109: Finding Herself After Caretaking: Joy Beyond Grief with Kena Paranjape

Tao of Po

In this episode, Kena shares her deeply moving experiences with identity formation, belonging, and her complete devotion to her husband amidst his life-threatening illness and eventual passing. We discuss her childhood experiences with rejection and the importance of recognizing and appreciating our parents’ growth and evolution, and we dive deep into the trauma, tension, and surrender of the caretaking journey. Kena shares what it looks like now to navigate new relationships, motherhood, and find joy after losing her husband, and how she has gotten free of her past identities and developed a devotion and commitment to herself.

We dive into:

• Kena’s childhood experiences with rejection and self-esteem
• The evolution of parental relationships and changes in affection and expressions of love
• How her husband’s illness and many years of caretaking impacted her identity & life
• The importance of prioritizing surrender and self-care as a caretaker
• Experiencing grief, relief & an identity crisis after her husband passed
• Kena’s new level of self-awareness after her Psilocybin and MDMA experience
• And more

Kena Paranjape is the founder of All You Are, an empowerment platform and community for women approaching and in mid-life. In addition to founding All You Are, Kena was the co-founder of recently acquired BRIKA, an innovative retail concept focused on highlighting and supporting emerging artisans and designers. Kena has 20+ years of experience in retail at brands like Indigo, Joe Fresh, and Gap. She was most recently the VP of Merchandising at Seth Rogen's company, Houseplant, where she was responsible for bringing to market their award-winning cannabis accessories collection. Kena is originally from the east coast, and now lives with her seven year old daughter in Toronto. She has a BSc from McGill and an MBA from the University of Toronto. She is the host of the podcast Be All You Are.

Connect with Kena:

Website: https://www.allyouare.ca

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kena_allyouare/

Connect with me and let’s go deeper:

Website: https://www.pohongyu.com

IG: https://www.instagram.com/pohong.yu/

FB: https://www.facebook.com/pohong.yu/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pohongyu/