I’m speaking this Friday, March 28th, 2025, for an event called Audience Takes the Stage. This is put on by Creative Mornings Nashville (CMNSH).
I subscribed to their email newsletter after attending their January event featuring Lane Scott Jones. There is typically one speaker for these monthly events, so she spoke for the whole hour. I was utterly inspired by her. Lane has an awesome Substack called Second Rodeo that I was happy to discover as well. It felt like a gift to be able to chat with her before everyone took their seats. I was getting ready to put cream cheese on my bagel when she walked over and complimented my outfit. We hit it off chatting right away, and I came to find out we already have some mutual friends in Nashville. I felt lucky to connect with her like that before listening to the rest of her story with everyone else.
Christie Vergona is the host of CMNSH. She kicked off the event that morning with a warm welcome and some announcements, including a call for applications for their March birthday event.
She described the opportunity for “us” (the audience) to apply to be one of six chosen speakers to share for 5-10 minutes on the theme of Parallel.
My friend Emily, who sat right next to me, nudged me with her elbow. I looked over at her as she asked me if I would be interested in doing that. To my own surprise, I immediately whispered “yes.”
I jotted down the date and the word ‘parallel’ on the back of a piece of paper I was holding.
The following week, I saw the the related Instagram announcement, and that was my cue to apply.
The online application form included several short answer questions and a place to upload the required supplemental video describing what we want to share in relation to the theme of Parallel.
I thought it would be fun to show you the video I sent in with my application, so I’ve included that for paid subscribers at the very bottom of this post, after this week’s featured song.
Fast forward one month, and I received this email (3/5/25).
Hi Jeannie,
Thank you so much for applying to speak at our event in March, and for sharing some of your story with me in your video. I'm also glad to hear you enjoyed our last event! We'd love to have you as a speaker on 3/28 if you're still interested and available--please let me know as soon as you can, and if you have any questions or would like to link up before the event!
Thanks,
Christie
Host of CMNSH
Other than letting Christie know I was definitely still interested and available, I also took her up on linking up before the event. We had coffee the morning of Friday, 3/14/25. Of all people to be at the same coffee shop at the same time that Christie and I met, we were graced with the presence of
, the one I mentioned above who spoke in January. She came over holding her coffee-to-go and stopped by our table to exchange hello’s.After Lane went on her way, I remember saying to Christie:
“I love synchronicities like that!”
It was surreal to be sitting there, a month and a half after somewhat-randomly attending the January event, and getting to know a little more about Christie and the history of CM Nashville… as someone who was chosen to speak at their March birthday event. To top it off, here walks over Lane, because that’s the coffee shop she frequents, and it really just ends up feeling like we all want to be friends and hang out.
I said it last week:
I’m along for the ride in my own life right now.
It’s a ride I set up for myself. I’ve put in the work. I’ve put in the work when nobody is looking. I’ve put in the work when everything didn’t make sense yet.
Truthfully, I still don’t even really know where all of this is leading. I keep trying to trace back to when it all started…
Was it when I started my Substack in 2022?
Was it when I made the vision board earlier that summer?
Was it when I came back from a second alcohol relapse in 2020?
Was it when I came back from a first alcohol relapse in 2019?
Was it when I first got sober in 2018?
Was it when I almost died earlier that year?
This process demands my wholeness. It demands my integrity. I have to bring all of Jeannie along- all 35-going-on-36 years of her.
This is an incredible moment in time.
I am riding a wave I was ready to catch. As you can see, the most difficult work went into becoming ready to catch it.
Now, I’m on it.
I’m honestly just trying to stay calm with both feet planted, much like I imagine a surfer doing. The surfer stays connected to the vehicle, the board. The surfer exerts physical effort to direct the board through the movement of the water. There are a lot of forces at work. For the surfer, it is challenging. It takes repetitive practice to master. Why has the surfer prepared so much for this?
The surfer is ultimately here to catch this wave because they simply can’t help themselves.
They succeed because they love it.
I am catching my metaphorical wave at a moment in time when I believe I have reconciled my past, present, and future self.
I am honoring my past self for the work she has put in for this talk I will give.
I honor my present self each day by meeting each moment and offering my attention to it. I see life as it really is.
I honor my future self by my willingness.
I consider my “future self” to be the highest version of myself, which I could also argue is my “higher power,” as we would call it in AA. When I was active in that community, I used the words God and Higher Power interchangeably. When I was active in the church world, I learned about God in three forms: 1. Omnipresent 2. Human form (Jesus), and 3. Spirit form- the gift left by Jesus, the spirit of God within us, as Jesus had. I actually mentioned this “holy trinity” in my application video to CMNSH.
I am so grateful to discover parallels between the various seasons and communities of my life.
I offer my willingness to God, and therefore myself.
Listening to God looks like listening to my intuition.
I can’t listen to my intuition when I am out of alignment.
If you’ve been following me for any amount of time you know that I have been in the rigorous work of letting go of whatever is not aligned with who I am and where I am going.
There came a point as an adult when I had to take responsibility for my life.
I spent years going through the dark and hard stuff- taking responsibility for the harms done.
What I didn’t plan on was the other side of that coin- taking responsibility for all the good stuff too… the real and magical essence of me- Jeannie, the incredible relationship I have with my husband Dominick, my gifts, my desires, my dreams, which are now coming true in a way that allows it all to flow through me into the world around me.
I’m releasing a book into the world this summer. It’s called Essence because each one of its contemplations is meant to bring you closer and closer to your true self.
Writing this book brought me home to myself.
Surrounding myself with incredible humans on their own parallel journeys brought me into a life sober from alcohol. It brought me into the practice of yoga. It brought me Emily, who invited me to Creative Mornings and introduced me to Aubrey, who wants to publish my book.
I said yes to speak this Friday the same way I said yes to share my story in an AA meeting back in 2020.
Doors have opened in front of me that are hard to explain unless I have the time to sit down and write it all out like this.
I am walking through this open door, just like I did with every one before it.
The world keeps spinning, and that’s all something to spin about.
I grew weary of the vortex. I found the center where I don’t get dizzy.
I listen in the quiet center. That’s the place where I’ve been writing my first book. That’s where I was reminded of the other side of the coin. That’s where I can observe myself and other people the same way I would watch a bird in a tree. I notice when I or other people focus on what’s going wrong, assuming or seeking out the worst in everything- the negative spiral.
I notice when I or other people find the beauty and cooperation, despite the darkness and chaos- the positive spiral. If you want to start the positive spiral in your life, just keep asking the question: “How good can it get?”
It doesn’t hurt to ask.
It takes courage.
It takes willingness to be better.
There will not be a better world without a world who wants to be better.
What better way to be than true?
To be true is to be true to yourself.
To be true to yourself is to know yourself.
To know yourself is to accept everything about yourself, past, present, and future potentials.
I’ve consulted all of them, and this is where they have me.
We’ll see what comes of all this.
I’m glad to share it with you.
If you’re in Nashville and want to attend this free event where I’ll be speaking, follow the link below to register. If you’re reading this and go, please come over and say hello.
Creative Mornings Nashville (CMNSH)
It’s a good thing I subscribed to the CMNSH emails because I was able to receive the announcement for this event and include a couple screenshots of it below. The first one describes the event, and the second one shows my speaker bio.
Be careful what you wish for.
It just might come true.
At this point, as long as I feel like I’m staying true to myself and the people I love, the rest is all bonus.
I’m tired. Good night.
Love,
-Past Jeannie, who wrote this for you on Tuesday night, 3/25/25, so you could read it right now, on whatever date you’re reading it.
P.S. See? You and I are totally in this together, even while separate in our own parallel universes.
I’m loving mine. I hope you’re loving yours.
If you’re not, just remember: it’s all up to you.
Okay, really, good night.