It's My One Year Post-corporativersary

All the old stories had to go

It has been a full year since I left my corporate career to become an entrepreneur. This time last year, I imagined something very different than my current situation. The business I thought I wanted did not want me, to be honest.

So, what happened? For once in my working life, people weren’t throwing money at me for being so great at my job. And I didn’t even have a new title to cling to, because I was not sure what I even was.

By all accounts, the me of a year ago would think I had failed. And that, I learned, was the point. The Universe created circumstances in which I could decide to get on board the growth train or run back to safety.

I wrote a few pieces throughout the year about my evolving working-for-myself situation. I went through a phase where I was becoming slightly panicky about the lack of foreseeable income. I pivoted. I produced more. I tweaked offerings. I changed prices. I changed my logo. I wondered what it would take.

But then I caught on. This was all for me to have a fire sale on my old stories, not my services. Sometime late in the summer I remembered that I should be running out of my cushion in a few months, only when I did a review of my finances, I realized I had much more left than I thought.

Why? Because I was not the same person who required the monthly salary I used to. My life had totally changed. It was simpler, yet fuller. I was rarely going out to eat, because I was enjoying what I grew and made at home. I wasn’t having to bribe myself for doing a job that didn’t align with my values by spending on fancy vacations or by loaning every needy person in my orbit money that I would never see again because I felt subconsciously guilty for being associated with that corporate money.

Photo by Ryan Riggins on Unsplash

I did have to learn to pay attention to money, which is not something I had done so painstakingly for quite a few years. However, this lesson was long overdue.

The main lesson in this first year of entrepreneurship was not about the worth of my bank account, but the worth of myself. I learned that not only could I survive without a title or fat paycheck or fully booked calendar, I could thrive. I learned to relax and love my life, because it was everything I had always dreamed of. Those other things were never my dream, only things I was trained to want.

Turns out I really wanted these things:

• Time to follow my curiosity and learn more.

• Deep and daily connection to myself, spirit, and people of my choosing.

• Digging in the dirt in my yard, foraging in the wild, running with my dog through tall evergreen trees on a regular basis.

• Inspiration to write in different styles and for different purposes.

• To learn how to make medicines from plants.

• My imagination back.

One big thing may be that my life is just my life and I don’t really call any portion “work”. Sure, there are tasks I like less than others, but I enjoy the wholeness I can claim now. Initially, I felt obliged to call some part of my life “work”, but that’s gone.

Nowadays, when I make a change to the technicalities of how I practice my vocation, I do it with a sense of experimentation, inspiration, or excitement, rather than the sense of obligation, frustration, or desperation of old.

I will likely always be working on my self-worth. That is my Chiron wound. In the myth, he was accidentally shot by Hercules with a poisoned arrow. Because Chiron was immortal, it did not kill him, but caused him to have to manage the wound for eternity, and made him a better mentor and healer.

I wish you health, joy, peace, and love this week.

Maria Luz

P.S. I would love to hear about which stories you have jettisoned and how that has changed you! Please share in the comments.

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In case you missed it, I released this video over the weekend, in which I introduce a new way for us to interact. I will host monthly Ask Me Anything (e.g., astro, herbs, sobriety, leaving corporate, writing) gatherings at the subscriber level, but if you are financially struggling and need a break, please email me.

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Weekly Message and Oracle Card Pull

I often receive symbolic images and/or words from spirit, much like I understand the Sabian symbols were received by the psychic Elsie Wheeler in 1925. Please use your own intuition and take what resonates and leave the rest.

The themes of this week seem to be about paying close attention to what may typically go unnoticed, yet having the power to take a zoomed out perspective when warranted.

I received the below symbol in meditation on 2.23.25.

Pebbles seen through a clear stream

With the words:

With some distance comes clarity.

The water moves over, honing pebbles individually and as a group.

The natural currents will initiate large changes, rather than individual pebbles moving and kicking up sand.

This feels like a reflection on the uncertainty many of us feel as an individual and for the collective. How is it that so few hold so much power? Perhaps this symbolism is a reminder to trust that there are always larger forces at play, and that we can use any pressure we are experiencing personally to hone what we see is in our highest good of all.

Here is this week’s card spread, followed by the messages and reflections:

Card 1. Past/Clarity on last week: Painting Joy Across the Sky (#23 of the Dream Weaver’s Oracle by Colette Baron-Reid, illustrations by Joel Nakamura)

What came to me is the power we have to be aware of moments of joy and commit them to heart so we can draw upon them in difficult times. As well, the power we have to bring joy to others in sharing a few words or a smile.

The other day, I was in line at the self-checkout at the grocery store and noticed the woman at the kiosk in front of me using the flashlight on her phone to look under the machine. “What are you looking for?” I asked. “My engagement ring!” She said, smiling as she pulled it out from the darkness. We shared a laugh over the near miss!

From the guidebook: “Can you remember that Joy is a perception, a perspective, and an action?”

Card 2. Present/Help bridging last week to this week: The Owl (#39 of Mystical Shaman Pocket Oracle by Villoldo, Baron-Reid, and Lobos. Illustrations by DellaGrottaglia).

Perspective arises as a theme here, too. I envisioned the owl looking over the stream in the channeled symbol, looking through the clear water from high up before making its selection of prey.

How can we maintain a clear perspective when we are hungry? How do we know when it is the right time to swoop down?

The New Moon in Pisces on Thursday is fitting, as this phase of the Moon results in total darkness, when owls are skilled at detecting what humans cannot. Similarly, it will be a good time to reflect on what other people may be showing you that you cannot detect in yourself.

From the guidebook: “Observe all the facets of the diamond without judgment. Remember that the facets you dislike are often mirrors of the parts of you that you do not want to recognize.Do not be afraid of the truth, as it will become your compass.”

I have a little personal anecdote about this card, and being observant. I was running down the last stretch of our block with my dog this morning and almost ran right by a pair of eyeglasses on the side of the road. They happened to be my own, which had dropped out of my dilapidated waist pack without me noticing yesterday or the day before. While I don’t need them to see, they help me see driving at night. Sometimes spirit is so literal!

Card 3. Future/Something to look for this week: The Volcano (The Ancient Stones Oracle, by Rebecca Campbell, artwork by Katie-Louise).

What came to mind is that superficially feeding a relationship will never satisfy it, and eventually, what is not fed will have a life of its own and threaten to erupt unexpectedly.

I know when I feel insecure or uncertain, I tend to stay on the superficial level. I have come to learn that if I start behaving that way, I need to pull back and really allow the emotions to be felt, then journal or otherwise become clear on what it is I actually wish to communicate.

Only when I feel clear and safe enough to engage authentically and in a non-harming way (to myself and the other person) do I engage. At least, that is what I aspire to do.