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In this issue, I chose to interview Nadia Ballas-Ruta, the inspiration behind Happy Lotus. Nadia's mother passed away after suffering from depression and cancer. I also grew up in a household with a depressed mother. Both of us currently run web sites dedicated to finding the true self, finding purpose, and telling our stories. Here are a few questions I asked Nadia.
What do you do for your main income source?
Currently, my main source of income comes from my work as an independent contract attorney. I basically review evidence for cases to see if the item is relevant to the case. It is a pretty simple job. There is a lot of freedom with my job because I get to set the hours and I pretty much am my own boss in the sense that I can pick and choose what I want to work on. I do not have to go to court and I do not have to bring my work home with me which works out perfectly with my writing. The great thing about my job is that it gives me the means to work on what I love which is my writing and I plan to make that my full-time job eventually.
The ironic thing is that I never thought I would go back to work as a lawyer. I realized it was not my passion years ago and quit. However, life has an interesting way of taking you places and life brought me back to law a year or so ago. Another interesting thing is that my job has helped me to learn a lot about myself and what I want to do in life. So even though this job is not my passion, it has been a great teacher.
In regards to your writing, can you tell me more about your genre and where you have been published?
Initially, when I started writing, it was never my intention to be a spiritual/inspirational/personal development writer. I started writing nineteen years ago. I first did basic journalism stories such as interviews. I interviewed Deborah Norville, George Stephanopoulos, and some other local famous people. I moved on to do some magazine work but the magazine had to shut down. From there, I proceeded to do poetry and screenplays.
It was during a conference on screenwriting where I realized that if I was going to be a writer, I should write about spiritual matters but I had no idea how. My life was a mess at that time and I thought how could I tell people what to do when my own life is not where I want it to be. So I put the idea on the side and worked on myself. About four years later, my aunt suggested doing a blog on politics since I worked as a writer in political campaigns. I did not like the political aspect but the blog idea felt right. So I decided to create a blog on health and wellness since my mother had recently passed away from cancer. I figured I would rarely write about spirituality and happiness.
My blog first debuted only to family and friends and they all told me to just focus on spirituality and happiness. So that is what I did and it has been a dream come true. Happiness can be achieved but many people have no idea what true happiness means because we are bombarded will all kinds of misperceptions. I try to clear up those misperceptions and it is my hope to help people realize that every single one of them is important, has a purpose and is beautiful in their own way.
In addition to my blog, I am a regular contributor over at Elephant Journal.
What was your most fun adventure ever?
My most fun adventure took place in 2004. It began with living in India for six months and then coming back home to America. That was the most difficult year of my life because everything that I needed to face, came to the surface and it changed my life in so many ways. It was a blessing in disguise. I learned so much about myself and life.
As for India, I have been there twice. I first visited it after I graduated from law school because I was so lost and India seemed like the place to go find answers and guidance. It was in 2004 that my husband and I went to live there but first we did some traveling. First to Mumbai, then to Delhi, then to Agra and then to Bangalore. We then lived in a little village that was two and half hours north of Bangalore. We rented an apartment for the first few months and then moved into an apartment we had built. So we were on our own in terms of living arrangements.
Happy Lotus is such an inspirational web site: A lamp for those who need a lamp! What keeps you going?
Thank you so much for calling my site inspirational. Wow! Only one thing keeps me going and that is love. I love to write and I love to help people. Life is all about love and I want to do my part to help spread as much love as possible.
Happy Lotus
Fear vs. Love at Elephant Journal
Note from Jessica to Nadia:
I love this sentence: "it is my hope to help people realize that every single one of them is important, has a purpose and is beautiful in their own way." I'd like to echo that sentiment, as well. I find it is easier for me to convey this point when I'm writing than in any other circumstance. You express that very well in a recent blog post.
You write, "Loving oneself includes realizing the areas that we need to work on and accepting who we are. It means looking in the mirror and celebrating the image that we see. To love oneself also means that you allow others to be who they are and see the beauty in that difference."
I like to send my readers to explore the web sites of other people who are teaching us all how to love our Selves, and you are definitely in those ranks.
Thank you Nadia!
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Live On Purpose is about helping you become conscious
of your thought patterns, so you can make better decisions in your life. Don't live an accidental life! Live on purpose. This month's focus is an interview with Nadia of Happy Lotus. 