Estrangement wasn’t what I ever wanted. I certainly never imagined that I would go years without speaking to my own mother. Without her speaking to or seeing her grandchildren. And  yet, here we were.

Most of us have many different kinds of people or friends we know who represent a vast array of personalities, habits, and unique characteristics. Perhaps you have that one friend you know you can call on when things in your life are really challenging.

When I pull it indoors, the tree is still full of leaves; gorgeous and green. However, after about a week inside away from the sun, the leaves start to turn brown and fall off.

If you want to start caring less about what others may think of you, here are a couple things you can do to begin that process. First figure out who your tribe is, who your safe people are, and then start to focus more on their feedback and less on others.

That’s the word for the feeling when you hit your limit. Know what I’m talking about? That feeling when you can’t take one more thing, when you feel like you’re about to explode. We might know it more commonly as being overwhelmed.

My family vacations are interesting. Vacation implies that rest will be had. Family vacation implies that we will be spending a whole week, just the six of us, doing everything together. When we were younger, by the end of the week, we were ready to not see each other for at least a few days.

What is it that makes resting so hard? Is it the fact that we feel we’re letting others down? I think it is. I know whenever I get sick there’s a complicated reaction that takes place in my gut.

We often hear people say, “I’ll sleep when I’m dead.” or “I have XYZ still to do, I’ll sleep when that’s done.” We can easily neglect one of the biggest things our bodies need, and it may be that sometimes we just forget how important it is. 

But, not all of us view breaks the same. For some of us, it may be harder to take breaks than others. Some personalities have a running list in their head of what needs to get done and have to fight against the voice telling them they can’t rest until everything is complete and in its place.

What if we each made it a goal in life to ask more questions? Can you imagine what a powerful tool that would be for shaping… well, literally everything? If we asked our neighbors more thoughtful questions, we might be able to see challenges they’re facing that we couldn’t see before.

In one study, researchers found that high heat levels raise your heart rate just enough to give it a gentle workout. The same study found positive anti-inflammatory and blood sugar responses, two of the body's signals that relate to illness or infection.

It was a gift of a whole day. One that I would not have to spend in school waiting for the hours to pass by, but instead, I could go back to sleep, read a favorite book, play a game, go sledding or play in the snow, or just get cozy on the couch with a cup of hot chocolate and a favorite movie to watch.

When you hear the word “vacation,” what do you think about? Laying on the warm beach, listening to the waves with a book in hand? Hiking through the mountains on a brisk morning?

the whole time you’ve been forced to rest up, you’ve been grouchy and mad about it because you know the longer you rest, the more progress you lose in what you were working toward, whether that’s running a certain distance or winning a competitive sport. 

There is an episode in the show, Friends (season 2), where Joey and Chandler get these Barcalounger chairs. They simultaneously sit down, pull on the lever, put their feet up, and groan in bliss as they relish in the comfort of the chair.

Have you ever thought about what truly goes into a good night of rest? There are so many environmental factors that can impact how we even get to sleep and stay asleep that are important to address. 

Mindfulness is not something that is going to take up 30-60 minutes of your day (unless you want it to). Mindfulness looks like 5 minutes here, 10 minutes there, etc.

Did you know that ⅓ of U.S. adults take DAILY naps? And that men are more fond of naps than women typically (Mayo Clinic, 2020)? There are several benefits to taking a nap. This can include using them as a way to relax, reduce fatigue (of course), improve mood, and increase alertness.

Last year, my anxiety was through the roof, and I went to see a therapist. She was able to speak truth into my life based on just knowing about my enneagram number. During one of our first sessions, she brought up the idea of grace statements. We agreed that I would never talk to a friend the way I talk to myself regularly.

In the middle of a busy day, do you ever just stop? When you have a list a mile long, do you ever hit the pause button? When your brain feels overwhelmed and fatigued, do you just take a few minutes and turn it off? I’m not talking about the kind of scheduled time off or breaks we are most familiar with when we talk about rest.