What my daily self-care looks like...a walk outdoors each morning. Last week, I was on a call when someone asked: How do I show up for myself other than on my self-care day? That question has stuck with me because it's at the core of my work...and I don't think we talk about enough. We treat self-care like something we put on the calendar for later. The massage, the day off, the retreat, the digital detox. And I love those things. But if that's the only place your self-care lives, it's not...
20 days ago • 2 min read
My magnetic words from this morning that turned into my wish for you. I was talking with a friend earlier this week about how tired she was and the heaviness of it all. Work. Life. The world. All the things. At one point, she got teary and said something like, “What is this all for?” And I got it. I've been there. And I go back there from time to time. There are times when you look around and wonder: Is this it? We work. We take care of others, our work and all of our "adult"...
27 days ago • 4 min read
Two tiny mushrooms in moss that I noticed on a walk. Someone asked me this week how to go from knowing they need to rest to actually resting. And I wish I had an easy answer for that question. Because the truth is…you can know you need to rest and still never actually rest. It’s just like any other habit you’re trying to build: You can know you need to exercise more and still not exercise. You can know you need to eat healthier and still buy the junk food. That’s the strange thing about...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
Sunrise at the beach As you read this, I’ve already had my feet in the sand. I’m at the Outer Banks in North Carolina for a few days, and I’ve been getting up before sunrise to walk down to the water. Which, if you know me, is a little funny…not the sunrise part since I’m an early riser but the beach part. I’m not really a beach person. I’d rather be traipsing through the woods somewhere in the mountains. But sunrise at the beach? That’s something else entirely. There’s something about...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
What my recess looked like this week - biking on a rail trail in MD. Remember recess as a kid? It was just a given that we would take a break in the middle of the day. Lunch, recess, and then come back to class. We accept that for kids. We would never say “you need to power through” to an eight-year-old. So why do we say that to ourselves? Is it because we’ve “grown up”? That kids need those breaks and adults don’t? That this is just how we “adult”? Maybe. But I also think that we carry a lot...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
On the left: Where my husband and friends are this weekend. On the right: Where I spent the weekend by myself. This weekend, I chose to stay home while my husband and a group of our friends headed to Deep Creek Lake in Maryland to raft and hike. All the things I LOVE! And I said, I'm going to sit this one out. I'd been traveling for almost three weeks straight. No weekend at home and no real downtime. I needed space to be alone and to really recharge. So when this trip came up, I made the...
2 months ago • 4 min read
A spacious view from my flight on Saturday. This week I spent a few hours on an airplane. And maybe it’s just me, but I enjoy flying. Not because I enjoy being squeezed into a tiny seat. (I definitely don’t.) Or racing through an airport to make a tight connection when there are delays. (Why do you think I wear sneakers when I fly?) But because once that cabin door closes, something shifts. For a little while, the world can’t quite get to me. Sure, there might be Wi-Fi and messages can still...
2 months ago • 1 min read
Hey Reader, Last week, I shared the story of the bird making its way down to the river, one branch at a time. Pausing on each branch, looking around, making sure it was safe before going further. For the bird, that’s survival. Is there a predator nearby? Something that could hurt it if it moves too fast? And I don’t think that’s too far off from our own resistance to rest. Sometimes slowing down feels unsafe or uncomfortable. Even dangerous sometimes. And that’s because our minds carry...
3 months ago • 1 min read
A few things I saw on the trail the other day...in addition to the bird I mention below. A turtle, a calm river and a piece of nature that either looks like a hedgehog or a fish. The other day, I watched a bird slowly make its way down to the river. It started high in the treetops, then hopped to a lower branch. And then another. And each time, it paused and looked around. It seemed to make sure everything was safe before moving a little closer to the water. Eventually, it reached a small...
3 months ago • 2 min read