Wisdom comes with winters. ––Oscar Wilde I wonder if we are not too eager to erase or avoid the parts of our bodies that reveal we are human, whether stretch marks, surgery scars, or smile lines around the mouth. At forty-one, I notice more swaths of silver strands in my hair, the softer form of my body, the fine lines …
Nurturing Wholeness | Five Wellness Habits This Year
The end of October is a strange month to discuss habits, I know. Yet what I hope to encourage is that shifting a lifestyle pattern can happen at any point in the year, with the simplest goal, the smallest choice. It doesn’t need to happen all at once either, beginning every change at the same time, bombarding your new year with new …
Nurturing Wholeness | Retreating
“a series dedicated to nurturing and nourishing the self from the inside out” I have always appreciated winter’s wisdom, its encouragement to retreat and to listen. It merely requires a window or a walk outdoors to understand there is purpose for this season of brief light and bare limbs, of quiet fields and still, cold air. Winter gently reminds us of …
Nurturing Wholeness | Safe Skin Care
“a series dedicated to nurturing and nourishing the self from the inside out” Perhaps I am noticing my own skin more as my children grow older and I help them cultivate their own self-care practices. As in every other area of life, it is easier to lead them if I honor the practice well myself. It’s the hidden gift in parenting: we can’t …
Nurturing Wholeness | Evening Rituals + Sleep
At some point I’ve realized many of the boundaries and routines I create for my children are habits intended for me, for my well-being as well. How often do I manage my children’s intake of nutrients and need for rest only to ignore the same needs for myself? Instead of napping, I drink a cup of coffee. Instead of winding down …
Nurturing Wholeness | Morning Rituals
NURTURING THE WHOLE SELF As a mother, it has become easy for me to define nurturing as something I give to others–whether in marriage, mothering, friendship, creative pursuits, or service–but I’m slowly realizing as life increasingly grows more full and complex (even in the best ways), I simply cannot give much of anything without first receiving. There is a reason flight …