One of the blessings of living out in the country is being able to immerse ourselves in nature. At the base of the hill, on the edge of our property is this creek that rushes during the spring months. I love opening the windows and hearing it move in full force down its path. When we moved here from Philly, I immediately fell in love with the peace I found here.

A curated life. This is something that I have been meaning to talk about here but have been trying to figure out the best approach. It is something we face everyday, on the internet. Being an online ministry, it's easy to get caught up in the cycle. I want to break it and share what I'm thinking. It's like when the photographer tells you to breathe deep and shake your arms and shoulders, just so you'll relax and not look so stiff. I want to unstiffify things here.

For us as Americans, we know how to live stressful lives. Everything is go, go, GO. Big cities are filled with people coming and going, cars beeping and zooming. We have premade meals so that we have more time to work. There are watches, phones, tablets, and computers to keep lists, remind us of duties, and loads of information so that we can do more! 

If I could write a step by step instruction book about how to be happy in life, I think it would set me for life. It would be like discovering the fountain of youth, only a little more realistic to our immediate needs. Anyone else out there wishing for that happy fountain?

So during the month of January I have been spending my time traveling for work and it's given me a chance to learn a lot about myself. My life coach/therapist suggested I read The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You're Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are by Brene Brown right before my trip. So I got to it and purchased the e-book on Amazon so that I could save room in my luggage. It's a pretty easy read and only took me a week in between work. I thought I would share a little bit about it with you!

So I debated sharing this, but I thought what I learned from it could help others too. About two weeks ago, my external hard drive with all of my photos on it, DIED. I had been meaning to back up everything onto another one and even online, but I didn't do it. I was too busy. It made me cry crocodile tears and it felt like someone important to me had died. All of my work, as well as my memories, were gone.

So, for the last 10 years I have been struggling with hormonal migraines. Any of you in the same boat? I've tried lavender scented tea and candles, caffeinated beverages of all kinds, pain killers, cold/hot showers, sleeping, drinking lots of water, gluten free diets, progesterone cream, massages, days off, you name it. All in an attempt to ease the pulsing in my head, the foggy thoughts, and the feeling like I am pregnant, but clearly am not.

As a creative person, I face inspirational ruts quite a lot. I get down on myself for not having a well of ideas springing forth. Maybe you don't feel like a super creative person, but you still need to get inspired or motivated to work, thrive, exercise, or to just do something relaxing. Maybe you just want to get excited again about something. I thought I would share a few ideas that might get your inspired juices flowing.