I grew up in a loud, loving, wildly confusing family—and like a lot of us, figured the only way to matter was to be the responsible one. The achiever. The one who held it all together. That strategy eventually landed me in addiction. But recovery gave me a second act.

I got sober in 2004, went deep into spiritual study, did my trauma work, earned a master’s in Spiritual Psychology, and started facilitating A Course in Miracles. On paper, I was healing. But inside, I was still gripping life too tightly—trying to perfect it, trying to earn my worth. Even spirituality became a performance.

Then I remembered what joy felt like.

That’s what the Lighten Up Movement is about: learning to drop the roles, laugh at the ego, and live from the lightness that’s already inside. I made a hat to remind myself. Then a quiz. Then a community.

Now I help others remember who they really are—not by overthinking it, but by playing their way home.