​When the path you are on in life leads you down into the depths of your own pain, hope can be hard to find.

It can feel like you are living groundhog day.

You know something doesn’t feel right but you can’t put your finger on what it is.

So you keep plugging along.

But the longer you plug along on this path, the scarier it gets.

Day after day, week after week and year after year, the hope that things are ever going to feel better starts to fade.

Before you know it, you don’t really know who you are anymore.

And the confusing thing is, you’ve been doing all the things that are supposed to make you feel better.  

You’ve reached out to friends, gone on that walk, sat your butt down to meditate and maybe even tried a healing session here and there in an attempt to free yourself from the  pain of the disappointments and heartaches life has tossed your way.

And when these things don’t work, nostalgic comfort food, endless hours of tv, sugar filled lattes and a bottle of your favourite wine seem like a great alternative option.

Because what else are you supposed to do when it appears there is no relief in sight?

When I studied astrology, there was a fellow in my class whose sun sign was Scorpio.  I didn’t know a lot about this astrological sign when I started my training, but the wisdom he offered I will never forget.

Scorpios are those people who have an incredible ability to dive into the deepest and darkest aspects of humanity that the rest of us would prefer to turn away from.

There is a power they possess that makes them great healers, because they can sit with us, without flinching, as we feel into the rage, shame, grief and terror that are all a part of this human experience.

This person I mentioned, he loved death metal.  Which peaked my interest because I could never understand this type of music.  Why would anyone want to relish in that depth of anger and hatred?

And what he said had a profound impact on my view of our human experience.

What he said was this . . .

That no matter how deep into the darkness he fell, he could see clearly that love existed there.

I invite you to take a moment right now and really let that sink in.

.    .    .

As I write these words to you, they still hit my heart and move me to tears.

It was those words that inspired me to open up my own heart; to have the courage to let the pain I had been talking myself out of my whole life bubble up to the surface to be seen, heard, felt and, most importantly, loved.

It is natural for us to turn away from our pain.  We are all still learning how to love ourselves through our difficult emotions, difficult experiences and the parts of ourselves we were taught would be better off if hidden from view.

In a culture of "Good Vibes Only", I invite you to embrace an "All Vibes Welcome" approach to your healing process.

This just may be the path that will free us from our suffering.

This week, consider this . . .

Can you see that glimmer of love? (even in the darkness . . .)

With Love,
Kristen
XO

While the official kickoff for fall is still a couple weeks away, I can’t help but notice the shift in energy happening right now.

I absolutely love this time of year!

The warmth of the summer sun can still be felt gently on my face as I sit back and welcome the coolness of the fall breeze as it soothes my skin.

I delight in hearing the sounds of the birds gathering as they prepare to make their journey south for the winter.

And my favourite, the trees showing off their yellow and golden leaves (and maybe even red, but that is rare to find here on the prairies) before they release them to the earth to become dirt once again.

I love how being a witness to nature can teach us so many lessons about what it means to be human, we are nature after all!

And as I reflect on this time, I can’t help but wonder why the trees release their leaves to begin with.  Nature doesn’t do anything without intention, everything happens for a reason, so what are the leaves falling for?

Turns out, many trees lose their leaves before winter to save energy.  To hang onto the leaves during the cold and often dry season would take up too much of the trees inner resources to keep the leaves nourished during this time, so in an effortless act of self love, the leaves are released.

I can’t help but sit in wonder at this deep, innate wisdom these trees hold within them.  On some level, they know that if they hang on to their leaves for too long, more damage will be done unto themselves.

This brings up a memory for me from several years ago when I was living in Calgary.  We had a wicked snow storm right around this time of year which produced several inches of heavy, wet snow.  The trees still had their leaves at this time, and as the snow clung to them, the pressure of this weight caused many of the branches to bow and break.

It was just too much to carry.

These snow storms don’t happen that often this early in the season, so it makes sense this took the trees by surprise.

But it does highlight the wisdom the trees hold.  They are in the habit of releasing their leaves every fall, knowing that if they hang onto them, the pressure of the snow that is to come in the next cycle of the seasons will cause them more harm than good.
In the spring, these trees lovingly birth their leaves and nurture them throughout the summer, proudly showing off their beauty for all to see.

And then, without any sense of pride, embarrassment, guilt, shame or doubt, it is an effortless act of self love that causes them to let their leaves fall.

As you look outside this week and see the leaves falling, know they are falling so that the tree can conserve her energy and her resources for the next cycle of her life that is yet to come.

The beauty in this wisdom is to remember that we too, are nature.

You have permission to release the burdens you are carrying, before you snap and break.

You have permission to love yourself through this, knowing that what makes us different from the trees is that we tend to hold onto things for too long out of fear of feeling the emotions that come with letting go.

You have permission to grieve the loss of everything you worked so hard to build in this cycle of life that is ending.  To feel all of the feels that come up as you allow this time to come to a close.

You have permission to conserve this newfound energy that comes from the release so you can use it to blossom into the next cycle of your life.

This week, as you watch the leaves fall ask yourself . . .

What act of self love is your soul asking you for right now?

What is this next cycle of life calling you towards?

As you lean into the wisdom of the release, hold close to your heart and keep in mind . . .

What are you falling for?

With Love,
Kristen
XO

​We often think of taking rest as a physical act.  To stop moving and to be still.  It could look like taking a day off from work, an afternoon nap or just sitting at the table, relaxing with your morning coffee.


But what about the mind?


As a conscious health practitioner, I view health and well-being from a multi-dimensional point of view, which means that well-being is not only about caring for the physical body but requires us to care for ourselves mentally, emotionally, spiritually, socially, environmentally and collectively as well.  When you know what you need to find yourself fulfilled in all of these areas, that is when your spark really starts to light up!


So let’s talk about the mind today.  When we get that inner knowing that rest is needed, it’s not necessarily a problem of the physical body being overworked (although this can be the case).  An overworked mind will also lead to a felt sense of exhaustion in the body.  Making it easy to be confused about what remedy is actually needed - physical rest or mental rest.  We take physical rest thinking it will make us feel better, but end up feeling just as exhausted as we were before, even after we’ve “rested”.


And the thing about the mind is, it never actually gets tired, does it?  I’m not sure if you’ve noticed this, but the mind has a relentless ability to keep going and pushing, even when all other signs are pointing to the fact it needs to just stop and take a break already!


The mind itself never actually gets tired.


How often do you set aside time to get curious about what the mind is really up to?


If we don’t take the time, in an intentional way, to tend to the health of our mind and plan for it to rest, it can easily start to over run our lives, inevitably leading to exhaustion and burnout.


The mind can cause exhaustion for many reasons.  It is a bit of a trickster after all.  It can tell you all sorts of things, not all of which will be helpful and uplifting for you.


Furthermore, many of our thoughts are just things we’ve been conditioned to think about and aren’t really our own thoughts to begin with!  They are a record stuck on repeat of something we learned a long time ago that isn’t even relevant to our lives anymore.


Which is why it is so important to be intentional about tending to our mental health.  A mind left unattended to can make it really hard for you to find your spark again!  In fact, it is one of the most stubborn blocks to work through.


But with awareness comes choice, and so your invitation this week is to start to pay more attention, on purpose, to what the mind is up to.


Here are some things you can start to get curious about:

• Are your thoughts energizing you or are they draining your energy?
• Are you thoughts healing you or are they hurting you and making you feel worse?
• Are your thoughts focused on things that are relevant to you and that you are in control of or are they focused on what you don’t have control over?

These are only a few things you may start to notice as you pay attention to what your mind is up to.  As you become more mindful of your thought patterns, you will be better able to discern what is helpful and empowering for you and what isn’t.


An overactive mind can be quite persistent, so have patience!  This is a practice, not another goal to be achieved.  Honestly, it is something to spend a lifetime tending to, so keep this in mind . . .


The mind isn’t going anywhere, so it’s best to find a way to work with it rather than have it working against you!


The irony of all of this is - these stuck patterns are actually pointing you in the direction of your spark.  When identified, your greatest gifts will emerge from the steps you take to break free from them.


Once you start to notice what patterns your mind is playing on repeat, it is helpful to write them down on paper and read them back to yourself.  


Then, tune into your heart and ask  . . .


What will set this mind at ease?


With Love,
Kristen
XO

Your unique spark is needed in this world.

The world needs you, to be YOU!

Deep down, beneath all of the self doubt, confusion, expectations, to do lists and “shoulds”, exists the truth of your own heart.

However, it can be difficult at times to feel deeply connected to this truth.  In fact, as you navigate your path through midlife, you may reflect back and question if you ever really, truly knew who you were.

If this is the case, do not fret!  You haven’t done anything wrong.  You haven’t missed the boat so to speak.  You are not carrying the weight of this burden alone, I promise.

We have been playing this game, the billions of us that are here living this out together, for thousands of years!

Your life is this way by design, so take a big breath with me, and let’s get curious . . .

It seems to be an inevitability as we jump through the hoops life places on our path, that we suffer the forgetfulness of our own spark.

By virtue of being human, we seem to have agreed to step onto a path that would make us forget, simply to find ourselves in midlife awakening to a deep desire to find our way back to our spark again.

This is one of the great mysteries of life.  The mystery many have contemplated for thousands of years.  It is what I love to talk about, contemplate and philosophize over the most!

More importantly, it is my deepest desire that every one of us finds our way back to this spark so we can shine our uniqueness for one another brightly at this time.

What I would like to share with you today is this.  On a less mystical and more practical note, we were born into this world.  Then, as we grew up, we conditioned ourselves to “fit in” to the world around us.  Little by little, we learned how to play the role of the “good child” as we became who we needed to be in order to see love reflected back to us.

Little by little, we started to forget the truth of our own unique spark in favour of fitting in with the crowd.  We created patterns of behaviour to keep us in one another’s good graces.

The upside to this - we did what we did in order to avoid the deep pain of rejection.  In a way, it was an act of self love and self preservation at a time we knew of no other way.  We continue to do this for the same reason.

The downside - all of these well meaning patterns continue to lead us further away from the uniqueness of who we truly are.  The uniqueness that, more than ever, is truly needed to light up our world with love.

This week I’d like to offer you this.  Your mind may keep you in a state of confusion, talking you out of what your heart knows to be true.  Your mind may be soooo good at doing this, that you have no idea what your heart actually wants anymore.

The remedy to this - imagination.  Imagination is the medicine that helps you redirect your attention away from the tricks of the mind, away from all the patterns you’ve been repeating up until now, and allows you to see, once again, if even for a brief moment, the true essence of your Soul.

It’s common these days to create vision boards from the level of the rational mind.  Often these vision boards fill up with everything we think we “should” want - the car, the house, the perfect partner, the perfect job, the dream vacation, etc.

There really is nothing wrong in desiring these things!  We did come here to have some fun in this world after all.

But this week, let’s try something a little different.  What would happen if you used your imagination to create a vision for your spark?  If you imagined the brightest, happiest, most beautiful vision of your inner self?

What would that look like?

What is your heart’s vision?

With Love,
Kristen
​XO

When you find yourself in a cycle of life where you don’t know what happened to your spark, trying to cultivate the quality of zest can feel almost impossible!

You barely have the energy to roll out of bed and start your day, never mind mustering up any sense of enthusiasm for the life you feel like you don’t fit into anymore.  

You may have been told to start doing things that bring you joy.  But when you go to do those things, the truth is, you just feel like you’re going through the motions.  In your head you are thinking, “this should bring me joy”, and then a wave of guilt, shame or indifference sets in followed by an impulse to crawl back under the covers.

So I’m going to let you off the hook today.  I’m not going to tell you to start doing things that bring you joy.  Most likely, the things that used to bring you joy just aren’t cutting it for you anymore anyways.  And that’s ok!  There is another way . . .

Let’s shift the focus a bit.

Instead of doing a bunch of things that “should” bring you joy, but just aren’t, start to think about this - what is draining your energy?

One of the reasons we lose touch with our spark is that we spend so much of our energy doing things that drain us of our precious life force and not enough things that fuel our fire.  When we live day to day, week to week and year to year in this pattern, it eventually leads to burn out.

And if you are noticing yourself in this place of burn out, I’d like to offer you the perspective that this is actually a good thing!  I know it doesn’t feel like it.  It feels awful.  However, if you are reading this article and resonating with what I’ve said so far, it means you are aware something is amiss, and awareness is the first step towards finding your spark again!

A loss of zest for life is your Soul communicating with you to connect with her. She is asking you to re-evaluate how you are spending your energy and to consider what needs to change.

And change is hard when you don’t feel like you have the energy to do it, so be easy on yourself.  The small steps you take now will pay off.  Down the road, when you look back on where this journey back to your spark began, you will thank yourself for deciding to take those first few steps.

Many times, the hardest thing to do when you are starting to move away from the things that drain you is to learn the lesson of saying “no”.

When you say “no” to the things that are draining you, what you are really saying is “yes” to creating space to connect with your spark.

Remember, the practice of saying yes to tending to your own spark is worth pursuing, because those tiny shifts, day after day after day, are what will start to fan the flames of your spark, until one day you find yourself waking up with a renewed zest for life once again!

Right now, start with finding a bit more balance.  Can you love yourself enough to do less things that are draining your energy and save some of that precious life force for yourself?

This week consider . . .

What do you need to say yes to?

With Love,
Kristen
​XO

Sometimes when life feels off balance, what we really need is to take a few moments to steady ourselves.​

And it is in giving ourselves the permission to take these few moments that can make all the difference.​

Whether these moments are a few minutes, a few days, a few weeks, or even the journey of a few months or years, any amount of time you take with the intention to come back to yourself is going to be time well spent.​

Because that’s what steadiness is, the embodiment of being connected to yourself at your core. The ability to know who you are, paired with the confidence to know how you will respond, in any situation.

If you ever find yourself off balance, this is simply a symptom that you have disconnected from your core. When this happens, the nervous system gets activated, anxiety kicks in and emotions start running high. In other words, things just don’t feel great!​​

The skill of being able to steady yourself, despite the chaos that may be happening around you, will allow you to access creative solutions to any problems that are arising.

And more importantly, you will be able to make decisions that are true to you, which in turn, further connects you to your core.​

There are many ways we can steady ourselves when we feel off balance. For some it is spending time in nature, for others it is losing themselves in their artwork and yet for others it may be talking with a trusted friend, journalling, meditation, prayer, going to church, getting your hands in the dirt in your garden or just getting out and going for a drive.​

Often this is all it takes to hit the refresh button.​

Whether your are feeling off balance or not this week, it is worth considering what tools you have in your back pocket. Once you know this, they will always be there for you when you need them.

How do you bring yourself back into balance?
​
​With Love,
Kristen
​XO

​

​When I think of the quality of kindness, I think of holding others with genuine positive regard. The practice of genuine positive regard is something I learned when I became a health coach. It is the practice of seeing the best in others. Of being able to see the spark on the other side of the shadows.

I remember having a conversation with someone awhile ago now. I don’t remember the exact details anymore, but the idea was that someone they knew had experienced an outburst of anger and frustration that bubbled up to the surface and some unkind words were said. This anger and frustration was coming through in their behaviours and how they were interacting with the people around them.

My friend said “their true colours really shone through!”.

My rebuttal to this statement was this . . .

Those weren’t their true colours. It was their pain. It was the shadows of anger and frustration they had been burying, for whatever reason they had buried them, bubbling up to the surface to be seen.

This is what happens when we are not living in alignment with our true nature. When we are not expressing the truth of who we are on a regular basis, anger, resentment, frustration, bitterness and disappointment start to build up. The longer you go not living in alignment with your true nature, the more the pressure builds. Until eventually, all that pressure needs a release point, and BOOM! Welcome to the confusion of midlife!

For me this showed up as burnout. And a heck of a lot of confusion! I looked around at my life and, on paper, all was well. The guilt of being unhappy despite “having nothing to complain about” and the pressure of “you should be grateful for what you have” therefore you “should” be happy made it really difficult to know what needed to change. I felt trapped in a life that was everything I had worked for and yet still didn’t know how to access the joy I knew was inside of me somewhere!

I couldn’t feel my spark.

The interesting thing to know is, that is kind of the point of being here. 

We are all on this journey together to finding our spark again.

Just by virtue of being born, we made an agreement to step onto the path of our conditioning. The path that leads us away from our spark, only to have to figure out how to find our way back again.

I can honestly say I do not have the answer for why it is this way. It seems pretty inefficient and painful, doesn't it? But that is the big mystery we are all living out together. And maybe it doesn’t even have to be this way! But that is a contemplation for another day.

For now, can we all take a deep breath together?

Innnnnn . . . Outtttttt . . . Ahhhh . . .

Now, imagine what your life would be like if you turned toward your shadows (the angers, frustrations, bitterness and disappointments) with kindness.  What if you could recognize the shadows for what they truly are - merely symptoms of living out of alignment with your true nature?  Your true spark!

Because the thing with shadows is this:

When you judge them, criticize them or try to ignore them, they just keep getting bigger, darker and denser. The pressure keeps building. They turn into that big heavy cloud that follows you around everywhere you go, blocking the light of your potential. Eventually the pressure becomes so uncomfortable that it needs to be released.

The trick is to start turning towards those shadows with kindness. To hold yourself, your pain and your struggles with genuine positive regard.

As you practice this, you will gain the power to part the clouds and see the truth of who you are. You will be able to see that the sun is always and forever shining on the other side of the clouds. How beautiful is that!

It is the wisdom that you gain from transforming the shadows into love that becomes your greatest gift to share with the world.

When you light up your spark again, you inspire others to light up theirs too!

And how beautiful would our world be if we were all shining, unapologetically, in the truth of who we really are?

Ok loves, take a deep breath. This may be new for you. If so, be patient with yourself. Here is your practice for the week:

Anytime you have symptoms of being out of alignment with your spark, take a few breaths, turn to yourself with kindness and ask - what do I truly need right now? And then notice . . .

How does kindness bubble up for you?

With Love,
Kristen
XO

As we prepare to shift from spring, the season of planting new seeds and nurturing new growth, into summer, the season where you get to have a bit more fun and lighten up, it’s a good time to notice if there is anything still weighing you down.


I say this all the time - as we plant new seeds of intention, anything that doesn’t align with the life you want to create for yourself will come up for healing.


Take a moment today to tune into yourself. 


But before you do, take three big breaths and make this promise to yourself:


“I will check in with the spirit of curiosity and the heart of compassion.”


There is no need for judgement. Only observation.


When we judge ourselves, shame ourselves or guilt ourselves for our felt experiences, we actually block the path forward for healing.


Healing occurs when we turn towards ourselves with kindness, love and grace.


OK, now that you are in the right space, let’s give this a try!


Is there anything that is burdening you right now?​


Tune into your thoughts - what is playing on repeat?


Tune into your emotions - how are you feeling?


Tune into your body - where are you holding tension?​


Tune into your Soul - are you carrying anything that does not belong to you?


​Take note of what you are carrying. Are these things lifting you up or weighing you down?


If they are lifting you up that is great! Hang on to that. Cultivating more of those thoughts, emotions and sensations in the body are integral to finding your spark again.
​

If they are weighing you down, it might seem strange to hear, but that is great too. Great that you are able to bring into your awareness what is weighing you down. This is your Soul communicating to you either what isn’t in alignment with her OR lessons she came here to learn that will help her grow.​
​

I am not going to tell you to “just do x, y and z” and magically everything will be better.
​

For example, you may read a social media post that says - just change your thoughts, or just have gratitude, or just forgive, or just put down that baggage and move on. As if it is that easy.
​

Maybe sometimes it works that way. But other times, maybe more often than not, there is a whole lot more to unpack!
​

I prefer to take the pressure off. To give myself some grace and to take my time. I’d like to give you permission to take this approach as well if that feels comforting to you.
​

The trick is in figuring out what the lessons are.
​

And lessons take time to learn.
​

And practice.
​

Welcome to being human!
​

It is often a matter of learning a new skill, a new way of thinking or a new way of loving that is unfamiliar to us.
​

When we learn these new skills, THEN it is a heck of a lot easier to unload what you no longer need to carry with you.
​

The first step to finding your spark again is this - awareness.
​

We first need to be aware of what exactly it is that is asking to be unloaded.
​

What are you carrying?

​
With Love,
Kristen
XO

In my Women’s Self Discovery Workshop: Find Your Spark Again, we talk about the different areas of the healing cycle where we can get stuck. One of the cogs in the wheel that gets jammed up is in taking action to get our needs met.


Before I go on, I should clarify what I mean by needs.  All humans have needs to be met in order to feel fulfilled in life and to experience positive emotions such as love, joy and peace.


We have our basic physical survival needs such as water, food and shelter.


We also have intellectual, emotional, spiritual and relational needs, such as the need to be seen, heard, understood, loved and autonomous, to be able to choose our dreams, goals and values, to play and have fun, to learn and have understanding of the world around us, to have emotional safety, the ability to share your emotions without judgement or fear of rejection, physical touch, hugs and affection.  The list goes on and on!


As you can see, living a fulfilled life is so much more than just physical survival!


The thing about needs is that as humans, we rely on each other to get these needs met.  That is just a part of the human experience.


As children, we rely on our parents, family and community.  The circle of opportunity for getting your needs met is not in your control when you are young.  If for some reason your needs aren’t being met, that little, sweet and innocent mind of yours knows no better than to make the assumption that this is the reality of the whole world.


Maybe you learned it wasn’t ok to ask for your basic needs such as food, water or shelter.  Or maybe you learned it wasn’t ok to laugh loudly or to express a full range of emotions, or to just be your true self.  You could have learned it’s not worth asking for help or you may have been pushed away when reaching out for a hug, leading you to believe you don’t deserve physical affection.  There are many, many, many scenarios I could cover here.  All of these little things that seem so insignificant to your adult mind add up over time and create the basis for the reality you find yourself in today.


Living based on the assumption it’s not ok to ask to get your needs met may be a big part of why you feel stuck.  And being stuck is hard!  It feels extremely frustrating because you see what you want but don’t know why you aren’t able to get it.


The answer is both simple and complicated.


Simple because the reason you aren’t taking those steps is that there is a part of you that learned that asking for your needs to be met was either dangerous, futile or unsatisfying.  So naturally, you adopt a pattern of not asking anymore.


OR - you are in the pattern of asking to get your needs met in all the wrong places . . .  which only re-confirms again and again that the assumptions you have made are true.


Complicated because that fear is so deeply rooted in your subconscious (the part of your psyche that isn’t in your immediate awareness).  So your mind rationally says one thing - I want to be happy, loved, healthy, fulfilled, vibrant, satisfied and living my best life.


But your body is telling you a different story.


Your body remembers all of the times in the past where you weren’t able to get your needs met.  It is saying - you can’t have that, it’s not safe, you’re not worthy, it’s pointless to ask, it never works out or it’s not worth it.


Your body and subconscious mind at some point were wired to believe all these things are true, so much to the point, that it becomes your reality.


What I would like to offer you today is this . . 


Consider that there is a reality that exists beyond your current awareness where all of your needs are met - physical, intellectual, emotional, relational AND spiritual.


The cool thing about being an adult is this - you get to re-wire your reality.  It’s not easy!  I say this all the time:


Once you set your sights on what you want to grow into, everything that isn’t aligned with your dreams will bubble up to the surface to be processed and cleared so the path forward can open up for you.


All of the assumptions you’ve learned were true in the past start to be questioned.


The beauty of this is that once these things come into your awareness, you have choice.  You have the ability now to learn a new skill, whether that is speaking up for yourself, knowing your own worth, setting healthy boundaries, making time for fun and play, learning it’s ok to rest, or letting people get close to you again, you have choice.


When something isn’t in your awareness, you don’t have choice.  It’s like a hamster running on a wheel in the back of your awareness.  You keep repeating the same patterns over and over again not knowing why nothing is changing.


We all do this, so once again, please know you are not doing anything wrong.  This is just how we have been designed.


When you approach your human-ness with mindfulness, curiosity and self compassion, you will develop the inner resilience to shift into a new cycle of your life where your needs are being fulfilled.


It takes courage to dip your toe out into uncharted waters.  It can be scary to ask for something from someone else not knowing what the outcome is going to be.  It takes a hell of a lot of vulnerability to show your heart to the world.  There are no guarantees.  You may ask for a need to be met and indeed you may get a “no”.


But consider this - what if that “no" had absolutely nothing to do with whether or not you are deserving of what you asked for?  What if it’s not wrong that you simply asked?


In healthy relationship, needs and boundaries are negotiable.  You may ask for a need to be met, but it may bump up against someone else’s boundaries.  It may also bump up against someone else’s insecurities or they may just not have within them to give you what you are asking for.  Remember - they are human too!


What if this was ok?  What if that just meant that this isn’t the right person/place/environment/job/book/course - whatever it is - what if this just wasn’t the right place for you to be reaching out to for support?  What if you believed that support is available out there, it’s just somewhere else.  How would that change things for you?


Instead of taking the “no” as a sign of your own unworthiness, what if you just looked elsewhere?


It takes courage to keep looking.  But I do know this without a doubt - you are deserving of living a fulfilled life.  Every human on this planet is deserving of this.  We are just still learning how to make this our reality!


So this is my invitation to you this week - instead of avoiding asking because you are assuming you’ll get a no - ask anyways.


It will be scary, you’re legs may be shaking underneath you, your voice may tremble, your heart may feel weak, but give it a try anyways.  Make it an experiment.  Get curious of what the result will be.  Show yourself compassion as you play with this new part of you, the part of you that is building courage and taking steps towards the fulfillment you deserve.


The worst that can happen is that you’ll get a no.  The worst that can happen is that no will trigger your own insecurities and old patterns of shame, judgement and unworthiness.  But with your newfound awareness, now you know these are just signs that once again your needs aren’t being met.  That all of these things are coming up to the surface so you can learn from them and clear a path forward for your own fulfillment.  You know now you can start looking elsewhere.


The best that can happen is that you are pleasantly surprised.  The best that can happen is that your assumption is busted and you end up getting a yes.  The best that can happen is that your reality starts to open up into something new.  The best that can happen is that you get unstuck.


Take an inventory this week . . .


Where are you making assumptions?

With Love,
Kristen
​XO
​

​This week’s Soul Note is going to be short and sweet.

Take a moment right now to slow down, let go of the day so far and set aside any business in your mind of what is to come.

Now close your eyes, take three deep breaths and look around you.

How does the present moment look different?  What can you enjoy about this moment - right here - right now?

If the answer isn’t obvious to you, repeat the steps above and try a few more times.  Your nervous system may just need a few more breaths to help the body settle.

It’s important to have times to feel into our pain, our hurts, our fears and struggles.  It’s important not to bypass these things.  We do need to tend to them.

But life can be both.

At the same time.

We can have moments of joy during times of struggle. 

Today I’d like to give you permission to find moments of enjoyment even if things are feeling hard right now.  It is these moments that will uplift you and support you through to the other side.

You may want to set a reminder in your phone to come back to this practice a few times this week or even a few times each day.  Get curious to see how doing this short and sweet practice may help turn things around for you.

What can you appreciate about this very moment?

With Love,
Kristen
​XO