Welcome to Moonlight Musings: A Space for Inspiration, Illumination, & Reflection
“Barn's burnt down -- now I can see the moon.” ― Mizuta Masahide
If someone told me when this photo was taken five years ago, as I stood in awe of the alien, otherworldly beauty of Hierve El Agua, that I would launch a coaching business later that year—leading me to a deep sense of purpose, immense passion for my work, and a private practice with incredibly inspiring clients—I would have hardly believed it! It was barely a whisper of a dream at that moment.
Yet the truth is, every personal and professional success and challenge in my life led me to this exact path, as if it were written in me all along.
In this way, stepping into our best lives can resemble an expedition to another planet. It can feel like we have left the familiar behind and are rocketing into alien territory, full of questions and fears. But when we reach our destination, and arrive home to our truths, there’s no turning back, nor would we want to. For when we align our unique genius with being of service, culminating in purpose, and design our lives to meet our dreams, it’s a moonshot existence.
Beginnings
I grew up in a rural suburb of NYC, solidly middle class, with hard working parents, an older sister, and an identical twin sister, along with maternal grandparents who played a significant role in my upbringing.
Obsessed with nature, I ran around barefoot in the summers, befriended insects, and wanted to be a zoologist. It’s fascinating to me that even at such a young age, I appreciated that humans are a part of this intricate, awe-inspiring web of life, and that nature is a space that holds, heals, and inspires us. My reverence for nature is a theme woven throughout my life and career.
After earning a BA with Honors in Psychology from Northwestern University and a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law, I had the privilege of serving both terms of the Obama Administration as a trusted advisor to principals, including at the White House, before taking on a role as a Senior Official at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
“All of your houses are on fire”
In my late 30s, I faced a time in my life I can only describe as dark nights of the soul. During the year leading up to the 2016 election and the year following it, several things integral to my identity—my decade+ career in federal service, my marriage, and my home—all metaphorically burned to the ground. On top of this, a loved one suffered a mental health crisis and my seemingly healthy, young cat died suddenly.
I felt like I was drowning, as wave after wave crashed, barely catching my breath before the next crisis surfaced. I slept with my hand on my heart for months, trying to soothe the heartache. Looking back, I walked with grief for two long years, a companion I had not yet come to appreciate.
I carried a limiting belief that other people had their lives “together” and did not suffer through these messy experiences. When my therapist shared the metaphor of a house on fire, it gave me permission to stop fighting the pain and stress, and instead, give myself permission to survive as best as I could with what I knew at that time. To trust that I was not alone. To stop running away from grief and invite her into my heart, to witness her transformative power, and to allow grief to be a bridge to joy.
“A Better View of the Rising Moon”
A haiku by Mizuta Masahide, a 17th century Japanese samurai, served as a beacon of hope during my period of purgatory, and is the namesake of this Substack:
Surrounded by the metaphorical ashes of the facets of my identity I had held most dearly, along with the literal ashes of my beloved cat, I feared I would be single, depressed, and lonely as I crashed into the dreaded 40s and midlife. (Growing up playing the card game, Old Maid, certainly didn’t help on top of the rampant ageism and sexism coursing through our culture!)
Instead, I somewhat unexpectedly experienced a powerful phoenix rising. I began to observe a kind, compassionate inner voice, replacing my inner critic. I met myself with the love and compassion I had previously reserved for loved ones. I began to set better boundaries, honor my needs, speak my truths, and preserve my energy, after a lifetime of being a 711 of support for others. I did not know what was happening at the time, but in hindsight, I recognize these shifts as the very beginning of the most important adventure of my lifetime, the journey home to my true self.
In 2017, at the age of 40 and newly divorced, I moved to Los Angeles (you could say motivated to get as far away from D.C. as possible) and took on the role of General Counsel at a cleantech startup.
Relocating to a new city and switching industries opened up a host of fears and challenges, along with the most fertile ground to reclaim my sense of self, my values, my identity, my independence, and my freedom.
That role, while a powerful growth opportunity, had dynamics that prevented me from standing in my integrity and led me to question whether I wanted to continue practicing law.
In 2018, I took yet another leap (it felt like falling more than flying) and left—with nothing lined up—for an extended travel sabbatical.
Flying Lessons
While on sabbatical, my wings unfolded and I began my coaching journey by enrolling in the Martha Beck Institute. I never thought that I would become a coach, but rather, enrolled because I felt lost in my legal career and hoped the program would offer me support as I navigated my next career chapter.
Over time, I could no longer ignore the truth that coaching is aligned with my unique genius and deeper sense of purpose. I finally embraced what had been obvious all along, that I have always been a coach in spirit—whether helping friends find jobs they love, encouraging team members to access their passions, or serving as a trusted confidante to executives. I derive tremendous joy and purpose in helping clients navigate change, maximize potential, boost leadership skills, seize joy, design their lives to be deeply fulfilling, set in motion self-actualization, and fall in love with their lives.
Just as my own dark nights led to a midlife awakening, it is often through crises and tests of character, which strip us to our essence, that we come to understand that we are our own greatest source of strength and compassion, holding a reservoir of wisdom and grace within us.
I think of this force within as a Superman emblem beaming into the sky, or the rays of a lighthouse cutting through a storm, calling us home. Coaching also brings about this alignment with our authentic self, lighting up our energy, outlook, sense of gratitude, and positivity.
Welcome, Fellow Mystics, Explorers, the Tender-Hearted, and those Passionate about Self Discovery
It has been over five years, including hundreds of clients and 1500+ hours of coaching, since I switched careers and radically changed my life.
During this unfolding, in the sacred compact created through coaching clients and holding space for their deeper wisdom, I have witnessed the beauty of humanity, power of our souls to guide us like a north star, awe-inspiring kindness of countless hearts, and universal truths that joy is our birthright and befriending grief is a gateway to healing.
Over these past five years, I have been sharing on Instagram (@moonlight_musings_) words of inspiration and wisdom, art, and photos I’ve collected along the way to cultivate a beautiful community that celebrates integrated and embodied leadership, spirituality, kindness, big beautiful hearts, creativity, diversity, inclusivity, our elders and ancestors, honoring grief, vulnerability, hope, and deep connections.
I am now called to dedicate more space to my writing (beloved since childhood, yet long neglected), which is why I am excited to create this substack community as a new home for my moonlight musings.
Although to be honest, I hesitated to create this Substack, thinking, most of us have the attention span of a flea and want only bite-sized content, who will read my words? (Outside of my parents—thank you mom and dad for your unwavering support!)
Then I thought, if not now, when, if not whom, why not me. (A variation on a first-century BCE Jewish leader’s words.) The same exact message came to me right before launching my coaching business.
If you are a deep feeler, a sensitive person, spiritual, nature obsessed, sensuous, and an explorer with a courageous heart, who may feel misunderstood and yearns for fellow inquisitive, kind, vulnerable, and brave humans dedicated to self discovery and self actualization as a path towards healing ourselves, our communities, and this planet, this community is for you.
Thank you for being here. I’d love to hear from you!
Good for you, Gena! Your experiences and insights resonated with me deeply. I look forward to more.