We had the good fortune of connecting with Linda Macintyre and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Linda, how do you define success?
I love Dr. Maya Angelou’s definitition of success; following it has been life-changing, both professionally and personally. She said that “success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it”. This may seem like simple guidance for some, yet for me it was like a permission slip to honor my true nature regardless of what society, family or history dictated. I learned to listen to and trust myself – my heart and soul – above the opinions of others. This philosophy is the foundation of the journey I embark on with both my students and my clients.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Both my careers as a special education teacher and holistic wellness practitioner found me, and are a result of life experience. I am grateful to have been on both sides of these professions, as giver and receiver, client and practitioner, parent and teacher. I feel this perspective provides compassion, simply because I know how it feels in the others’ shoes. Additionally, experience is what alchemizes knowledge into wisdom in my opinion. While many of my experiences might be considered difficult or even quite painful on a physcial level, I trust my Soul knows exactly what she is doing, and there is a higher purpose for all of it.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My children have been my greatest teachers and encouragers. As someone who grew up believing “fitting in” was a desireable goal (perhaps due to having grandparents who were immigrants from Armenia), watching them grow up absolutely unapologetically themselves inspired me to do the same. They also taught me how to use my voice to stand up for my beliefs about raising two unique and sensitive souls in systems that did not quite understand (or always accept) them. It was far easier to advocate for them rather than for myself at first. Yet, eventually I gained both strength and courage. In a lot of ways, we grew up together.

Website: linda@innertruthhealingarts.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/innertruthhealingarts

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutArizona is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.