The Heart of Meraki | June 2019

Dear Friends,

Since I started this journey of sharing my heart with all of you, I have received some amazing feedback! I am in awe of God’s goodness through it all!

The catalyst to this effort was God’s promise to me. He told me that He would show me how to do Real Estate His way, not the world’s way. I didn’t know what that meant then yet I have a glimpse of what it means now.

Since I started sharing a bit of myself and my life with all of you I, in turn, have gained some much needed clarity and courage. I know that God made me different and unique just like he made all of you different & unique!

My first half marathon! A courageous accomplishment for me!

I know that my willingness to be vulnerable scares some of you. In fact some think I share “too much” and it makes you cringe. Yet, conversely, I know that my willingness to be authentic and open resonates with many of you. I know because you’ve told me!

The growth in all of this is that I have come to a place in my life that I really don’t care what people think of me! 🙂 I know that may come across as offensive yet, it’s not meant to be! This, FOR ME, is maturity! For once in my life I am so incredibly comfortable in my own skin!!! I can’t tell you how amazing and miraculous this is for me!! I am unapologetically ME! This is how God made me! I have hidden from it, run from it and tried to pretend to be someone that I’m not for far too long simply because I wanted to “fit in” and “be accepted” and “loved.” Those things in and of themselves aren’t necessarily bad yet, if you lose yourself in the process, what does it matter anyway?

I am Rica. I am incredibly empathetic and ultra sensitive (among other things). I FEEL other people’s pain, joy, anguish, burdens and hurts. When you cry, I cry. When you laugh, I laugh. When you grieve, I grieve. It really doesn’t take much for me to take on someone else’s emotions. I used to hate that about myself. What I’ve discovered and EMBRACED is that at the essence of who I am, that is exactly how God created ME!

Here’s the thing. We all have our stories interlaced with peaks & valleys, triumphs and disappointments, successes and failures and ALL of these experiences shape who we are. Some of the journey is incredibly painful, ugly & broken and at the same time amazingly beautiful and lovely and breathtaking. Sometimes life beats us down and other times it lifts us up!

My first day in the new Meraki Real Estate office!

For me, I’ve allowed life to beat & keep me down for far too long! Inasmuch as sharing my heart with you has its risks I truly believe we are meant to share our life experiences with one another so we can grow, heal, inspire and encourage one another!

With that being said, I am incredibly excited and a little scared (mostly excited though) to announce that I have decided to open my own Real Estate office in Foster City!! I thought about, researched and prayed for a name that would encompass who I am and how I run my business and my life. I am humbled and grateful to announce the opening of Meraki Real Estate in my very own city!!

The word Meraki is of Greek origin and is often used to describe what happens when you leave a piece of yourself (your soul, creativity, or love) in your work. When you love doing something, anything, so much that you put something of yourself into it.

As you all know I love people! I love helping, serving and connecting people. In the business of real estate I love helping people achieve their goals. I have the unique privilege of getting to know people and families at an intimate level in a relatively short period of time. My empathetic nature has allowed me to serve my clients at a very personal level. I get to know my clients in such a unique perspective through the home selling & buying process that I literally cannot complete a transaction or enter into a relationship without leaving a piece of myself with my clients who, ultimately, become my friends!

This is MERAKI! This is ME! I know this value may not resonate with everyone and that’s okay! I trust and believe that the people who choose to work with me are meant to do so! I welcome your prayers and well wishes as I embark on this exciting new season in my career and in my life. And, as always, I welcome any referrals or introductions you may have for me and my new business!

Courageously and uniquely yours,

Rica