Courtney’s Corner – From Pain to Purpose

Courtney’s Corner

“I’m sorry I couldn’t keep you in this world, however, I am honored to share your love with the world”. – Courtney Kaplan

When you look back on your life, is there someone along your journey that stands out as someone that influenced change in your life? Whether that be a teacher, a friend, perhaps a supervisor? Are there moments you can recall something someone said to you that also deeply influenced your perception of the world or perhaps yourself? There are truly a handful of individuals that crossed my path and changed the way I viewed the world. There are words that ache and words that heal. Sometimes it’s hard to look back. on our past. There are decisions, thoughts, wins and failures, that lay in your library of neatly filed memories waiting to be checked out again.

Transplant Hope

I am beyond proud to announce the next project. Losing my son Michael has changed everything about my existence. Honoring his choice to be an organ, tissue, and ocular donor was the only way this tragedy was going to play out. That I knew for certain! Once I was made aware of the impact Michael’s donation was making, I was determined to continue the life change that Micheal set in motion. There are five people living a second chance at life today and over fifty-five individuals have their lives enhanced through his tissue and ocular donation. For me, I was immediately bonded with all the individuals receiving life and enhancement through Micheal’s gift.

Courtney is proud to have spoken at events for:

LET’S GET STARTED.

Contact

Follow Courtney on social media.

GET IN TOUCH

Copyright ©2023 Transplant Hope, All Rights Reserved | Privacy Policy | Accessibility Statement

I struggled and continue to struggle with my body weight since I was about 9 years old. My fifth grade classmate, Raphael, used to call me Courtney Cow. In fact, that schmuck wrote it in my yearbook! On top of being an angry, manipulative, unheard little girl, I was about to hit puberty in an extremely restrictive religion where love seemed conditional all the way around. Being so young and confused, I sought love and acceptance from whomever the highest bidder was. This caused immeasurable damage. My inability to love myself unconditionally quickly rooted itself in my identity. I am unpacking those bags, discarding damaged pieces and replacing them with kind truths everyday of my life.

My dearest life traveler, healing is on the other side of injury. Light is on the other side of darkness. Opening the padlocked, chained up, sealed drawers of painful memories, and I have many, has been my greatest challenge. As I journey through the next chapter of my life, I have found much healing and strength in forgiveness. Yes, forgiveness! One of those bad words like vulnerability.

I practice being an updated version of myself everyday. In order to put something ‘new’ in you have to remove something ‘old’. When I come across a memory that sparks a feeling that isn’t serving me anymore, I am reminded of that scene in the classic, ‘Willy Wonka and Chocolate Factory’, with Gene Wilder. In this scene, Willy Wonka and the remaining contestants enter the very white room with geese and the golden eggs. Under every goose is a scale-o-meter (my word), that measures the value of each egg. There are ‘good’ eggs and ‘bad’ eggs. Some eggs go to the processing plant and some are discarded. Through visualization, I envision my pasted memories as ‘golden eggs’. All of them create value in their own way, however, some are serving our greater good and some are not. Ask the following questions as you review your closet, drawer, or box;

Do I need to forgive someone for this pain, sadness, trauma?
Do I need to forgive myself for this pain, sadness, trauma?

If you answer YES to either question, revel in the joy of personal power and enlightenment. You have the ability and power to change the narrative of perception that defines you every day of your life. Open yourself to the possibility that you can break free from your past and create a future YOU choose!

Can’t and won’t are two words that are misused on a daily basis by most people. ‘Can’t’ refers to ability and ‘won’t’ refers to a choice. One is empowering and one is not. When you choose yourself, YOU always win! The ‘stopwatch’ we call life, ticks and tocks until it doesn’t. Love every second you have, they are a gift after all.