Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Christena Shreve-Elza. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Christena, 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.
I’ve always believed in the power of optimism. It has the potential to get us through anything we are experiencing in life and teaches us how strong and resilient we can be. It doesn’t mean things will turn out how we expect, but by remaining focused on the knowledge and compassion we can gain through these experiences, it can transform our life and those around us. That is priceless and so rewarding for our soul’s growth. We either focus on the good and what can become of that moment, or we dwell on what we are not getting or how challenging something is that we are going through. By remaining optimistic and staying true to ourselves, it will motivate us to overcome most anything in life, even those moments that feel insurmountable. By giving little precedence to these challenging aspects and focusing on our core feelings, our future goals and dreams, this can motivate us to get through anything. And when we get to the other side of anything that we were afraid to experience, we can honestly surprise ourselves with what we can endure and overcome.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that I am perpetually optimistic. I have gone through some very challenging times in my life, but I have learned that these moments helped me uncover the hidden source of strength that resides in us all, we just have to get in touch with it and learn to listen with our hearts. We all have a well of healing and compassion inside us, we just have to learn how to listen with pure joy and gratitude for what is, no judgement for ourselves and others, as we are all desiring a life that brings us love and happiness.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I’m really looking forward to 2024 as it seems to be a year of reinvention for me, both personally and professionally. I am blessed to have many passions that ignite the fire within me to create and bring beauty into this world. I have been designing and installing gardens and containers in Metro Atlanta for over 20 years and I am passionate about sharing my love of plants and flowers. They are magical and without them we would cease to exist, so showing gratitude towards all plants is a deep passion of mine. I’ve had my design company, The Good Earth Designs for over 15 years, but I am also very fortunate to work as a designer at Twin Branch Nursery in Woodstock. Twin Branch is a beautiful 8 acre nursery that is a gardener’s dream, filled with a vast array of plants, gorgeous concrete containers and statuary, plus it is situated in an idyllic setting that everyone seems to fall in love with. We have a very knowledgeable staff and the owners, Chris and Kevin, well-established in the landscape industry, have created a beautiful and fun place to work, so my “plant family” is a solid foundation in my life. I am also finishing my first book titled “Plants Like People”. I have been writing it for a few years, however I keep getting ideas, so I know I still have a little more editing and scripting to do before it is ready to be released. However, I will have it published this year as I made it my goal and priority as I don’t want to delay any further. I am so excited to share it with the world. A year of creativity and expansion and working with people that share the same passions and drive that I have to be successful, but also creating a life that is fun.
I am also expanding my practice of yoga and recently becoming a 500-hour yoga teacher, which has changed every aspect of my life. It is the core of who I am and it has taught me so much about myself, while also reminding me that I have so much to learn as I navigate my life. As a yogi for over 20 years, it is integral to how I live my life and I am looking forward to expanding my teaching practice as I share the beauty of this simple yet profound practice. I want to travel the world and teach at yoga retreats, with the future goal of having my own retreat back in my beloved home state of beautiful West Virginia. I love to garden, write, practice yoga and share my love of life with those around me.
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?
I think if I were to narrow it down to 3 qualities that have impacted my journey the most, it would be Kindness, Gratitude and Generosity. I believe these three have inspired the deep love that I have within me, which transpires and overflows to all those around me. My Grandpa Shreve taught me pure kindness at a very young age and his teachings and examples of what it means to be genuinely kind to everyone, still resonates deeply within me to this day. The gratitude that I have for my life, my beautiful home, my vast amount of friends and huge family are so important to me. I try to remember how blessed I am every moment of my life and when there are days or moments that are challenging, I also remember that nothing lasts forever and to stay focused on staying in the moment and feeling everything going on within me and around me.
Being generous is also very important to me and that pertains to anything in life. We can be generous with our time, our attention, our spirit, our love, with our financial resources, there are no limits in generosity. Giving of anything that benefits someone or something else is important, not only to ourselves but those on the receiving end. It feels good for everyone.
What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?
I recently ended a long-term relationship. We were together for almost 26 years and married for 23. My divorce was the hardest thing I have ever experienced but also the most rewarding, as it allowed me to heal and rediscover who I am without the struggle of trying to make a relationship work, which was inevitably coming to an end. I think there are a lot of married couples that struggle with the necessary ending of their own relationships: they have children to be concerned with, societal expectations of staying together, family pressures, financial concerns and most importantly FEAR, which I have discovered can all be liberating once we have acknowledged them. Sometimes you have to just trust that everything will be OK, even if you are making hard, painful decisions. Letting go can be really hard but when you let something go, it also opens up other opportunities and people to enter into our lives. We have to learn to trust, even in the darkest of times. Actually, that is probably when we need to learn to trust the process the most, however it also seems to be the hardest time for us to surrender.
I love that I get to reinvent myself after all these years, even on days and moments where it seems overwhelming to handle. I remind myself of the joy and liberation I am experiencing and I want to help other people realize that they can also make big changes in their life and not let fear and paralyzation dictate their next move. We owe it to ourselves to be brutally honest about our relationships, especially with our partners. “The Other Side is Beautiful” and this is the title of my second book that I just started writing. A story of my heralded life and the grit and determination I have experienced in getting to where I am now. We all experience moments that seem impossible and overwhelming to get through, but the joy and happiness that I am now experiencing after going through such a hard time, was worth everything I went through. I want to help others realize the same. It feels really good on The Other Side.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.thegoodearthdesigns.com
www.TwinBranchNursery.com - Instagram: Shreve1231
- Facebook: Christena Shreve-Elza
- Linkedin: Christena Shreve-Elza
Image Credits
Nikki Haslett- one photo
