Make a Wish
We made it through the longest month on record, and we are halfway through February. January always feels so long, cold and dark and there is this constant internal struggle to stay consistent with the healthy new habits we resolved to tackle and our desire to throw in the towel.
How is February treating you? Do you feel like the pressure has been lifted just a little? I feel like once we hit February, everyone starts focusing on other things and realizes that the new year is more than the month of January. We have a choice. We can either go back and keep living the way we always have (which is what most of us do) or we can acknowledge that there might be more on our heart than just those passing new year’s resolutions that we wrote down at 11pm on December 31st. I believe that most of us have a lot of pent up wishes and goals that we haven’t even begun to sift through. Guess what? We have a big, beautiful year stretched before us and I can’t think of a better time to talk about wishes and goals.
Wishes and goals? I know one feels like unicorns and sprinkles while the other feels serious and intimidating. Turns out you really need both in your life to make transformation become a reality. Sometimes in the midst of our darkest January our heart whispers a desire. Listen closely because that is the real heart of your goal.
Eating!!
Much like creating a section to tell you about books that we love, we can’t believe it took us this long to tell you about food. We love to cook, bake, and, most of all, eat.
This year, intermixed with what we are reading, loving, and adventuring, we’ll be telling you about what we are eating. These offerings will swing widely on the continuum from the incredibly healthy to not healthy at all.
And the first one is of the latter variety!
Talking About Practice
February is all about honing in on the value of both wishes and goals. In our effort to take this new year at a healthy pace, we’ve given ourselves (and you) permission to slow down to work toward meaningful outcomes, not just seemingly expected ones.
This month we are considering equally what we think in our minds with what we feel in our hearts. Finding that equilibrium can be challenging.
I have been holding one hand full of goals and the other fistful of wishes since the year began.
Both feel inspiring, a bit audacious at times, and heavy. They weigh on my mind and heart, and in the last few days, I have been getting various signals that they weigh on my body too.
It Starts and Ends With Us
So, while I am waiting for everyone in our family book club to finish book one, I decided to read a couple books that have gotten a lot of hype over the last year. “It Ends With Us and It Starts With Us” is a 2 book series by Colleen Hoover. While I enjoy Hoover’s writing and ability to capture the reader, her lead women have a tendency to fall for the bad guy.
In her defense, the main character, Lily, does initially fall for the good guy, Atlas, but he’s of course, young, immature, boring and emotionally unavailable until she is involved with Ryle who is a good looking, charming brain surgeon who seems to have it all, but is also emotionally unavailable. Hoover makes you want to root for Lily and Ryle but deep down you know it’s toxic. There are signs that Ryle can’t change and isn’t capable of who Lily wants him to be, but isn’t that how abuse begins?
“It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves.”
— William Shakespeare
Lowi & G 