Nourish ~ Forgiveness

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It's been one of those weeks when I'm wondering when the eff the referee is going to ring the bell and the fight will be over.  I'm tired of being relentlessly hit in the junk.  And then I remember...there are many things to be thankful for and sometimes letting go is the only way to move forward.  Sometimes...

~winning is just showing up~

I heard Brene' Brown say this on a podcast yesterday and I felt a little spot open in my soul...It's so true.  Sometimes - winning is just showing up.  There are so many little nuggets I wanted to share from my listenings this week - but it's time to head out.  It's time to show up.  I hope everyone has a fantastic Friday.  Until then...

Nourish: Wholeheartedness

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It should come as no surprise that I have a deep love for Ali Edwards and the many principles she has brought to the craft of storytelling.  When I started scrapbooking - there were two books that stood out to me in a little store in Burbank (now closed) - A Designer's Eye for Scrapbooking by Ali and Clean and Simple Scrapbooking - The Sequel by Cathy Zielske.  At the time, it was a "safe" way to be creative.  It was an opportunity for a journaling girl with bad hands to continue to tell her story.  I had no idea it would be a life changer.

Almost six and a half years later - I know only one thing for sure - telling my story in a visual way has changed my life.  It has changed the way I see the world - how I shape my experiences.  It reminds me to go out there and live.  It has helped me navigate the course of chronic illness and debilitating moments of sadness and loss without looking for the nearest emergency exit.  It has also been instrumental in celebrating the moments that give life true meaning - the births of babies, retirements, family functions, and the list goes on.  It has also helped me document the everyday - which in so many ways is more powerful than the big, monumental parts of my life.  It has helped me to see the small things that really do make life big.

Sometime last year - I started seeing a book by Brene' Brown cropping up all over scrapping blogs.  The book, The Gifts of Imperfection, was recommended by my beloved scrapbooker and written by a social worker.  Being a social worker myself and loving the aforementioned scrapbooker - I broke down and bought the book some time in March around the time of my unraveling.  I am so glad I did.  I would love to put into words what the book meant to me - but I know there are none that would give credence or justice to my experience.  I went on to buy Brown's previous book - another game changer.  I'm considering making these books annual reads - but for today - I thought I would link to a few of her speaking engagements and blog.  I hope you enjoy them.  I hope you go out and buy or borrow these books.  I hope they bring more meaning and hope to your life.

• TEDxKC - Brene' Brown - The Price of Invulnerability
• TEDxHouston - Brene' Brown - The Power of Vulverability
• Brene' Brown Interview on PBS's Living Smart with Patricia Gras

Brene' Brown got me on the path of embracing my imperfection and vulnerabilities.  She got me to start thinking about wholehearted living.  And just today...she reminded me to be present - to refrain from numbing the pain.  I want to nourish this message in my life.  I hope everyone has had a lovely Tuesday.  Blessings all around.  Until then...

Happy New Year & OLW 2012 Redux

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Happy New Year!  I know that today is not the new year in all cultures - so that statement is directed to those celebrating the same calendar year as myself.  This is totally the social worker in me talking and stalling all at the same time...

I'm rethinking my One Little Word for this year.  It's a funny thing.  I was lying in bed this morning - listening to Sex and the City 2 while surfing the net on my iPad - when I realized I don't know if I like my word.  Renew is a beautiful word - for someone.  However, it's not the action word I want at this time.  So I headed over to Ali Edwards's blog to see if she had compiled a list of words yet (she usually does each year).  There wasn't a list yet - but there are tons of comments and the first word jumped out at me....

~nourish~

I saw this word and knew immediately it was it.  I feel a little bad changing it to the FIRST word I saw - but that's life.  When something fits - it just fits.  So there it is...my word for 2012 (at least my word for the moment).  So what sold me on this word - well the definition and the many things I want to nourish in my life right now (more on that to come as the year unfolds).

In many ways, I thought I needed something of a rebirth this year.  However, this morning I was thinking about something my mother loves to say..."When you know better, you do better."  I think it's a wonderful theory - beautiful really.  Unfortunately it means absolutely nothing in the real world.  I know a lot of things - I don't do a lot of them.  For example, I know making raw cookie dough two or three times a week and eating it as dessert is bad and will lead to an untimely death.  That in no way stops me from making the dough and stuffing my face with it.  So in actuality - I don't need to renew which in some ways seems so passive to me.  I need to nourish the things that matter to me this year - the things I know I need and want to do better.  And there it is.  Serendipity - being on the right blog, reading the right comment, at exactly the right moment.  Love it.  

Here's hoping everyone is having a wonderful day!  Until then...