We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Natalie Bonner. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Natalie below.
Natalie , thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?
Resilience. Interesting word when you look at the basic meaning of the word. Resilience is synonymous with sheer unwavering determination to prevail. There is truly a symbiotic relationship between tenacity and perseverance. My resilience comes from trauma and failure. It comes from my desire to be triumphant over adverse circumstances to ensure goals are achieved, and I am successful in achieving what I am pursuing, or what I have targeted as the end goal. Resilience comes from trial and error, and lessons learned from mistakes made. Opportunity to get it right the next go around. I refuse to allow any failed attempts to achieve something deter me from doing it again until I succeed. I see those non-accomplishments as lesson’s necessary to further elevate me in my next attempts, because giving up is not a option until the goal is achieved. To be resilient is to be determined to succeed without sacrificing self or self care. My resilience is predicated on three foundational pillars. Three (3) important stabilizing factors; 1. recognizing that it is OK to be selfish, 2. controlling your environment, and 3. controlling your thoughts, because thoughts become things that can control you. It is very much similar to a trauma response, it can control you, or you can control it, your can choose to be resilient, or cower into the dark abyss of what if I had not given up, why did I give up, or why did I give in to my fear of failure, or is it a deep seeded fear of success. This developed skill of resiliency is rooted in my childhood development and nurtured sense of who I am. It is fostered from lessons and affirmations given from mentors, and various life cheerleaders.
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?
Natalie Jones Bonner is an author, advocate, business innovator, veteran, and Founder of Blue Lotus Creations Herbal Emporium located at 1070 Irish Hill Drive, Biloxi. Blue Lotus Creations is a retailer of carefully curated herbal wellness products allowing customers to Be Well and Live Well with herbal remedies.
Natalie is the Founder of Cannabis Festival Mississippi, Founder of Mississippi Gulf Coast Women Who Brunch, Co-Founder of the RedstickCannabis Festival, Co-Founder of Gulf Coast Brunch Festival, and Co-Founder of Opulent High, a luxury cannabis event and retreat company. She serves on the Board of Veteransville, and East Biloxi Food Market. She is also a member of Junior Auxiliary Biloxi Ocean Springs, as well as Movers and Shakers Social Club.
Natalie’s passion project is Social Justice Reform, and Social Equity in the Cannabis Industry. Natalie works hand in hand with cannabis advocates to challenge lawmakers to create cannabis legislation that includes minorities who have been most disenfranchised by the failed War on Drugs. Natalie believes as reciprocity, these individuals must be given the opportunity at both freedom from targeted incarceration, and participation in the wealth acquisition now occurring in the cannabis industry. Natalie’s mantra is two-fold; be intentional and be you!
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?
These are the 3 pillars most impactful to my journey towards discovery and knowledge of self. I consider these mandatory to experience a feeling of well-being on a personal, professional, and or business level.
1. Recognizing that it is OK to be selfish.
2. Controlling your environment to protect your mental health.
3. Controlling your thoughts.
What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?
I depict in my mind the situation or circumstance causing me to feel overwhelmed as an elephant. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. Meditation coupled with deep 4 count breaths are my go to quiet my mind and put things in perspective. I start with 5 minutes of sitting in silence. I either sit or lie down in a quiet room, set a timer for 5 minutes, close my eyes, and focus on being still for simply 5 minutes. I now you are thinking 5 minutes is nothing, that isn’t enough time, Chile I need an hour, a day. But you will be amazed how just 5 minutes of attention to self can invigorates you, resets your thought patterns, your view and perspective. At first it will be difficult because of monkey brain. My trick is to use visualization techniques. I am laying on a grass lawn, staring at the sky, and I focus on blue skies, clouds, and treetops. That is all I see. When a thought tries to push through, I speak internally, “blue skies, clouds, and treetops”. Eventually I see blue skies, clouds and treetops. I hold that image for as long as I can until the 5-minute timer goes off. This is my go to strategy, It works. Self care works as a strategy to control feelings of anxiety, stress, and being overwhelmed. I also recommended adding herbal remedies as part of your calming routine. Herbal remedies such as Kava Kava, Blue Lotus, Kanna, and Cannabis are effective adders to any self care routine.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.shopbluelotus.net
- Instagram: bluelotuscreationsbiloxi
- Facebook: bluelotuscreationsherbalemporium
Image Credits
image hands folded in pink dress, image credit Dawn V. Gilmore Photography
