Health, Happiness & the Hard Stuff
I took a course in my undergraduate nursing program called “Self and Others”. It was all about interpersonal communication, self-reflection and empathy. I became really good at the “others” part—I refined my listening skills, I deepened my empathy, I learned new communication techniques.
But, while I excelled at talking and relating to others, I totally let the “self” part of the course slide. Things like increasing my self-confidence and releasing negative self talk didn’t get much attention….
Last month, I returned to my professional job after giving birth 16 months ago. For those of you who don’t know, I am a Nurse Practitioner at a women’s health clinic. My work is about supporting women in their physical and mental health. I bear witness to stories of great suffering and even greater resilience. ⠀
My professional life is just an extension of my personal life. I do women’s work. I serve women. I advocate for women. And what I bring to my personal life and my professional life is pretty much always the same: Passion. Grit. Empathy….
Today is my last day in Costa Rica. I have zero desire for this trip to end. I have a mountain of change coming my way this month. I want to worry and fret and just generally dig my heels in. I want to refuse to move, to flow, to be at ease with the unknown. But I know that’s no way to live. Fretting about the future or wishing for this moment to carry on into perpetuity? All of that takes me out of the actual, beautiful, present moment….
S O L I T U D E
Never underestimate it’s power. As women, as mothers, as healers and helpers, we need time to ourselves. More specifically, we need time ALONE.
Dance. Journal. Sing in the shower. Sip your coffee. Stare off into the distance. Browse the bookstore. Stretch your arms overhead. Breathe deeply. Whatever you do, do it ALONE. For 2 minutes or for 22 minutes, whatever you can muster. …
We’ re currently away in Costa Rica for the month of January 2018 (you can read a bit about our adventure here). We love to travel and we make very conscious decisions about when and how we want to vacation. For us, this means we rarely choose to go on packaged or pre-planned vacations. We’ve done it twice before and it just wasn’t our way to see the world either time. …
I’ve chosen my word of the year. This is a practice I like to do to set a broad intention for the year to come. It’s a small, easy thing to do but it has major, major impact. Here’s the thing, I’ve always struggled with New Year’s resolutions despite trying many different formats. Resolving to live by a single word is simple but powerful. Unlike goals, you never forget the word and you can apply it to various aspects of your life-relationships, money, spirituality, parenting, health—all without having to break down each of these aspects and generate unique goals….
This is my morning view for the first 30 days of 2018. We’ve moved to a small eco community in Costa Rica for the month of January. It’s a really exciting adventure that we undertook very mindfully. We wanted to travel as a family and really spend quality time together, we wanted to escape the freezing January temperatures and we wanted to have some space for reflection and intention setting before we both head back to work….
This is what real, uncensored motherhood looks like. I was about a week post partum here. I was sore & tired & underslept. Breastfeeding was totally kicking my ass. My labour had been an empowering experience but it was peppered with it’s own traumas that I didn’t have the time or energy to deal with. I was in pure survival mode.
Despite the desperation in early post partum to give your baby everything you can, I also knew I had to take care of me. But self care can be such a nebulous concept can’t it? How does one actually do it?…
Hey you, do you find the holidays a bit stressful? Yeah. Me too. With all the gift buying, juggling all the ideas for DIY projects I get (homemade chai tea mix! Homemade lotion bars! Cookie tins!), card writing, cookie making and trying to balance giving to others while simultaneously taking care of myself, I find it all wonderful and also mega overwhelming.
I know there are a lot of tips out there for elaborately wrapping your gifts while whipping up a homemade peppermint mocha and making homemade cards adorned with tiny pompoms you’ve made yourself. But alas, we are not a Hallmark family around here. Things around here are a little more casual and a hell of a lot more messy.
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The holidays are coming & with them come the typical busy holiday schedule. We will likely feel tired & overwhelmed; overworked & underslept; overfed & undernourished. All because we’re so busy.
I’m challenging myself this season to avoid being busy & instead try to be very full. Bear with me here, this isn’t just a matter of changing my language (although that act alone is very powerful), this is about radically reframing the holidays and how I choose to schedule myself….
