Nourish Your Life

It is October 1st!  …and that means my “fall cleaning”  WILL begin.   How long does “fall cleaning” last?…  until Winter, of course.

I try to break it down into each week’s goals; then  I do not find myself, the week before Winter begins, cleaning everything in sight.  (I can feel you nodding your heads-you have done it too, huh…)

Just for October, my week one will be ten days and my week three will be ten days.  (I am going to Colorado the “middle” ten days of the month to study sports nutrition at the Olympic Athletic Center and then other nutrition issues in Denver.) 

 Week one: I will clean my office small bookcase, desk top, table top, file box top, computer desk top and window ledge.  So…the tops of EVERYTHING plus the bookcase.  Hmmm..that feels “right.” 

Week three: Still in my office-the closet bookcase, file drawers and desk drawers.  Whew!  That will be alot for one, ten-day, week!  I need to get it done, though, to bring back my “santuary.”  That is all the motivation I need

What steps to Higher Ground will I be climbing?  Certainly simplicity; probably education (as I am sure I will end up reading ALOT.)

Iwill find nature and gratitude in October in other ways.

What is YOUR plan for October?

Which stepping stones will you be climbing to YOUR Higher Ground?

Just to take a break from my “Fall cleaning” thoughts, I want to share this great article that I found on Oprah’s website.

Here you go.

I know I still have four days before I have to…OOPS-I mean- I GET to start my “fall cleaning.”

I am just getting it altogether in my head, so I can put it on paper.

I know that my office/sanctuary will be first.  I wasn’t sure how my office can ALSO be my sanctuary until I sat down in “my chair” and pondered it.

I have, in my office/sanctuary, a computer table, desk, four drawer vertical file box, a big, comfy chair and a small what-use-to-be-a nightstand- table.  There is also a small book case next to the table and a bi-fold closet turned book shelves.

 This room is always my office, but only my sanctuary when the room is clean and organized…and THAT  is why I need to clean, organize and simplify it first!

I need my office, but even more than it-I NEED my sanctuary

What do YOU need to do first?

What is YOUR reason?

We are talking about education this month; the month of September.  I learn from many people, many ways, many mediums.

This morning, I learned from my coach, Jo.  In her BLOG from yesterday, she told us of a mountain climbing experience she recently had.  She had almost made it to her destination but did not think she could go on…please read her story.

What did I learn from this?  Her words, “It was so worth it!”

What have I quit just before “reaching the top?” I am going to ponder this today. Why did I quit and what would have changed in my life, if only I had gone on? Would it have been “so worth it!”  Stay tuned…

What have YOU quit just before “reaching the top?” What would have changed in YOUR life if only YOU had gone on?  Would it have been “so worth it!”

I love to learn!  There are so many ways to “learn” available for us!  In September, we think about going “back to school.”  Going back to the formal education; and…I am all for it-after all, I teach at the college level…but I do recall reading a quote by Albert Einstein:  “It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education.” And, there is something to be said for that!

And so…as I ponder the different ways there are to learn, I first think of my stepping stones: nature, simplicity, gratitude and and how my newest stepping stone, education, all fits together.

Ponder with me, be curious with me, if you will…How do YOU view education?  Do YOU prefer “formal” or “not-so-formal” education?  What part does education play in YOUR Stepping Stones?  How do YOU learn from them?

I certainly am curious   Are YOU?

Stay tuned, as we ponder this together

We are home from our family vacation, and what a wonderful and wonder-filled vacation it was!

My husband and I, our children and grandchildren, all gathered together (under one roof) for close to a week.

We arrived Monday evening.  On Tuesday, I was the first to get up and decided to go exploring.  It was a very “hilly” area and I LOVE hills.  So, up and down I ran; found a trail to climb; at the top was a beautiful clearing (like you would see on a Disney movie).  I returned to it often.

  After my exploration, I headed back to our cottage.  When I walked in, what did I see?  Everyone in my family sitting around the tables with their lap tops or Nintendo games.  Good grief!  My first thought was, “I don’t belong in this family!”

The remainder of the week, I ponder this thought…and reflected on each family member and how I connect with him or her.

My lesson learned?  FAMILY is not about “what we do,” but “who we are.”

And…WHO are WE?  We are a family! 

Last week, my coach Jo, gave me a quote to ponder. The quote is: “We wander for distraction; we travel for fulfillment.” Hilaire Belloc.

I have been pondering that quote, and to me, it seems just the opposite is true: “We wander for fulfillment and travel for distraction.”  Maybe I should change it to: I wander for fulfillment and travel for distraction.

This week we are on a family vacation; 15 of us in a five bedroom (three bathroom) cottage on Round Lake, Michigan.  I shall get up very early to go wandering and pondering. 

Does “fulfillment” come on “Higher Ground?” I wonder? (As I wander and ponder?-sounds like a song..:)

What are YOU wondering about today?  What do YOU think about that quote?  Where does YOUR fulfillment come from?

Today is my first Wednesday on the 100 mile diet.  I had decided to just eat the veggies from our home garden…Early this morning I picked tomatoes, zucchini, kale, cucumbers, and one smallish carrot.

Although I had decided to just eat these vegetables, we do have a local farmer with beautiful chicken eggs.  Why not!  An omelet for breakfast; hard boiled eggs on a veggie salad for lunch; don’t know about dinner yet.  Maybe gazpacho?

I need to find some local grains.  Sure wish quinoa was grown locally!  I wonder???  It is so easy to cook, and I have so many recipes for it!  Salads, soups, side dishes, and even desserts!

Maybe next year I can grow it myself?

How are YOU doing on YOUR 100 mile diet?  What foods are YOU able to find?  What are YOU looking for?

I have spent the last few weeks “leveling out” on a little bit “higher ground.” I have worked on all of my steps; gratitude, nature and simplicity.  Eliminating tolerations, keeping a gratitude journal, taking hikes in nature, the 100 mile diet (which has been the most fascinating), and many other baby steps that have taken me “higher.”  I then “sat” at this spot for about two weeks-just to observe my higher ground.

I have now become restless to climb higher!! I am thrilled by this discovery!  Thrilled and a little un-nerved by it.  What will the higher ground look like?  What will it take for me to get there? 

Will you go with me?  Are you ready to “climb higher?”  Let’s go!

It is the last day of June; I have been climbing to Higher Ground for 30 days now.  Have I made it a little higher?  I wonder…

My stepping stones are nature, simplicity and gratitude;  cemented together by God’s Love and Peace.

The beginning of June, I began with Simplicity by eliminating tolerations.  My first go-through went very well; got rid of alot of “stuff.”  Somehow, though, tolerations have a life of their own, and continue to pop up again.  That’s OK.  Simplicity is not as simple as I thought it would be; I have discovered that it is a process, rather than a goal.

Next, was Nature; eating locally, sustainable foods, choosing foods that are grown within 100 miles of where we live. I am still discovering WHAT foods are grown within 100 miles, but this really has been an adventure! …and I LOVE adventures!

The final “stone” I have worked on is Gratitude.  I truly am grateful for the sunrise and sunset; and “life” in between…Tomorrow, July 1st I begin my Gratitude Journal.

What else will July bring, as I climb a little higher? 

How was YOUR month of June?  How did YOU climb ”a little higher?”  What will July bring for YOU?