Family can be tough. We love ‘em. They’re our flesh and blood. We know each other better than anyone. We’ve been through a lot of beauty and ugliness joined at the hip.
Yes, family can be tough. But they can also save us. They can redeem us. They can rescue us and save us when no one else can.
Juli Ghazi has a hard time relating to her family of origin. She vibrates on a different wavelength. It can make intimacy and relationships difficult. Juli knew she was not the same woman as her mother and she did not want to become her mother. Yet she still wanted to become A mother. She didn’t want to miss out on that incredible adventure.
And in the end, Juli’s daughter kind of saved her. Her daughter called her on how much Juli was drinking. It was like a slap in the face. It landed. Juli found recovery because of her daughter’s impromptu intervention. Juli credits her daughter with that.
It’s hard to conceive of Juli as that drunken mother when you meet her now. She is a successful entrepreneur. She owns a pair of farm-to-table pizzerias under the brand Pure Pizza, and now she owns a yoga studio. Khali Yoga Center, which she envisions as more of a holistic approach to wellness.
Juli herself has a clear-eyed spiritual approach to her own recovery. I admire her and I’ve learned a ton from her, so I couldn’t wait to sit down and chat. I walked away admiring her all the more.
Reporters typically focus on Juli’s business skills as the leader and developer of independent, woman-owned enterprises in competitive environments. Our conversation skirted business and stayed deeply personal. But it’s hard to talk about spiritual things with Juli without touching on how her spirit has manifested itself out here in the material world.
Even if you think you know Juli Ghazi, if you think she is a fixed or well-defined entity, you’ll enjoy this conversation. You’ll walk away having learned something. And I predict you’ll be surprised.
Hear Juli Ghazi @ManListening #podcast Thursday November 19, 2020. You can find her on Instagram @JuliCher