We were lucky to catch up with Sarah Peck recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Sarah , thank you for being such a positive, uplifting person. We’ve noticed that so many of the successful folks we’ve had the good fortune of connecting with have high levels of optimism and so we’d love to hear about your optimism and where you think it comes from.
In looking at the word “Optimism”, it is defined in a few ways by the dictionaries-that-be. The part which resonates most with me, is this: Optimism is “an inclination to put the most favorable construction upon actions and events…” (Merriam-Webster).
From early Sarah life, there have been multiple adversities in my immediate environment. As little Sarah grew, adversities continued and, unfortunately, as does happen, grew too, to include traumas. The earliest adversity was out of my control and occurred in-utero. I was born with bi-lateral hip dysplasia, though at the time, as x-ray was not covered by my parents’ insurance, they were told I had only a partial left hip (fast forward to me being 33 years of age, and telling a doctor “no, I don’t have dysplasia in my right hip” as he was looking at the image of it). The most recent adversity, assuredly a trauma, is just now ‘resolving’ – an addiction relapse by my significant other. He really went at it. And his addiction had not been a part of our relationship prior to this relapse. In between these two points, I’ve been riddled with things like a parent mishandling overwhelm and taking it out on us kids, being bullied daily in school, having a parent diagnosed with a severe mental health condition, witnessing a best friend’s suicide attempt, seeing a high schooler die while competing in a basketball tournament, being drugged and sexually assaulted twice – by people I knew, attacked while working as a social worker during gang initiation “challenges”, witnessing a teen homicide attempt & trying to physically prevent it, divorce & job loss simultaneous to the start of the Covid pandemic.
Now – where my optimism comes from? I believe it is natural to connect with our senses in a joyful and trusting way. That is something we can see in animal and human form, pretty clearly. I don’t fully understand or “know” indisputably the reason, and, my answer is that: I was born with this spark of optimism, and needed to rely on that SO strongly, that it couldn’t possibly be snuffed out. For as long as my memory goes back, I know that I have held joy, and: An Inclination To Put The Most Favorable Construction Upon Actions And Events (ie. optimism) because it felt good and right in my nervous system to do so. To express this. To foster this essential need – thus making it a habit.
I am a former social worker, hold a Masters of Education for school counseling, and am currently in fact, a Licensed Massage Therapist who owns her own practice!! Throughout al these career paths and all the adversity/trauma, one thing has remained a beautiful ever-present tether in my life, and that is: My optimism!
I love Mondays. I love snow. I love all weather. I love colors, all of them. I love all the seasons. I love hearing bird song and I love to see robins and squirrels. I say hello to them. Almost all the time. I get very excited by chipmunks. I love to think about and to actually sense, the taste of foods that I enjoy. As well as the aromas from those foods/drinks. I love the way that pillows and blankets feel. I absolutely love reading. I love seeing and feeling and being in all sorts of types of bodies of water. I love hugs. I love love love music (except for the few types of/bands that are just not at all enjoyable to my ear senses). Music is near constant in my mind. Also, is a ticker-tape of pretend arguments and adversities and traumas in fake scenarios and conversations that I have to manage. So it’s very good that when I see or am in a situation, my default setting is to do this: Laugh, ‘Ha Ha’ / Acknowledge that this is not good, ‘Oh no’ / Greet the situation, * Hi * / and stay on my surf board ‘Surf it’. I have the words in quotes in this previous sentence, tattooed on my inner right leg, oriented so that I can read it when I sit in meditation. This optimism runs so deep that is really seems to be my default setting. That I can make magic out of whatever is happening in and around me, IF I first validate myself and the reality of the experience and say hello to the adverse/traumatic thing. We all want to be noticed, right?
Being optimistic is 100% hard, no matter what. And, I do have the belief that this way of thinking about things, can be fostered & grown, made into a habit, even. I am stubborn and persistent when it comes to happiness and it absolutely takes work and I am frequently very tired of all the hard work AND, I truly love handling and framing life through the lenses of optimism. It is something that cannot be taken from me. I absolutely own that and it’s a total treasure. I like to think that this translates from my energy and into others’, including even just the atmosphere of life wherever I am at!! Optimism builds, not destroys, and how incredibly useful and honoring of Earth and ourselves is that?
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
As an LMT/business owner, I operate a small & mighty massage practice. I am open 4 days a week, and on average, am able to see 11 clients each week. My business found a home within a yoga studio, and this summer in August, will be CleZen’s 4th birthday! I am most excited by spreading the zen vibes and a lifted/relaxed/renewed experience to as many folks as possible. Bodywork is an honor to receive AND provide, and is one that I personally take with total seriousness. I think what’s the most special about CleZen, is that I ensure each client that he/she/they are the boss of their bodies – that they can share any feedback at any time for whatever reason, they can tell me to stop, adjust pressure, ask to use the bathroom – etc. etc. because I do not live in their body or mind. I remind them that they can choose what articles of clothing to remove and leave on, -often times answering the follow up to “what is typical” with “typically, underwear on and everything else removed, but you are the boss of you!” I’ve often been told I am the only LMT that goes to these lengths to ensure clients feel valued and safe. It’s absolutely crucial to me as a human and and LMT, to do this. The other ‘special’ piece, is that I provide an intuitive massage experience to my clients. Truthfully, I feel this is often the case at the hands of other professionals, however, also, generally speaking, clients need to pick a specific type of massage before they arrive. I explain to my clients the sensitivity of my hands as well as my energy and that I rely on my intuition to provide the bodywork their body is communicating is needed that day, in real time. Then, I remind each client that even with the intuitive process of providing that session, their voice remains crucial and to please use it! CleZen keeps clients in mind, provides a slice of zen, and promotes being lifted, relaxed and renewed. Respected. Seen. Connected.
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?
Isn’t advice hard? Well, optimism for sure is one of the three impactful things on my journey. Another, resilience – which honestly is bolstered by optimism. Another skill I have that has made and does make an impact on my journey, is resourcefulness. For those early in their journey, I would advise cultivating/training a sense that – there are no roadblocks. Water finds a way and carves incredible things. You can develop and improve your own optimism, resilience and resourcefulness by perhaps using a mantra around “This isn’t a roadblock. There is a way. I will find it.” Resting to regroup and recalibrate is not giving up – it can fuel us to continue forward through what LOOKS like a roadblock. So, rest, re-fuel, re-focus, and find that way. Be like a persistent stream!
As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?
Back in perhaps, the 1990’s, there was a book “14,000 things to be happy about” and I am completely positive this played an important role in my development. Its nugget of wisdom is inherent only in it being an actual list of thousands of things to be happy about. It taught me, I believe I was a pre-teen when I first saw it in our home… that there is literally ALWAYS something to “be happy” about. It may seem simple and small, and, to me, it was like a big ‘ol Aha-moment. It felt like, “I knew it! I was right! I’m not crazy to find the good parts of anything no matter what!”
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.massagebook.com/biz/clezen
- Instagram: @clezenmassage
Image Credits
For the 7th photo, of myself working on a client’s leg, that photo was taken by photographer Matthew Chasney.
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
