The Wake-Up Call

There are moments in life that stop us in our tracks — to reflect and to wake up.

A few months ago, I received two health diagnosis within the space of a week that forced me to pause and begin to look at my life differently. I’ve spent most of my adult life committed to my spiritual path – growing, reflecting, aligning with purpose – and yet, in the quiet of the pause, I realized something humbling: I haven’t always brought that same diligence to the care of my body. Not in the ways that matter most.

At the end of that week, my partner suggested that we visit the Tom Burke Memorial Labyrinth, next to the Washington Regional Hospital. After walking past the pond and through the wooded path, we found the labyrinth nestled beside a grotto and artesian spring - places that humans have sought and received healing throughout history. The symbolism and spiritual messages were significant.

The Tom Burke Memorial Labyrinth, is a seven-circuit medieval path. Seven is symbolic of the uniting of our spiritual and physical selves. Before stepping into the labyrinth the messages were clear to me to seek healing by uniting my spiritual and physical selves – to become more whole and aligned in being.

With the weight of the past week sitting heavy on my shoulders, I stepped into the labyrinth with one intention: release.

Release the fear.

Release the pressure.

Release the hard-wired illusions that self-worth is measured in deliverables and deadlines, titles and income.

As I walked, a quiet clarity returned. The sound of birds, the breeze through the honey locusts, the daffodils pushing up through cold ground — sacred symbols of resilience and self-love.

As I reached the bench at the center of the labyrinth, I began to reflect on years of pushing forward in a fast-paced, highly competitive corporate world, climbing the ladder and scaling the lattice, holding it all together, absorbing the stress of workplace and leadership dynamics — it has taken a toll. A toll that can be reversed, thankfully. But it shouldn’t have taken a diagnosis for me to truly listen.

Tom Burke Memorial Labyrinth

I reflected on recent studies I had run across in my research on burnout. If we're consistently clocking 50 or more hours a week, we may be putting more than our time at risk. A global study published in Environment International found that working long hours increases our risk of stroke by 35% and raises our chances of dying from heart disease by 17%. And then there's the silent epidemic that rarely gets addressed in leadership circles: sleep. An estimated 50 to 70 million Americans struggle with sleep disorders. Up to 40% of adults report symptoms of insomnia—many ignore it, while others rely on sleeping pills or natural supplements just to get through the night. But insomnia and sleep deprivation aren’t just nuisances; they’re warning signs with serious health consequences.

The impact of poor sleep doesn’t stop at personal health—it quietly drains workplace productivity and engagement. According to a global ResMed study, 71% of employed respondents have called in sick at least once due to poor sleep, with the highest rates in India (94%), China (78%), Singapore (73%), and the U.S. (70%). Yet nearly half (47%) of those surveyed felt that their sleep health isn’t a priority for their employers. That’s not just a wellness gap—it’s a leadership opportunity.

We are killing ourselves with overwork. We are ignoring what’s most meaningful — our health, our families, our spirit and inner wisdom — in the name of productivity and profits. We’re setting dangerous examples for the next generations of leaders. And we're leaving a legacy of fear-driven power structures that are killing us – killing our soul and our body.

I’ve seen it play out up close: a leader experiencing a mental breakdown in the middle of a meeting, another taking medication to keep from losing hair from job related stress, an exhausted leader fired for falling asleep at their desk, leaders ignoring symptoms of ill health, showing up to work the same day as a liver biopsy, pushing through pain until they landed in the ER, a leader who never appeared in their child’s birthday party photos – because they were at work and missed those milestone moments. This is not conscious leadership – this is a trauma bond.

But we don’t have to keep choosing this. Conscious, future-focused organizations have a responsibility—and a competitive advantage—in modeling healthy, sustainable work-life rhythms from the top.

Gen Z and the rising digital generations are telling us the truth and begging us to listen: they’re walking away from work cultures that demand their souls and offer little in return. And honestly? They’re right to.

Work doesn’t have to come at the expense of our lives. A corporation can be a sacred container for growth, for purpose, for spiritual intelligence, and physical health — but only if we shift how we lead and live.

As a coach, I work with leaders who are ready to lead differently. Leaders who want to integrate spiritual intelligence, emotional wisdom, and embodied health into how they work and live. It’s why I became a Spiritual Intelligence Coach and founded Divinely Guided Coaching. It’s not too late to change how we lead - and the cost of waiting is too high.

Walking in that sacred space of the Tom Burke Memorial Labyrinth that day, the labyrinth taught me that, as leaders, we can lead better by embracing conscious leadership and start integrating our whole selves. Allowing our true wisdom to guide our leadership. Showing up for both ourselves and those we lead with greater clarity, balance, compassion, humanity and purpose. The labyrinth reminds us that we can find ourselves – our true, whole self – in the center. We just have to be willing to stand up to the pressure of old programming, let go of societal paradigms, and consciously choose something different – something better. This is our collective wake-up call.

Let go.

Listen.

Lead with wisdom.