Happy Birthday!

If you are reading this, it means I took a HUGE leap of faith and decided to bet on myself when the odds did not seem to be in my favor. It means Gyden Light Consulting, LLC was born and you, dear reader, are witnessing the birth of my happily ever after.

While it is time for celebration, I think shedding some light (pun intended) will help you understand exactly how I got here ... how we got here.

This all started on June 28, 1991. God saw fit for a bright-eyed baby girl named Kaylyn Elizabeth to enter the world by way of Letitia and Clarence. While I could give you all the details on what has happened over the last thirty-four years, I will sprinkle those details along our journey together throughout a series of blog postings related to mental health, self-love, personal discovery, healing practices and MORE.

For now, will we fast forward to Wednesday, January 1, 2025. I remember sitting on my bedroom floor crying at the thought of returning to work the next day. Let me be clear, having the privilege to hold space for individuals and couples within a therapeutic space is something I hold in high regard. However, I was experiencing a large amount of burn out in addition to navigate multiple health concerns that left me feeling empty at the start of each day. While I continued to show up as my full self, I could not help but feel unseen, overused, and underpaid. I remember telling myself, "Kaylyn, this is the year that you have to bet on yourself." You will learn that I am BIG on accountability. For accountability purposes, I posted a picture to my close friends on Instagram stating that this would be the year I did it. 2025 would be the year that I quit my job and bet on myself. As an added layer, I called my trusted circle of friends and said, "Girls, I'm submitting my notice of leave by the end of this month. Hold me accountable." Check out the proof!

Moving on, I went to work on January 2nd and as always, working with my clients reminded me of why I serve in this capacity and I quickly settled back into the comfort I found in complacency. I was sitting in my office when I heard a still small voice say, "You need to start packing up your things. You don't fit here anymore. This isn't home." I labeled the still small voice as an intrusive thought and continued to show up day in and day out putting my best foot forward. However, I think it's safe to say it was the voice of God confirming the seed He planted in my spirit. The voice then reminded me of a name dropped in my spirit in December 2021 while conversing with an ex-partner, "Gyden Light". I shrugged off the voice and kept going.

One of my trusted friends called me on Monday, January 27th and greeted me with excitement as she said, "Happy telling those people you are are out of there in one month week! I am so proud of you!" I met her with confusion because I forgot the promise I made to myself. Sidebar: THIS is why it is important to have friends who catch your heart and hold your vision when you drop it somewhere along the way.

Now, I wish I could tell you that I showed up with proper notice beautifully drafted and ready to send to human resources ... but I can't. Transparently, I got scared and stay away from the idea of leaving until it "made sense" for me to do so. After a few weeks of avoiding senior leadership, I bit the bullet and conversed with them regarding my personal struggles, employee dissatisfaction and it's impact on my professional performance. The conversation that was supposed to end with me provided my one month notice ended with me inquiring about a tentative short leave of absence. The saying "partial obedience is still disobedience" showed itself to be true because I found myself being immediately released from all work duties due to state licensing issues. I could not believe it. I had just wrapped up a couples session feeling on a high from the work we completed together to receiving a phone call saying, "I'm really sorry, Kaylyn. You have to cancel the remainder of your sessions and begin transferring your clients to other team members immediately. You can come back once everything with your license is situated." I once again found myself crying. Only this time, I was crying in the middle of my office floor, the space that was my home for three years. I packed up my belongings and closed the door with the hope of returning by the summer. A few weeks after leaving, I received an email from human resources wishing me the best and informing me that I no longer had a home to return to once my licensing concerns were addressed. Can you guess the date I received this notice? Spoiler alert: It was exactly one month from the day I was supposed to turn in my notice -- the day I was supposed to leave on my own terms.

My pride took a hit! I have consistently maintained multiple jobs at once since the age of 16. Being unemployed was uncharted territories for me and IT'S NOT FUN. Zero stars. I do not recommend it for myself. So, here I am, unemployed and uncertain about what the future had in store for me because all I had was $14, an adjunct professor salary that was quickly coming to an end, and bills that did not care about my unexpected life changes. I went to church that Sunday feeling defeated. However, I was met with a conversation that confirmed that this will all work together for me. "Kaylyn, I had a dream about you. Are you still doing therapy? Are you wanting to do your own thing? I saw you in my dream. You had your own space. I saw the logo too. Everything was bright and colorful, just like you ... and you were smiling. I want to say you were the happiest you have ever been in life." Literally, all I could do was cry.

Once I got done crying, I held on to those words with hope and assurance that God is with me. With the words of my church member, the prayers and encouragement of my spiritual leaders, the accountability and support of close friends and family, and the pocket full of faith I was holding on to, I got to work. It was in this season that I learned to trust myself, even when it's hard. So, I created everything you see here with love and intention. So much so, Gyden Light Consulting is officially open 34 years after the bright eyed baby girl entered the world as a symbol that all things work together in divine timing ... always.

So this, Gyden Light Consulting, is me coming home to myself and I am here to navigate you through your own journey of returning home to you.

I look forward to embarking on this journey with you. Let's go home!

With grace, love, and a little Gyden Light — Kaylyn Elizabeth