Written by: Juliette Marhofer-Dugger, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
It was a couple of months ago that I savored every bite of a dish I love down to the last morsel. Surely the gods of P.F. Chang’s restaurant must know my deep desire to lick the plate clean when I’m done with Buddha’s Feast. Yet, there I was choosing to behave to be rewarded with my fortune cookie! Patting my hands together like a happy seal, I cracked open my cookie to reveal the fun mystery message, “You will soon be asked a very important question.”
On the way home I laughed about drawing inspiration from this cookie, but then I pondered, “If I were asked an important question, what would I want it to be?” I knew the dialogue ensuing in my soul was an invitation to sit with my journal upon arriving home. Over the years, the unforced rhythm of journaling has afforded me the opportunity to inhale and exhale, uninhibited. That evening I penned the conversation in my mind around this ‘fortune’, page upon page. Thinking of the endless possibilities of what that one hypothetical question could be, my mind wandered into the new year of 2022 with one foot in the present.
And I thought of you, friend. I thought of the unique circumstances you may be in, even now as you’re reading this. Your soul care woven into the fabric of my thoughts prompted me to lay the pen down and be still. While one person finds excitement in leaving 2021 behind, their neighbor may not be ready to close this chapter of their story quite yet. You may be covered up in layers of grief while your friend is celebrating the good they’ve longed for. Our roads parallel and fork, yet in our humanness the path of every soul hopes for the same destination at the arrival of each new year. We all long to belong and desire to be loved. What does this have to do with ‘a very important question’?
Because the road that leads us home is best. In the context of home, I’m not referring to a physical environment. Since a physical home may or may not reflect comfort, I’m referencing home as the condition of our soul. When love and belonging become the culture of our lives, we create a future from a place of peace. We cannot deny the reality of our situation, but we can seek wellness for our soul in the middle of chaos. In the middle of my own tragedy, love and fear taught me that pain and power coexist beautifully, they are not mutually exclusive. Peace becomes your compass in the storm and it’s the welcome mat at the door of your heart to help you breathe.
The epiphany from this little, introspective ‘fortune’ quickly turned to personal journaling prompts for my own soul care. The priority of importance we place on the questions we ask ourselves are shaped by need or driven by desire. Do we believe we must choose one over the other, always? Need and desire are powerful forces. The good to be found among the tension of both is your invitation to journey into those very important questions you’ve been craving to ask!
Let’s explore 3 questions together to get you started. Then, let these inspire you to create your own:
I desire deeper connection with others and if I act on this desire, both of our needs could yield a beautiful outcome and deeper community. Are there three people in my life who I know need this too?
I need more money. Instead of looking for another job, have I paused to consider what my desires are surrounding the future I long to create?
I desire to be peaceful instead of anxious. What are the needs of my spirit, soul, and body, my heart, mind, and will in order to create a culture of peace in my life?
Winning the war within is realizing how worthy you are of love and belonging. In every step you take remember how capable you are of beginning again and again. Never forget your innate, courageous ability to ask yourself those very important, even hard, questions! Welcome home soul, welcome home.
Cheers to asking hard questions that help us heal & bring peace,
Juliette Marhofer Dugger
Juliette Marhofer-Dugger, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Juliette Marhofer Dugger, is a mother, coach, speaker, author, entrepreneur, thought leader, and philanthropist whose obsession with Soul Care points others to rewrite their story and not to relive history. After childhood and adulthood trauma caused a collision of abandonment and intimate belonging in her soul, she created dialogue to radically transform her narrative.Juliette has committed her life to help others unleash their creativity in the middle of the war in their soul not after it ends! She is the Founder of WildWell Company and the Master Coach and Creator of Detox Dialogue™, a movement of personal transformation through soul care for females whose private and professional lives have been impacted by systemic cycles and patterns, mental, emotional, and spiritual abuse, and betrayal trauma. She is a published author and host of YELLOWSOUL, an interview-based podcast holding rogue conversations for women to know “if it's defined you, it matters, let’s talk about it”. Juliette is passionate about reframing soul hygiene to disrupt the view of how we connect to faith, ourselves, and others to create a life of wonder!
