One of my favourite words is Fellowship. To me, it reminds me that we are not alone. Breathe Now —I am one of the four co-founders of this event— is for fellowship of women. I wanted Breathe Now to be the opportunity for all women to come together and connect and share. Sometimes we forget how powerful sharing can be.

With only a week left to go, the four of us and all the volunteers are working hard to put together what is becoming an amazing event.

Last night, we met around 20 women for the Meet The Founders get-together. It was an intimate gathering, and I felt so honoured to be surrounded by all the amazing women. We all introduced ourselves and honestly, every single person in the room had an interesting thing to say.

Everyone has a story to tell. It is important to share our stories, in order to keep us sane and healthy. We all go through challenging times that test who we are. It’s part of our lives. But I know many women still try to manage it and act as if everything is all right. Where does this need to be perfect come from?

What I have learned from talking to all the people I’ve met and going through a fair share of tough times myself, is this—it is our basic human need to be connected with one another.

Just recently I heard a story from a woman I greatly admire. If you just look at her, she is full of energy and always putting herself out there. She is strong and fierce. You’d think she has it all together. Then few days ago, she revealed on her blog that she was having a hard time with an immediate family member’s passing. She said she was a mess.

Do I think she is weak to reveal her emotional state? No. All I felt for her was admiration for her courage. I felt empathy—I felt, Me too! Me too!

We are all busy. You are building a career, raising children, have a meaningful relationship, taking care of the family… many of us are stressed out and exhausted. It is so easy to forget that the most important thing is to take care of yourself.

Breathe Now is your chance to listen to other amazing women and to share your stories. We have purposefully scheduled a lot of time in-between the sessions so that everyone have plenty of time to talk. Of course, there are fun things to do as well—shopping, massages, fashion show and cocktails. Ultimately, this is a day and a half set aside for us. To be together. To share. To laugh. To joke. To learn about each other.

What is your story?