Sweet Surrender: How Tea Has Transformed & Healed My Life, Part I

I want to take this opportunity to begin another blog series here on Dessert by Deb, an emotional one that will have me recounting some painful experiences in my life, but a series that I hope will help others find strength, comfort, community, peace, light, and hope.  I'm calling this new series, "Sweet Surrender" and it'll be stories about how tea has healed and transformed my life and I hope you readers will find them inspirational and uplifting because that is what I want for you!  So let's begin. 

When I talk about the last 10 years of my life, I often joke that I'm like a cat with 9 lives because I feel as though I've lived 7 different lifetimes within these 10 years.  And at first glance, it seems weird to say that.  Because nothing about my external environment has changed within this timeframe: I still live in the same house, I haven't moved away and come back, and the makeup of my family remains the same. 

So how can it be that I've evolved that much?  How can it be that I feel like 7 different Debras have lived?  Your guess is as good as mine.  Because year after year, my life has transformed in ways I could never imagine.  Ways that have broke me, changed me, healed me, and ultimately, made me a better person.  A deeper, fuller person with a lot of battle scars but also with a lot of gratitude, purpose, passion, and love.  And if you can believe it, tea has been central in every aspect of my transformation and healing and I made this startling discovery about my life early this year.

I made this startling discovery in January, but none of this is going to make any sense without a little backstory and context so here it is: since October 2019, I've been on a healing path and journey of spirituality, personal success, self-discovery, and self-help.  Last summer into September I suffered from my third bout of depression (my first was when I was 17 and my second at 29 and 30, which I'll be talking about in the next blog post; I know, I know, I said I would talk about it here but I realized it was going to make this post waaaay too long and it was important for me to give you all context first, THEN begin telling you many of my stories, so bear with me!) and on October 3, 2019 I began my recovery. 

This surrender, recovery, and healing guided me to exactly the right things and people: books, podcasts, videos, mentors, and gurus.  I was guided to Jen Sincero who guided me to Gabrielle Bernstein, who guided me to Marie Forleo who guided me to x, y, z, a, b, c and d and the journey continues and branches off.  This period of healing guided me to a spiritual path and ever since, I've been deeply committed to my spiritual practice, unlearning all my fear-based belief systems, seeing things differently, experiencing life differently, remembering the person I truly am at my core, unlocking blocked potential, loving deeper, and evolving into yet another richer, fuller version of myself.

I carried this momentum and commitment into the new year and it was during the latter part of January, while watching a YouTube video, that I received a giant spiritual hit in the head.  I was watching an episode of MarieTV on YouTube, specifically the one of Marie interviewing Gabby about her newest book, Super Attractor, and all of a sudden in the middle of watching, I received a spiritual hit, a voice of inner guidance and knowing that said to me loud and clear: "your story is one of healing.  Tea and healing.  Because tea has been at the heart of every pinnacle turning point, every period of healing and evolution in your life and you must write about this and tell your story.  You are a lightworker and you will use your spiritual practice and journey to help you spread this message.  This is your purpose and this is your story."

Oh my god.  OH. MY. GOD.

Thoughts began to tumble and avalanche in my mind as I quickly grabbed my journal and began to write.  I couldn't believe the epiphany I just had.  Because it was true.  As I journaled and began thinking back, every time I would emerge from a period of evolution, tea was in fact, at the center of the transformation.  From my recoveries from depression to beginning new life paths, tea was a catalyst and touchpoint.  This truth was clear as day and I had finally been in a complete state of surrender and flow to be able to receive this spiritual message and to begin connecting all the dots.  And I was ready to run with it and begin retelling my story in a whole new meaningful way.

Enter a new purpose-driven Dessert by Deb and the true heart and soul of The Sweet Tea Pie Life.  How do I live it?  And how do I want to teach you how to live it?  With love, light, joy, inner strength, belief, faith, determination, tenacity, sass, fierceness, and a LOT of amazing tea made with love by yours truly.  

Welcome to The Sweet Tea Pie Life and thank you so much for embarking on this journey with me.