Sending Love and Strength to My Friend NeYoda Today
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| Sunrise this morning. Utah. |
Today I'm sending all my love, strength, and prayers to my friend NeYoda. She was diagnosed with leukemia a few months ago and is receiving a long-awaited bone marrow transplant next week. (Amen.)
NeYoda (aka Neola) means the world to me, so if you have any extra peace or prayers to shoot out into the Universe, will you please send one out for her today?
Here's a little about her and how we became the best of friends:
About three years ago I'd been cast for Survivor 21 and cut a few weeks before we were to leave for the game.
I. Was. Devastated.
Being on Survivor had been a lifelong/10-year goal of mine (My first audition was at age 30, and I was 40 at the time.).
I just couldn't believe I was that close--and now my dream was gone.
I didn't know what to do?
So, I did the only thing that seemed natural: I went to the gym and met my friend Neola for a workout. (We'd been meeting at the gym for months as I prepared for the game--although she didn't know my Big Secret/about the game.)
Let me tell you about Neola. First of all, she's beautiful--in a Meryl Streep kind of way. She is probably one of the wisest people I know. She reads profusely. She writes profusely. She's kind-hearted, generous, and thoughtful. She's graceful and peaceful. She's strong (she can do more situps than me). And, she's watched Survivor since season 1.
Oh, and I should mention ... she's 30+ years older than me.
Yup, my gym partner is in her 70s.
(PS: She will not love me sharing the age part. BUT, I do so because she's so inspiring to me. She's honestly stronger than any woman I know ... and it's because she's been working out most of her adult life.)
Okay, so my point!
When I got to the gym on that sad day, the day Survivor dumped me, I was pretty down. I wanted so much to tell Neola, "Hay, I was supposed to be on Survivor and they just dumped me. Waaaaaaaa. I want my mommy!"
But I couldn't (NDA agreements).
So instead, I asked Neola, "What do you do when your dreams just fly out the window?"
And she said, "You go after them anyway. If it's something you really really want, then you keep after it. You do NOT let dreams go."
Neola spoke with so much conviction. I really believe her words were inspired--because as soon as I left that gym I thought, "Yeah, one rejection can't stop me. What am I a wimp? Survivor had to have liked something about me to get me that close."
And so I spent the next 10 months working out everyday, reading and preparing myself mentally for the next set of auditions ...
and as luck/fate would have it, I was recast for Survivor South Pacific that very next year.
And this time I wasn't cut; I made it to the island!
As you can imagine, I feel like I owe most of my Survivor journey to Neola. Her counsel and conviction inspired me to never give up on my Survivor dream.
But what Neola really taught me was to NEVER EVER give up on life, love, dreams, and growth.
And that advice has changed my life. Literally. Neola has changed who I am and what I do.
And I'm so grateful to know her and have her influence in my life.
NeYoda, we love you. And we're praying for your health and strength as you have your procedure this coming week.
XOXOXOXO
*****
PS: Our kids decided to call her Neola "NeYoda" because in our family she's a real-life Yoda. A wise sage. A Jedi Master--calm, strong, and filled with strength.
