Alignment

Riding Free

There were few things that brought me as much joy in my childhood as riding through the Ozarks on the back of my dad’s motorcycle. I would no longer ride with my mom after she dumped me into a creek. I think she somewhat enjoyed it and I didn’t trust her not to do it again. I did enjoy riding though; I especially loved the feeling of freedom and being surrounded by nature.

When my sister was a teenager, my dad taught her to ride, but when it came my turn, he refused to teach me, stating he didn’t want to be responsible for my death. I guess I couldn’t blame him, I was a little bit of a daredevil with a wild streak.

One of the many perks of being with my husband, Greg, was riding again and I trust him completely. We took a trip to Estes Park for the 4th of July when I was 5 months pregnant with Tabitha and I discovered that I really love riding fast—not out-of-control, crazy fast—but more than the law would like. Whenever I wanted him to go a little faster, I’d give him a little squeeze between my legs.

As Tabitha got a little older, she started enjoying riding too. The only way we could enjoy riding as a family was for me to learn to ride my own.  In the past, when I thought about learning to ride, I’d think back to what my father had said and what became a subconscious belief, riding my own motorcycle meant I would die. And then there was also the incident with my mom and at some level I didn’t trust female riders.

It was while we were riding to Estes Park in 2009, Greg throttled up when we went through a tunnel and the sound of the pipes vibrated and echoed through me. In that moment, I knew I wanted to be able to do the same.

Greg offered to teach me but since I don’t believe spouses should teach one another anything—especially something that requires multiple steps and patience—I thanked him and signed up for a motorcycle-riding course.

With my motorcycle endorsement in hand I went to get my new driver’s license. I couldn’t believe the differences, including my signature. I carry both of them with me as a reminder of what is possible when we are willing to face our fears and be open to the process of letting go of that which no longer serves us in order to become the person we are meant to be.

 

I’ve been riding my own bike for a few years and I absolutely love it. I especially enjoy the freedom of the open road with nothing holding me back.

Make Your Own News

The News. What’s so “new” about it? Seems like it’s the same stuff, different day. Watching the news is a traditional American Pastime.  Current Events and the importance of being informed were taught in school. There is a societal expectation that one should be informed on local, country, and world news in order to hold decent small talk conversations.

I used to watch the news every day; it would be on in the morning while preparing for work, mainly for traffic and weather reports. The nightly news, usually following one of my favorite dramas such as ER or Law and Order, would come on after a good cry or feelings of fear from the thought of random crime. I would drift off to sleep after riding an emotional rollercoaster with thoughts of a world filled with unjust acts, anger, far too many innocent victims, and a sense of hopelessness.

At the time, I didn’t have much consideration for thoughts or feelings, not possessing an awareness of the direct connection between information and my life experience.

Early on my journey of self-discovery, I stopped watching the news, because I wanted more positivity in my life. As with any habit, it wasn’t easy to break at first, as I was missing some of the things I found valuable, such as the weather report.

I began going online to a local news channel’s website to look at the weather report. When I did this, I found I would get sucked into the headlines, and I’d start to feel bad and discouraged again. A feature was added that allowed me to sign-up for the daily weather report via email; I could get the information I wanted without the drama. Today, it’s even easier, with the forecast available at the touch of my fingertips on my iPhone.

When someone mentioned a current event, I would simply respond that I didn’t know about it since I no longer watch the news.  Now most people don’t understand the concept of breaking free from cultural norms, seemingly unaware that it is even an option, and this concept would stretch many outside their comfort zone.

Some people would argue that they “like to be informed”. I do too, I like to have information that is relevant to me, that’s why I set up the intention that if there was something I needed to know, something that was important for my wellbeing, that information would come to me. Information came in various ways: someone would tell me, I would overhear a conversation, I’d read it, and, in recent years, someone will post it on Facebook. I love that I can receive the information I need without being inundated by all the information that doesn’t need to be in my awareness.

Others would argue, “It’s not all BAD news, there is good news, too.” In my experience, the amount of time spent covering bad news far outweighed the amount of coverage on “feel good” news stories. Often, those touching stories depict someone who has overcome tremendous adversity and struggle, perpetuating the belief that nothing comes easy and we need to struggle and work hard to achieve anything good or worthwhile.

Don’t get me wrong, I believe the world is filled with good news, so much so, that if traditional media would report on all the good happening in the world, there would be no time left to report on the wrongdoing in the world. What works best for me is to access information I need on the Internet, of course there is plenty of fear-based information out there, but I’m able to sift through and quickly identify the resource that is right for me.

I enjoy making my own news, living the life that I consciously create, which is far different than the one that the media would prefer that I live. What life are you living? The one you desire or the one you have been programmed to live?

 

Discovering More of Me Through Comedy

You can watch here: Sabrina Fritts Comedy Debut

When I first saw the announcement of the “Stand Up! Workshop for Women” I was ready to sign-up. I had always secretly wanted to be a stand-up comedian, I love to laugh and equally enjoy making others laugh.

I believed this experience would provide new knowledge that would assist me in my professional career, as a public speaker, teacher, and, now, radio personality. It was easy to justify, based on the educational business expense alone.

In addition to making my professional bio more interesting, I expected to have some fun, and check off another item on my bucket list, like when I skydived.  I didn’t have an attachment, whether or not I would perform more than this one time, trusting I would know after my debut.

I didn’t expect this to be easy. I knew I would be stretched outside of my comfort zone, but everything worthwhile does, and I enjoy embracing those liberating growth opportunities.

We began with a four-hour workshop, led by Kristina Hall, a professional writer and comedian. There were nine women participating and I casually knew one, the rest I met that day.  However, several of the women knew each other, some quite well, and that made me feel like an outsider. Were they going to get special treatment, or have an unfair advantage because Kristina knew them?

Looking back now, I see the masterful games my ego began to play. Whenever I enter uncharted territory, I revert to my instinctual “survival of the fittest” stance. I immediately assess the “competition” and plot my strategy for triumph.

It’s not pretty and it isn’t easy for me to admit these feelings. I have often had glimpses of oneness, where I see someone for their true self and it feels wonderfully delicious. So, when I fall into the limitations of humanity, it hurts even more, knowing it can be different.  I must be willing to let go of my own insecurities and fear of failure in order to feel differently. It pisses me off, quite frankly, that I still can suffer from victimization. Haven’t I healed, evolved, and transcended this yet? Why the hell not? Will I never be good enough?

I felt intimidated by this group of women. They were all beautiful and intelligent, as well as, edgy and adventurous.  I felt like I had no advantage. I began spiraling down into a dark place and I try to stop the insanity by looking for good things, focusing on our similarities, seeing them for their true self.

Then, Kristina asked me to share my biggest fantasy in what I hoped to gain from this experience. I can remember feeling such great joy when I imagined possibilities, with no limits, and I responded with my deepest desire to become an inspirational comedian, reaching millions of people, transforming lives through laughter. Kristina told me to take the emphasis off others, and focus on me, what I hoped to get from it.

I was confused because in my mind, affecting positive change in this world, helping people live more joyful lives, that’s what I want more than anything, nothing would make me happier. I already knew I would grow from this experience, that was a given, I wanted to look beyond myself. In that moment, I felt that she just didn’t ”get it,” she didn’t see the bigger picture, and now, the best I could hope for was to gain technical knowledge of the comedic world.

I spent the rest of the time during the workshop in observation mode, being reserved and cautious.  When I did speak up during a joke writing exercise, my suggestion was rejected, feeding my insecurities and my need to find flaws in others.

There were discussions on some topics outside of my playground, and my ignorance causes me to be uncomfortable and critical. Looking for relief, I felt I had enough material on the others that I didn’t need to share my stuff. That’s my default insecure mode; focus on the imperfections of others, so I don’t have to look at my own.

At the end of the workshop, we had a basic formula and guidelines for a joke and we were assigned the task of beginning to write our material, with our first group teleconference scheduled a few days later.  We would be performing in two weeks. Was it possible to be ready by then?

Kristina posted some comedy videos in our Facebook group and I gravitated toward the one that was outside the traditional stand-up, but showed the strength and humor in being honest and vulnerable, through storytelling. That’s what I love to do, tell stories and that became obvious in the way I was writing my material.  Perhaps this was the whole purpose of me being doing this, to discover a platform that spotlights storytellers. That really excited me; I felt this workshop has served its purpose.

After writing a few initial jokes, I sent them to Kristina and she provided constructive feedback. She advised me to avoid instructing or inspiring, which works in motivational speaking, but not stand-up, the comedy audience is inspired by honesty. If I want to inspire them, I have to be completely authentic and willing to share at a deeper level. I needed to take the focus off what others would get from it and focus on what I was going to receive instead.

There were several monumental events that took place during this time, my son graduated from high school and we joined my parents for a family vacation in Sedona. My husband and I rode our own motorcycles, 1550 miles round-trip, while basking in spectacular scenery; the ride is physically strenuous and sometimes challenging due to heat or cold. My professional life was expanding to the airwaves, with launching a new radio show, “Authenticity Rising”, which I co-host on Transformation Talk Radio, with a dear friend and colleague, Christine Upchurch. Our first show was scheduled the day before my comedy debut.

During our vacation, I had four conference calls between the radio show and the comedy workshop, and I needed to write some material. I was dealing with the guilt of cutting into my time with my family and feeling overwhelmed by my responsibilities. I felt resentment that I didn’t have the luxury of leaving “work” behind like my husband, Greg, could do.  In addition, I was dealing with my emotions around witnessing my parents, who are not physically healthy, making poor choices that negatively affect them. Although I do not fear death, knowing we are eternal, I do want them to have good quality of life while they’re alive.

We began our return trip on Saturday, three days before the show, by driving through the high desert in hot temperatures. There was an incident with a Navajo Sheriff that would eventually provide me with material, but at the time, caused a disagreement with Greg. After a ten-hour day, my son, who was driving my car behind us, decided to continue home with his sister, giving Greg and me a much-needed night alone.

Then I open a group email from Kristina, which contained a lot of homework. This was the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back. I broke down, the pressure was too much and now it seemed like work, not playful and fun. Why can’t I do it my way? Greg put it back into perspective for me, by rationally pointing out that I am a student, I wanted to learn this, and I am being given expert advice, that I paid for, to do it.

Like with most situations, it is rare that what we are reacting to in front of us is the actual problem. I needed to release the stress and concern that had been building up. After enjoying good food, a thorough cry, and great sex, I was back in alignment. I could breathe again and I was ready for the next steps.

With Kristina’s priceless expertise, my stories were whittled down into clear and succinct jokes.  And they were funny! It was time to practice and memorize my routine, my mind would not stop. I could barely sleep the night before, or eat the day of the show and there were times throughout that my body would shake from nervousness. I hadn’t experienced anxiousness, at this level, before. I knew something good was going to happen and this was much bigger than I had expected.

We arrived at the venue early to acclimate and support each other in our shared anxiety and concern.  We were in this together; I no longer felt a sense of competition or alienation. I felt a powerful connection and appreciation for each of these beautiful, uniquely authentic, and courageous women.

We all experienced significant change; break downs and breakthroughs during this process. Each and every one of us that took the stage for the first time felt the undeniable exhilaration of facing fear and conquering it. Stepping outside our comfort zone and discovering freedom in knowing that simply sharing ourselves, we discover we are enough, and actually are very funny.

In our unique challenges and life choices, we have come together through our common desire to express ourselves through comedy. Sharing a closeness that was incredibly palpable, Greg commented on it. Our success is a testament to Kristina’s ability to teach, bringing out the best in others, and her belief that everyone is a comic. Kristina said, “Laughter is expansive.” That is an understatement!

We had so much fun, we are going to do it again!

 

You can watch here: Sabrina Fritts Comedy Debut

We did it!!!
These were two of the women in my group, Charis and Laura Lee. Talk about intimidating, both are gorgeous (even while eating) AND tall!

“WTF!!! Is this really what it’s all about?”

Life can be hard, painful, full of one challenge after the other. It leaves you wondering ~ “WTF!!! Is this really what it’s all about? I came here so life can serve me up one indigestible pile of crap after another?”

For many years, I continuously felt victimized by the randomness of life. One of my favorite sayings at that time, something to sooth the pain was “That which does not kill you, makes you stronger!” I do not recommend adopting this motto in your life, unless if you want to experience stress, struggle and scarcity.

Abusive relationships, including an abusive marriage to a narcissist, girl friends that stabbed me in the back; always felt overworked, under appreciated and definitely underpaid; assholes that cut me off in traffic, poor customer service, overcharges, and on and on the cycle would go. Every time I turned around there was one more thing that was reminding me that I’m always getting screwed over.

One thing was for certain; it never felt good to be victimized and I had a very strong victim vibration activated. Pretty soon, I found myself reflecting on my life, searching for something more, knowing that there has to be higher purpose for our existence and I began to dip a toe or two into the spiritual abyss.

Beginning to consciously focus on the experiences I wanted in my life, I found that I was manifesting like crazy. However, my life experiences still included some of those unpleasant experiences and I didn’t understand why. After Dr. Wayne Dyer introduced me to the Teachings of Abraham-Hicks, learning that we are more non-physical than physical beings and that as energetic beings we are constantly offering a vibration. Law of attraction is always matching what we are currently vibrating, like tuning into a radio frequency and playing what is being broadcast. We have a predominant vibrational set point – mine was often set to Victim.

What is your predominant vibrational set point? What would you like it to be?

This newfound knowledge made a lot of sense to me and for the first time in my life, I was able to stop blaming others or situations for the victimization I felt and instead, honestly see my part. How life circumstances had caused me to have low self-esteem, a powerful sense of unworthiness, and a tremendous amount of guilt, aligning from one painful situation to the next.  Willing to take responsibility for my role actually caused me to feel quite empowered. This was completely refreshing and the opposite of what I had normally felt.

By connecting to my inner-being (soul, higher self, spirit), receiving guidance from my emotions, gaining clarity on what I want from knowing clearly what I don’t want, I began to make positive changes in my life and stopped being a victim. Does that mean that everything in my life always goes according to plan? No. But it does mean that the majority of the time, I feel good and I am experiencing really amazing things.

When I have a setback today, which usually occurs when I haven’t taken the time to care for myself, it’s an opportunity to get clear on what I would prefer instead. It’s simply information that there is something active in my vibration that I would prefer to let go. Being human, we are going to have times when we stumble and fall but don’t let that stop you from playing! It’s time to find an easier way to play the game.

Transitions

And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom. ~ Anais Nin

Transition is a normal flow of life, much like the seasons changing. Yet, we tend to cling so tightly to what is that we are not allowing what can be. We often become stagnant in our lives, unwilling to take risks or allow ourselves to experience all possibilities. We feel moments of inspiration that are over-shadowed by meeting our obligations.

After my personal experience in my early twenties, whenever I had to fire or lay-off someone during my Human Resources career, I often stated that being fired is the biggest blessing one can receive. A clean slate allows us to explore new options.

If I hadn’t lost my job, a job that I didn’t enjoy, I would not have been searching for something new. Many of us were raised with the good ol’ Puritan work ethic: work hard, prove ourselves worthy, earn a decent living, and then retire.  Often working for others, serving our time, exchanging time for dollars. Very few are doing what they love. We become complacent and if lucky, content. What would happen if people really followed their hearts and did what they love?

I enjoyed my time in HR, yet I had inner yearnings of breaking free from the corporate world.  I didn’t know how I could leave. I was making a decent salary, working from home four days a week, with good benefits, and had a lot of co-workers that were like family to me. Yet, I wanted more! More joy, more play, and more time to help others on their life paths.

As much as I wanted my freedom, I was paralyzed by fear – how would I replace my income and provide benefits for my family? Fear is the number one cause that stops people from following their dreams. Many have heard the acronym for FEAR, False Evidence Appearing Real, but in the midst of it, fear feels very real! Fear, worry, concern, and indecision are toxic to the soul. These thoughts and feelings hold us down, and keep us from reaching our full potential.

Stepping through fear is a journey. It starts with a new idea or inspiration. Feel it, line up to it by addressing and releasing any feelings or old paradigm beliefs that do not serve, and then allow alignment to the new idea.

The day came when I was ready to take the next step, with some uncertainty, yet with a deep knowingness that this was the right time.  That was over five years ago, and not once have I looked back and wished I had stayed.  Here I am today at a new point in my life, letting go of the person I have become these past few years.  I am ready to embark on a new path, ready to reach a larger audience and assist them in living in their authentic selves.

Am I scared? I’d be dishonest if I said no. But today, I take comfort in knowing that I am fully supported in all that I do. Letting go is essential!  This was a foreign concept to my former Type A personality. It does get easier with practice.  Let go of attachment to the outcome, be open to the possibilities, and allow.

There may be times when we fall down and scrape our knees, but that is no reason to stop playing! We wanted to come and play in this amazing playground we call Earth, with so many experiences to choose from. Let your inner guidance gently allow you to blossom into what you were meant to be!

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