To say that Stephanie MacKay has led an interesting life would be a bit of an understatement. In a 20-year span, she went from being a correctional officer at a maximum-security detention center in Ontario to learning yoga, reflexology and reiki in India.
During the intervening years, she worked for Canadian Border Services and then moved to England where she issued visas at the Canadian Embassy in London. It was there that she started to feel that her life wasn’t what she wanted it to be. She began wondering what would happen if she could be herself, fully and completely. What if she could shed societal expectations and find her greater purpose? What if she followed her soul?
And one day, she stopped wondering and started doing. She sold her home and all her belongings and moved to the Republic of The Gambia, the smallest country in mainland Africa.
In The Gambia, Stephanie became immersed in a culture where people helped each other. In whatever way they could. Even if they had very little for themselves, they still found ways to give. It made her realize how self-centered western society can be at times, and how disconnected she felt. It also helped her see that individuals, working together and in service of one another, could be the solution to so many of the world's problems.
Stephanie has also come to believe that the best way for anyone to support others is through their own passions and talents. Because if you can help people while doing something you love, it also becomes an act of self-care. She offered an example of Kevin and Victoria and the team at Bomb. How we've taken our passion for fitness and used it to help others improve their health and how those positive effects then ripple into the lives of their family and friends too. Um....can you feel me blushing through the screen?!
After two years in The Gambia, Stephanie spent some time in India and the UK. But today, she's back in Toronto, helping her aging father maintain his independence. She's continuing to live life by her own rules, focusing on using her talents to help people while encouraging others in positions of privilege to do the same.
She's working on a book where she will share her perspective about what's really important in life. And, she's become a regular at the Beach location. In fact, she joined because she started to worry that if she didn't take better care of her health, she may lose the freedom to live the life she wants. Stephanie’s adventures have taught her that anything is possible and we believe that too! We couldn't be happier that she chose Bomb to help her make those possibilities a reality.
Sally
