let life remove you: a story of redirection
seeing the silver lining can get tiring but so can fighting the flow.
Natasha Greene was in Turks and Caicos celebrating her 30th birthday when she received a call from the Senior Vice President of her marketing division at Macy’s. She knew something was up. When she got on the phone, the executive explained the situation to her: Marketing was restructuring, and Natasha’s department was being dissolved. Natasha was presented with two options — she could either walk away with a handsome severance check or reapply for another position within the company. The executive made it clear that if Natasha chose to reapply, she had a high chance of landing another role *wink wink*.
At the time, Natasha had been with the company for nearly a decade. She liked her job — she had climbed the ladder, felt valued, and was being tapped for projects she enjoyed doing. A trifecta not often experienced in corporate America. But Natasha also had a blog she had poured energy and time into throughout the years, and the severance check offered her and her dreams for Asiliglam a financial cushion.
She knew immediately what she had to do.
“Nothing is 100% guaranteed, so take the risk, bet on yourself, and see what happens.” — Natasha Greene
Experience has taught me that layoffs are one of the most direct routes to redirection that the Universe offers. But they’re not the only ones.
Sometimes the Universe redirects us by presenting opportunities to relocate to a new city or accept a new job or position. Other times, redirection comes in the form of an unexpected loss or new arrival, health complications, rejection, or financial setbacks— prompting us to navigate a season differently. No matter the package, redirection seems to constantly be on the table if only we pay attention.
But let’s face it. Many of us don’t want to pay attention. We’d rather stick to the path we’ve mapped out, doing what we’ve always done, living a life that feels familiar. We avoid redirection because it often brings discomfort.
And why nosh on novelty when we can bask in the familiar?
For starters, redirection is life’s attempt to move us toward purpose, divine connections, growth, or karmic balance. Many of us ask for these things, yet we often shun the way they’re delivered.
Secondly, redirection is often the only way for us to realize the greatest vision for our lives.
The chronic illness you want to manage will require you to be redirected, as you adopt healthier habits, seek medical care, and prioritize self-care.
That long-distance relationship may require you to be redirected, as you leave behind home, friends, and a way of life you’ve grown accustomed to.
That dream of starting a business will require you to be redirected, as you step out on faith, take financial risks, and go against the grain.
Finally, redirection is often the option that requires the least energy. This may sound counter to the idea that it’s uncomfortable — but stay with me for a second.
Redirection is usually what life is pushing us to do, so immediately our internal compass knows the truth of it. Thus, choosing not to go with it means that we begin to fight ourselves and our soul’s desires. We start to swim back upstream, instead of flowing with the current of our lives. Enter: unnecessary suffering, angst, and misalignment.
“I’m grateful for losing what I thought I wanted so I could find the person I needed to become.” — Unknown
For nearly a decade, Natasha’s blog was a part-time, casual side hustle. Even with the cushion her severance provided, she didn’t immediately embrace life as a full-time content creator. In fact, she was in the final rounds for a few new positions when the Universe offered her, and all of us, another moment of redirection.
The pandemic.
It was then that she stopped fighting the flow.
Today, Natasha is a full-time content creator, having amassed over 900K followers across Instagram and TikTok. While Food is how most people find her, she also shares her family and other creative interests, ranging from home decor to fitness to fashion. In the first year after the pandemic, she tripled her corporate salary.
Hear more about her story on the pod, Sōl Talk: from Corporate to Creative, out today. Natasha can also be found on all social platforms at AsiliglamCooks.
Many gems in this one! Congrats on the relaunch of Sol Talk!