09-14-26 What We Tend, Tends Us: The Big Yeses That Shape a Life
What happens when the things we choose to care for begin changing us in return?
In this episode of Living on Purpose, Carolyn Romano reflects on the BIG YES moments that have shaped her life — from creating Charlie’s Place Healing Sanctuary after the loss of a beloved dog, to driving across the country for a lamb who could not walk, welcoming animals during the uncertainty of 2020, and following unexpected calls into spiritual leadership, community-building, and a more integrated life.
Along the way, Carolyn explores the difference between a sacred yes and the automatic yes of a capable person who has learned to carry almost anything.
She asks:
What is actually mine to carry?
What deserves my yes?
What happens when love, responsibility, and good intentions still cannot guarantee the outcome?
And how do we recognize what is uniquely ours to tend?
Through stories of animals, loss, professional reinvention, shamanic practice, Tending the Sacred, and life at Charlie’s Place, Carolyn reflects on a lesson she continues to learn: tending is not control. We can pay attention, respond with care, and love deeply without knowing exactly where the path will lead.
This episode is an invitation to consider the choices that have shaped your own life — and the possibility that purpose may be less about finding one perfect calling and more about learning to recognize what is truly yours to tend.
Continue the Conversation
Explore Carolyn’s work, including Seasonal Medicine Coaching, at BLISS Healing Arts.
Learn more about the growing spiritual community and programs at Tending the Sacred.
To connect directly with Carolyn, email CarolynRomano@tendingthesacred.org.
If Charlie’s Place Healing Sanctuary and the animals are the part of this story that speaks to you, you can make a donation to Charlie’s Place via PayPal.
Because what we tend, tends us.
Find Carolyn here: https://stan.store/carolynromano
