Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kathleen Kelly. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Kathleen, we’re so appreciative of you taking the time to share your nuggets of wisdom with our community. One of the topics we think is most important for folks looking to level up their lives is building up their self-confidence and self-esteem. Can you share how you developed your confidence?
For me, developing self-confidence and self-esteem is about taking the risk to write about those difficult things that we all face but don’t talk about. My experiences, as an ER nurse, are filled with the most critical and sensitive moments of people’s lives. We don’t have a language for what I see, as a medium, between that veil of birth and death. Nice people don’t talk about my work as a S.A.N.E. (Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner). I wondered if my sense of humor would be offensive. I debated whether I should bring you home with me, into my everyday life as a single mother, or stick to the ER stories. I know I couldn’t survive without finding ways to laugh, to listen, and to allow myself to be touched by the courage and strength of the human spirit. I had to remind myself, over and over, to just tell it my way. Confidence grew, in slow motion, as I took the risks. I learned something very interesting when I started on a story. I was not alone! I felt the presence of the people in my stories standing over my shoulder! We’d write it together. They were just as passionate as I was to get it right! When the book came out, I was amazed at so many people sharing their stories of life after death and “angel talk”. So, my advice to writers who want to build their self-confidence is, keep taking risks.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I have studied extensively alternative healing systems embracing the richness of a holistic approach. My skills as a medium offer intuitive and channeled readings with an emphasis on spiritual direction and personal healing and guidance. I am a graduate of the two-year Sacred Contracts program offered by Dr. Caroline Myss. Caroline teaches that ‘Our biography becomes our biology’ and so we work to make better choices to create health and wellness of mind, body, and spirit. We have everything we need to live a purposeful and meaningful life. Each of us must develop those avenues that enable us to find our answers from within and discover our intuitive abilities. This will liberate you from old patterns that may no longer be serving you. I am the Coordinator of GILA County Child Fatality Review for the Arizona Health Dept. The Child Fatality Review Team’s mission is to reduce preventable child fatalities. The results of these reviews are used to improve services, advocate for change, and conduct public awareness activities, ultimately to prevent future child deaths. I believe my work lends the illuminating voice of each child after death.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
- Be yourself. Trust that you’re good enough. Write your truth, the way you see it. Don’t write to please others. Fear of disapproval is crippling.
- You are guided. Practice listening to your inner intuitive voices.
- Take risks ALL the time.
What was the most impactful thing your parents did for you?
I grew up in a large family. Nine kids. We were Irish Catholic so “angel talk” was a part of our lives. I knew I was not alone and talked to the angels around me all the time. My Dad would say, “The family that prays together, stays together.” we prayed before meals and at bedtime together. When things would get tough, Mom would say, “Let go. Let God.” My Dad had a great sense of humor. He was the most positive person I ever met. Every time you ask “How are you, Dad?” He’d say, “I never felt better in my life.” I had to laugh, even at my father’s deathbed, when I asked him how he was, he sputtered “I…n-never-..felt better…in m-m-my..life.” I guess his optimism was contagious because I believe ” the best attitude is gratitude.”
I have to add my 17-year-old son, Michael. The most impactful thing he did for me came after his death. It’s a quote from my book, Voices of the ER, Page 36: It was the day of Mike’s funeral. “I stood alone in my son’s room, shutting out the aimless congestion of the mourners on the other side of the door. Mike’s guitar leaned against his bed, where he could grab it when the mood struck. I took his shirt off the chair and without thinking, hung it up for him. Then I quickly slid it off the hanger, buried my face in it, and breathed in that Mikey scent. The quiet hit hard. What happened to the familiar teenage racket? No grating screech of his electric guitar. No teasing. No laughter. No nothing.
I cried. “Where are you, Michael? How could you leave us?” I glanced around his room, searching to feel him, somewhere…somehow. I spotted a poster propped up on a cluttered stack of homework papers. Was it just a week ago he mentioned his social study assignment, challenging teens to create a poster illustrating ways to have fun and still stay safe? I held up his artwork, impressed he had finished it so soon. Homework, not always Mike’s priority, usually didn’t get done until the last minute. I smiled at the bright red-brick background flashing the words. “Happiness is Dancin’.” He must have worked at painting all those symbols of his favorite rock bands and that flashy sketch of his guitar. But the most stunning message from Mike’s poster stood out in huge bold stenciled letters. “CELEBRATE LIFE!” The words cut like a knife. I let the poster drop to the floor and stared out the window in disbelief. The willow tree swayed in the gentle spring breeze. A flash of little boy Mikey hanging gleefully from the branches came and went. The rich, new life of spring outside made no sense. How could the world go on as if—
Mom. Michael’s far off voice called to me. The room was thick with his energy. Mom. His voice stronger and closer now.
“Michael, where are you?” I don’t know if I said it or thought it.
“I’m right here, Mom.”
My mind’s eye saw him in a haze. I thought you were dead. We didn’t need words. Strangely enough, it felt even more natural without them.
“I don’t feel dead. I mean, I’m fine, but everyone else is acting weird.”
We stood together in his room where nothing had changed, trying to get used to the idea nothing would ever be the same. I wanted to fix it for us. Wasn’t that what moms were supposed to do?
“Mom, do you hear that?”
“Yes, Mike, I hear it.” Familiar voices, laughter, and music beckoned from a distance far beyond his room. They seemed welcoming. Waves of love and comfort embraced us. I had to cut the cord once more and help him cross over. “It’s going to be okay, Mike. They came to welcome you, honey.”
“I don’t want to leave, Mom.”
“I know. You will never leave my heart, Michael. ” Embraced by a strength and a grace that lifted me from the grief for a moment, I whispered, “I love you, Mike.”
“Love you too, Mom. ” And he slipped away.
The poster is in a prominent place in our home. It reminds me to keep a promise I made to Mike that day. Every day, rain or shine, no matter how challenging things may be, I will find a way to celebrate life.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.kathleengracekelly.com
- Facebook: Kathleen Grace Kelly
- Other: Email: kshamrockkelly@aol.com
