave him a funeral fit for a human, for they loved him so and losing him was like losing a close friend.

Now maybe you are saying, “What on Earth does this wolf have to do with me?”

The truth is…everything.

The power in the story lies in laying your life against it, in seeing where a piece of you lies in each of these characters.

And I would say especially regarding the wolf.

How many times have you felt like him, hungry and ravenous, aching to be fed?

…Not just with food, but with life, with experiences that matter to you, ones that truly feed you?

And beyond that, having the hunger to be understood, seen, loved, and deeply cared for?

When in your life have you experienced the power of having your “bowl filled daily” and, as a result, your ravenous nature subsiding (around food, etc.)?

When have you experienced having your most basic, primal needs met, and then being able to give of yourself more freely, because you were now out of lack/fear/scarcity?

What goodness gets to come from you and through you as a result of being fed daily at every level (nutritionally, spiritually, emotionally, physically, psychologically, soulfully?)

I invite you to consider these questions deeply…to really give thought as to what you truly need to feel fed daily and what you need to be fed periodically to keep you whole, healthy, happy, and growing.

One thing I know without a doubt is that I need travel. I need adventure. I need opportunities to gather with other women in deep sisterhood and talk about subjects that deeply matter…but also to have many full-belly laughs. I need opportunities to put my everyday life on hold so I can grow, rest, recharge, and explore…and when I do that, I come back full and ready to give in ways I couldn’t without that pause.

I need opportunities to know myself apart from all the labels that at times bind me at home base.

And from what I gathered again this past week through countless conversations with other women at this event, I am not the only one.

This is a deep need within us as women.
We just discount it, think it’s selfish or silly or frivolous of us to retreat and love ourselves in this way.

And so, like the wolf, we are starved, and as result, we feel an uncontrollable hunger that just can’t get satisfied. We try and feed it in ways we’d rather not to because we just don’t see another option.

That is, until we are shown another way.

That is, unless we recognize it and choose to have our bowls filled, without apology or shame.
And when we do this, we have the best chance to give our gifts to the world (and to those we love most).

So today, as you think about what you need to feel filled up, if you find that travel and adventure and sisterhood is part of that list, I’d ask you to consider if The Pleasure Path Retreat might be for you.

You can learn more by going HERE.
This is the kind of week you’ve dreamt about…

Italy…
Tuscany…
Luxury….
Adventure…
Joy…
Sisterhood….
Pleasure…
Feeding your body, heart, mind, soul, child spirit…
A once in a lifetime experience…
And a chance to be seen in all your worthiness…

Because this retreat is more than just travel adventure.

It’s designed to move you forward in a profound way long after the week has ended.

We have just a few spots left, and if it is even the faintest desire of yours to attend, I invite you to schedule a call with me so we can explore if it would be truly a good fit for you.

No pressure and no obligation…just an opportunity to talk, woman to woman, and explore the possibility.

Maybe it seems impossible or selfish or silly…

But I’m about 100% certain it is none of those things.
Because I sat in exactly the same position as you just a couple of years ago.

And I couldn’t begin to imagine my life had I NOT said yes to my deep hunger to take the trip to Italy I had been aching to take.

It has hands down been one of the most important and worthwhile things I have ever done in my 40 years of living.

And because of it, I am able to create an opening for women like you to say YES to their own desires and do the very thing they know in their bones they want to do.

If you’d like to schedule a time to talk, simply hit REPLY to this email and let me know. I’ll reach out ASAP and we can pick a day/time that works.

And even if this retreat is not for you, please do not ignore the hungry wolf inside of you.

Be like St. Francis and find out what you need to thrive.
Then be like the town’s people and fill your bowl every single day so you are not starved of what your body/soul/mind/child spirit/heart need most.

You are worthy of this and so much more.

I love you…
Anita