Deep Rest Wakes Me UP

Oh my gosh, it's been way too long since I've posted here, but, it's been for good reason. 

When I was home all day with my kiddos when they were babies and toddlers, all I could think about, when I got a minute of down time, was how I couldn't wait to sit down and write blog posts. 

When time opened up, like during their nap time, or even before I had little brother, after C went to bed, I'd have all this JOYous motivation to sit down, write and publish. 

Once L came, I still had my inner JOYous motivation, except, instead of writing on my blog, I wrote and shared on my Instagram account. 

The last year Luca was home with me during his Pre-K days, when he only went 3 days a week, I had it all planned out.

I was going to spend those 9 months revamping my website and getting my ecourses and ebooks back up and running, because in my mind, the following year, they'd BOTH be in school full-time, and that was going to be MY LIFT OFF TIME to finally getting back to posting and creating content on a consistent basis again. 

I did what I had planned during L's Pre-K year, and then we moved to Virginia.

Both kiddos started school full-time. I rested a bit, because, yeah, a full summer of moving and learning a new area and just being a mom 24/7 without any breaks for 13 weeks is definitely exhausting, but once the exhaustion lifted (well, I thought it had lifted!) a few weeks after, I began to GET BUSY!!

Because there's NO time to waste...I've already wasted years just letting my blog just sit and gather dust...and when it gathers dust, nothing comes of it...like connecting with others and yeah, maybe even make some money doing what I love and yeah, letting it become my CAREER! 

No sharing! No Career! Right!? Right! 

At beginning, I felt another inner craving to revamp my website, where I can now officially say, 100%, that it is FINALLY in a place that feels SO good to me and I have no desire to change it anymore! 

I started to doodle again and I started to write again. 

I created my blogging editorial calendar again! 

I connected with a new name for my website that felt more like ME and the message I want to share with the world and changed my domain name. 

And I even got my handy dandy husband to make me stand to go over my desk so I could start videoing my painting and doodling process. 

It FELT awesome to reconnect with my old blogging days in this way and to see some of my ideas that I've had for years start to fruition! 

Then, February hit. 

I wasn't sure if it was the cold weather or if there was something wrong with me, but, for some reason, I couldn't get myself out of my comfy rocking chair once I dropped the kids off at school. 

My mind was telling me to...

"GET UP!!"

"GET IN THERE!!"

"WRITE!!"

"DOODLE!!"

"PAINT!!"

"BLOG!!!!!" 

But my body...it wouldn't budge!!! 

When it came to dance walking on the treadmill (more on this later!), meditating, watching This Is Us, eating lunch in my quiet townhouse, sitting in my comfy rocker and listening to music for hours and jumping up the second Damian would call me and ask me if I wanted to "meet him for lunch!"...my body said, "HELL YEAH!! LET'S DO IT!!"

There were even days I'd finally sit down and I'd start editing pictures or putting them into a blog post and then Damian would call and ask me to meet him and I'd jump up and leave it all behind.  

What I couldn't understand was WHY was this happening??? Because the year before, I had no problem having the motivation to revamp my website and write blog posts while both kiddos were in school on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

And if D called and asked to me drive down to the city and meet him, I'd tell him..."Oh man...really??? Today??? But I'm working on my blog...do I really have to come down???" 

I didn't want to stop working on it.  But now, when I finally have 5, 6 hour days, all to myself, I'd jump at the hat to do something else. What!?

I got worried because I thought I had lost my JOY for blogging for good.  Or, I thought, maybe I'm having some health problems...it's been SO long since we've lived in the winter cold, maybe I need some Vitamin D pills...maybe I need something, because I'm just SO tired after dropping the kids off and I just want to come home and DO nothing. 

I just want to sit still in my quiet house and NOT move!! Nobody needs me!! Nobody's calling my name!! It's just me! And I don't want to do a thing!! I just want to sit here and DO NOTHING!! 

I started asking myself, "What would FEEL GOOD today?" once I dropped the kids off and MEDITATING popped up every time! 

And I'd do it!

(And, yes, I need to write a blog post on this, because it's taken me YEARS to get to mediating the way I do now...it wasn't an easy journey, but I'm so glad I'm in a place where I want to do it and where I actually CRAVE it...daily!)

Because mediating for me is more about giving MY BODY the stillness it craves, rather than my mind. I feel like it ALWAYS provides me with all the sleep I was deprived of that night. 

Because, yes, I still get woken up every single night. L comes in our room every night because he's still in his "I'm scared to be alone" phase. C is finally out of this stage and now sleeps in her room every single night for almost two years now! Hallelujah!! I love my kids, but I LOVE a full night's sleep, too!! I miss it SO much! 

So when I meditate, I truly feel like I caught up on the sleep I didn't get the night before. It's magical!! 

So I kept doing it.  And then I'd do nothing the rest of the morning until I ate lunch. And then after lunch, I'd dance-walk on the treadmill before getting the kids. 

Because, oh my gosh, when I started doing this without ANYONE IN THE HOUSE...it was HEAVEN!! I have not exercised without ANYONE IN THE HOUSE since I became a mom.  When I saw that I could get 20, 30, 40 and sometimes 60 minutes in, without ONE interruption and without thinking about anyone else except ME and my movements and the feeling the music that I absolutely LOVE give me happy tingles all throughout my body...it was HEAVEN!!!  And I became SO motivated to do it more, when ALONE in the house!! :) 

And then I'd have my energy back (the energy I used to FEEL from exercising...it's taken me time to return to this because of sleep deprivation!!) for the afternoon that is filled with cooking dinner, homework, making lunches for the next day, baths, tooth brushing, reading, playing and breaking up sibling fights and SO MUCH MORE!!

It's funny because I have SO much to write on my dance walking topic, but for now, this brought me SO much JOY! 

Meditation brought me JOY in a stillness way and dance walking on the treadmill brought me SO much JOY in a fast way.  

And as the months went on, I knew, at this time in my life, I needed BOTH each day! And nothing more!! 

But, deep down, I still wasn't sure where my JOYous motivation for blogging went!! 

In March, I had a GREAT conversation with my very wise and older friend, Ellen. 

She's a mom of two children, who are now in their late 20s and early 30s and she ALWAYS gives me the GREATEST mom advice!

I was telling her how tired I felt and how I couldn't understand why I just didn't want to do anything while the kids are in school. 

She told me, "You're tired from motherhood and right now you're in transition now that both kids are in school full-time."

I was like, "Whhhaaaaaaat??!"  

And then I was like, "OMG!! You're right!!" 

I knew I was tired, because, yeah, just getting BOTH kiddos to school on time in the morning, especially during the winter months IS exhausting, but when she said the word "transition" - the heavens opened up!

YES!!!! I'm in transition!!! It's SO true!! 

I've just spent the last 8 years being pregnant, taking care of two babies, two toddlers, transitioning two kiddos from home to school AND on top of that I've been a COMFORTER 24/7 while trying to take care of myself, keeping our house together in the most calm in peaceful way that I can all while being a military spouse, moving and not having any outside help at all. 

NOT EASY and OH-SO EXHAUSTING!!! 

I realized that I'll ALWAYS be in transition, too! 

I just transitioned from taking care of two very young kiddos, 24/7, without a break, to now transitioning to taking care of two elementary school kiddos, to then middle school, then high school and then college and then adulthood.  And each of those stages do bring more time to connecting back to ME, but they also bring different responsibilities to guiding them to grow into adulthood...and then once they're adults, they'll still need me, but at least they'll be able to change themselves, feed themselves, drive themselves and will have no desire to come sleep with me with in the middle of the night...but, I'll be up waiting for them to come home!! Ha! :) 

So, yeah, I'll ALWAYS be transitioning as a mother, but I do think the baby and toddler stage was the most exhausting stage for me because they NEED me SO much and there was absolutely NO time for ME to take care of ME and stay connected to ME! Even though I so desperately wanted to!

Thank You, Ellen!!

So, yeah, that day, I saw that it's not that something is wrong with me, it's just that my body is telling me to "stop thinking" about the blog right now and that it's OK to just sit still and DO only what feels best right now.

And when Damian calls me for a lunch date, GOOOOOO!!!

Because this year, he's in school and he has more free time than he ever has had before and probably ever will until he retires.

It's been 8 years since you've had this much alone time together, so it's OK to not work on the blog right now and it's OK to drop everything and go and BE with him right now!

The blog will ALWAYS be there, waiting, for the right time and when you feel ready. Your message is not changing and it will always be with you. No matter how long the wait!  

OMG!!!! YESSSSS!!!!

And so I did. 

After that BIG aha, I came across Karen Brody and her Yoga Nidra, Daring to Rest, mediation message. 

I don't remember exactly how I found her, but man, I was SO glad I did. 

You see, when I mediate, I do it in a way that is much different than is shown or talked about. 

I've always laid down to mediate.  When I would try to sit in cross-legged pose, it was so uncomfortable and it never felt good, so I'd always lay down in my bed, because it FELT GOOD!

But years after meditating and trying SO many different guided meditations, I fell in love with one of Oprah and Deepak Chopra's 21 Day Mediation's, called, Finding Your Flow AND lying in bed in this way...

Covered up, under the sheets and comforter, my pregnancy pillow over my legs and feet (yes, I still sleep with my pregnancy pillow...it's heaven at night still, because my back just isn't the same since birthing both kiddos!), all my pillows surrounding me and using one as a big eye mask, COMFORTS ME like no other. 

I always feel like since I'm comforting my kiddos all day long, when I do this, I feel like the bed and the pillows and the sheets and the comforter are comforting ME!!  Like they're giving me the biggest, longest, warmest, fluffiest hug ever!! 

And, of course, I love it super dark, and that's why I use the pillow for my eye mask, well, for that, AND, because, yet again, it's SO fluffy and comforting! 

But, I've never heard anyone mediate like this or even talk about mediating in this way. 

I didn't care, because I don't need to do what others say and I like to follow ONLY what FEELS GOOD to ME and THIS!! 

THIS way of meditating FEELS SO GOOD to ME!!

But when I found Karen Brody and when I read her story, I was immediately intrigued because I finally connected with someone who was similar to me...passionate about RESTING!! And not in a cross-legged way, either!! Ha! 

She said she had dealt with years of anxiety and was even on medication for it, especially when she was parenting her 2-year-old, and when she walked into her yoga studio for a class, she happened to see, by "chance," a group of people in a class lying on the floor with a blanket over them. 

And when she saw that, she said, "I NEED THAT!" and "WHAT ARE THEY DOING?"  (or something along those lines...I'm paraphrasing here!)

After that moment, she began to learn a mediation, called Yoga Nidra, because Yoga Nidra taught her to go within herself, connect with her entire body, set intentions and just how important it is to stop and take some time out of the day for some DEEP REST...AKA...meditation...AKA...a nap! 

Once I read her story, I got her eBook (because I dealt with anxiety in my 20s, but I never took meds for it...it's actually the whole reasoning as to why I do what I do, because I refused to take meds for it...I knew it was deeper than just taking meds...I knew I was stressed and I knew I needed to slow down...my anxiety started my meditation journey!!) and, yet again, I was immediately pulled in, because she talks about a "rest cave" (with pictures!) where you have a place in your house set up so you can easily take some time for yourself to meditate, AKA...get your deep rest on! 

I was jumping for JOY inside because THIS was SO similar to what I do when I meditate...except my "rest cave" is my bed. 

And, gosh, her "rest cave" pictures just looked SO cozy and CALM!!! Just what I CRAVE!! 

But I love the idea of having a special "rest" place, with a mattress and covers or a soft place to lay with cozy blankets and an eye mask and anything that allows you to easily get into "rest" mode...that was similar to mediation space/alter where you sit and meditate, but sounded and looked even BETTER! 

But what I loved most, was her DEEP REST message.

It's something I've always known for myself, but my mind would immediately question or tell me not to do.

Like back in February, when all my body wanted was DEEP REST, because I've been deep in the exhaustion of parenting the last 8 years, and I knew it felt SO good, but my mind thought because I was SO tired, there was something wrong with me and I needed a Vitamin or something to help my sluggishness and because of that tiredness there was something wrong because all my JOYous motivation for blogging was gone. 

When really, all I needed was a BIG mind break and a BIG rest break for my body AND mind!! 

My mind didn't want to "think" about putting blog posts together...it didn't want to "think" at all.  It didn't even want to pull out my, very minimum, art supplies and art journal to paint. 

It just wanted to "rest."

My body wanted the stillness, too!  But, it also wanted to move fast in a way that brought me my highest JOY - dancing and dance walking to my favorite EDM music! 

And gosh, this was HARD! 

Because we aren't allowed to just BE...we aren't allowed to REST! 

But, really, we are a society that is EXTREMELY deprived of it!! BIG TIME!! 

And because of that, we don't even know HOW to rest anymore...we think just sitting on the couch is resting, while reading a book, scrolling our phones, or watching TV, or even riding a bike or taking a slow walk. 

But, pure, deep rest, means closing our eyes and sitting still...going within...and quieting the noise that surrounds us 24/7! 

So, for me, in my mind, I'm a stay-at-home-mom and I really want a career that nourishes my soul and I've always wanted blogging to BE that nourishing soul job for me (because it truly does that for me!), so when my JOYous motivation was gone, I was SO down on myself, because, like always, I don't want to go back to teaching elementary school full-time. 

I barely have enough energy for my two kiddos...there's no way that I have any energy left for 28 more kiddos! I love kids and I love teachers and I do miss it at times, but deep down, I have NO energy for it right now. 

So not blogging and not "thinking" about blogging on a consistent basis had no place in my mindset. 

Yes, I wanted the stillness, but I also wanted to blog consistently, too! 

But after having my conversation with my friend Ellen and reading Karen Brody's story and then truly listening to what the Universe was wanting for me during these past few months, I realized everything that what was occurring was EXACTLY what was meant to be happening for me at the current time. 

It just took my body, that didn't want to get up and get on the computer and "think" to wake my mind up and show it that, no... 

"Renee...you've been going non-stop, for 8 years (and all those years before motherhood, too!)...multi-tasking while taking care of your kiddos, constantly thinking about your future and how you're going make money (hello, blogging!), moving and having absolutely no downtime that truly rejuvenates you..."

THIS!! THIS is the time to just BE!!!  THIS is the ONLY thing you NEED to BE doing right now!! Nothing else!!

And then I FINALLY connected with it. 

I realized that the Universe worked its magic to have D in school, in Virginia, in the most soul-nourishing place (something I've been asking the Universe for years!!) at the most perfect time (the first year that BOTH kiddos are in school full-time for the VERY first time!) so I could finally slow down, connect back to me, go on weekly, nourishing day dates with D so we could re-connect back to each other, go on soul nourishing hikes in the Virginia mountains to rejuvenate my soul and to reignite my love for taking photos, and most of all, calm my mind and REST, REST, REST!!!!

And that's EXACTLY what happened!! 

If my body didn't stop me from "getting up and GOing and DOing," I'm not sure I would have heard this message.  

But, I'm SO glad it did. 

Actually, I know it's EXACTLY what was supposed to happen because I never stopped...even though I thought I was. 

I'd drop the kids off at school, sit still for a little bit while enjoying my quiet house, but my mind never stopped thinking about DOING!! 

But when my body wouldn't budge from the chair and when my mind started freaking out that maybe something was wrong with me health wise and that I was never going to get to my JOYous blogging motivation back again, I see now, it was doing EXACTLY what it was meant to!

I may have gotten lots of DEEP REST these past couple of months, but at the same time, my mind and body got WOKEN UP!!!

I've always been passionate about slowing down, living a slow life and using creativity to calm my mind, but sometimes, I still need major help with that. 

Because society is so fast-paced and focuses A LOT on success, making lots of money and living a life full of abundance and material things, it's hard for me to truly slow down, because it's SO easy for me to stay focused on those messages. 

So when my body doesn't want to move as fast as my mind, it's crazy how I can immediately think that I have a health problem or that I've lost my JOY again, but really, it's just a sign that I'm truly NOT rested enough and it's a MUST that I listen to exactly what it's CRAVING! 

It's also crazy how when I'm in thick of it and I can't see those messages yet, I immediately go down the "negative" rabbit hole that something is wrong with me because I don't want to DO anything!!! 

When really, that's the most important lesson of all.  

That DOing nothing, especially after 8 years of DOing something and DOing MANY things all at once (like cooking dinner, while at the same time, putting a band-aid on Luca's finger, breaking up a sibling fight, cleaning up food that fell on the floor, picking up the phone because D is calling to tell me he's on his way home), non-stop, 24/7, day and night, IS OK and IS a must while living in this very fast-paced world...or shall I say, my very fast-paced MAMA WORLD! 

So when I finally saw that it was OK to give myself a daily dose of DEEP REST, I realized that I was also getting a daily dose of WAKING BACK UP to who I am and what I love and who I want to BE in the world.

Because I tend to disconnect from her a lot!! 

Which, I now know why...I'm disconnected from her because she's EXHAUSTED and in dire need of REST!!

And if she's not rested (which is SO hard to BE when caring for two little kiddos all while being an adult!!) I'll continue to live my life deep in anxiety-ridden thoughts, which causes me to feel stuck, joyless, unmotivated, negative, scared and not normal. 

So, yes!

If you've been wondering where I've been these past few months, I've been DEEPly RESTing!! 

And, wow, did it change me! 

I'll never look at mediation, stillness, sitting on the couch and watching my favorite TV show, going out to lunch during the day with my husband while the kids are in school and DOing absolutely NOTHING the same again. 

Instead of knowing that it's good for me, but still allowing my mind to take over and tell me how none of that is productive or will make money for my family, I now walk away from those thoughts, because it was DOing all of those things that RESTed my body and mind AND, most of all, started my journey to reconnecting ME back to myself and nourished my soul. 

And what I know now, there is true POWER in giving myself time to DO NOTHING, especially when I've been DOing ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING, non-stop, 24/7, 365 days a year, day and night since becoming a mom.

It brings me back to who I am before I became a mom. 

And it brings me back to who I wanna BE as a mom...that I can totally disconnect as my kiddos grow older and older and the more and more my busy mama responsibilities grow. 

So here's my biggest AHA's...

• That my mind is crazy to let me think that just because I'm DOing NOTHING doesn't mean I'm not being productive.
  
  Because, oh my gosh, every single time I sit down and not move, I always think, I can't do this! I can't just sit here! If I sit here, I'll just get tired and then I really won't DO ANYTHING...and then that just makes me lazy!! And if D is at work and the kids are at school...that means I'm the only one NOT DOing anything and that just means that I suck...I am not doing anything for this world...except sitting here...DOing nothing!!
  

• The more I DO NOTHING, the more productive I become!
  

• Just because my JOYous motivation is gone, it doesn't mean I've lost it for good. It just means that because it's gone and it's nowhere to be found, that is a MAJOR sign that I'm in dire need of REST!!!! My energy levels are MAXED OUT!!! So the more I think DOing is GOOD FOR ME...the more I'm going to disconnect from my JOY!
  

• If I want my JOYous motivation back, I've got to DEEPly REST and DO NOTHING!! It's the only way my JOY for everything I love will come back!

And by DO NOTHING...I mean, getting off of social media, because OH MY GOSH, I realized during these past few months, that even though I'm sitting still while scrolling through all my feeds, it's EXHAUSTING my mind by looking at 50 million things, which feels like, all at once. 

Social is FAST!!! And when I'm consistently FAST, I get more and more EXHAUSTED!!

I love me some social media, but if I'm on it too much, my JOY gets sucked out of me. 

So, yeah, this was huge for me, too! And, yes, it's a struggle to stay off. 

• If my JOYous motivation for everything I'm passionate about is gone, it's a MUST that I get off the social media noise train so I can feel my JOY again!
  

• I can't force or push this. I have to let my rest take its course. I have to feel ready to return.

There were times when I thought I was ready to blog again or get back on social media, but I'd write the same blog post topic over and over again and I'd quickly feel exhausted... a major sign that I'm still in need of REST!

Because right now, I'm not having any trouble busting out these words for this post and I haven't started over once...HOORAY!! I got my JOYous motivation back. 

But, please bear with me...it's been awhile since my writing voice has come out to play, so I'm sure I've rambled, have lots of repetition and many, many grammar mistakes going on. 

But, that's the beauty of my blog...it's the JOY that I'm sharing...not the school rules of how to write that matters...well, at least, that's the way I feel. 

The JOYous message comes first...then the grammar police can come second, or third, or fourth or NOT AT ALL!! :) 

OH, and yeah...one more!!

Which I think it's my biggest aha of them all...is that...

• SO much GOOD came through, from what I thought, at the beginning was something, really, really bad.

So now, when I find myself not wanting to DO ANYTHING, instead of immediately thinking it's  "bad" thing...I now know, it's going to be a "good" thing...I just have to wait it out...even when times feel bad...because once I get through whatever is going on, I know, in the end, it is going to send me a lesson and teach me something I wasn't yet aware of and I needed to hear! 

So, yeah, if you think DOing NOTHING is something you should do and when you try to do you end up thinking it's "bad" thing and shouldn't be done...take it from me...that once you allow yourself to DO NOTHING...something GOOD will be rise through. 

Like, for me, getting my JOYous motivation to BLOG AGAIN!!

HIP HIP HOORAY!!!!

Now..I'm not 100% cured. I still get tired daily.  And, I'm in need of DEEP REST daily that I can't always get!! 

But, the cool thing is, now when I feel like my eyes are tired, especially an hour or so after waking up in the morning, I now take that as a sign that I need to meditate. 

My kids are also home with me now for summer, which makes me EXHAUSTED, but I'm seeing that I have way more motivation to do things, even though I'm caring for them all day long AND even though it feels like I'm saying "NO!!" and "SEPARATE!!!" all day long. 

Yes, they are older now, so yes, it is way easier than it was when they were toddlers, but it's nice that I can finally put ME first during moments when they're content and happily doing something on their own (that doesn't need my help for every second of...ha!).

• I'm dance-walking on the treadmill when I first wake up in the morning because, yes, I let them use the iPads, because sometimes, iPads are a blessing!! And when they're on them, creating in Minecraft, when they first wake up, they're content the entire time I get my dance walk on!! HUGE WIN FOR ME!!

Or they're watching TV! 

• I'm slowly thinking about what to cook more...this one is still a struggle, but I can tell it's SLOWLY coming back.

My brain can still hurt when I have to think about menu planning, but I always loved to cook and bake and I'm finding myself wanting to get back to that more and I even feel the inner tingle to take food photos again...something I've always loved!!

• I'm still trying to find time to paint and doodle. If the time comes, I know it'll come at the most perfect time...but that's something I really love to do in a quiet house when both kiddos are at school.
  

• I'm reconnecting back and more to the way I want to decorate our home. I have been disconnected from this for SO long and I'm coming to find that all these years, it wasn't that I wasn't sure of what I wanted, it was that I've been deep in exhaustion, so I had NO idea how I wanted our house to be...I just knew cozy, and after this move, I'm starting to see that COZY has always been my #1 motivator and the way I wanted COZY to be is how COZY was to me before becoming an exhausted mommy.

So, what I'm really trying to say is...my inner decor style NEVER left me...it's just getting re-ignited!! 

• Blogging ideas are igniting again!! Doodle words that I want to hand letter are popping up again!! And wishing I had time to paint in my art journal are passing through my head again!!!
  

• After my workouts in the morning, I'm able to squeeze in some mediation. Not every day, but when I see that the kids are still content, I sneak into my bed and grab a few DEEP REST moments!
  

• I'm starting to take my "savoring life" pictures again!! This is huge!! It's been SO long since I've taken a photo of a moment that made me stop, smile and filled my heart with so much love and JOY! I actually was SO sad that I had NO motivation to do this anymore because it's my whole passion behind WHY I love photography and taking pictures.
  

• Instead of beating myself up (daily!) that I'm just a stay-at-home-mom and I'm not doing anything with my two degrees to bring in income for my family and that I'm lazy because I just sit around while my husband is being productive at work and while my kiddos are being productive at school and that I'm not doing anything of service for the world, I now SEE that, yes...right now, I'm meant to be home with our kiddos and not working outside of the house right now.

We live a unique life, a military life, which means our life is CONSTANTLY changing.  And when you add kiddos to the mix, they are in need of a comforting landing space that does not change...and that landing space is ME! 

And those 6 hours that they're at school...that IS my only time that I get a break because once they come home, I'm ON from 3 pm until 8 AM the next day...and a lot of the time, by myself, too...because the husband is either working long, long hours or is away for work! 

So, I'm allowed to sit and DO NOTHING!! It's OK!! This is my path!! And it's the path I want.  I want to be a comforting landing space for my kiddos and my husband right now.  Because before I know it, they'll be off on their own and then I can go back to teaching or do my own thing...my time will be more OPEN than ever and I can "think" about it then!

Now this, my friends is HUGE!! Because all these years being home, I've been beating myself up for this and trying to figure out how I can use my degrees to make money all while being home for the kids. 

And, lastly...

• I don't look at my blog as a money making thing anymore. I now look at it as my landing place to SHARE MY JOY!! My happy place!! I don't even care about marketing it anymore and how many followers and comments I have (something I was ALWAYS thinking about since I started it!).
  

• I now BLOG only for the JOY of sharing what brings ME JOY and nothing else!

I know I keep saying this...but THIS...THIS ONE is absolutely HUGE for me!!  HUGE!!! And, I can already tell it's done wonders for me! Woohoo!! :):)

And with that, I leave you some affirmation! 

I LOVE ME but I LOVE ME EVEN MORE when I ALLOW my body, mind and soul to DO NOTHING and give it the DEEP REST it so very well deserves!!

All is well when life moves fast and slow but ALL is even more well when life is lived with a daily dose of DEEP REST in it!! 

Until next time, 

Why do I doodle uplifting words?  Because it easily calms my mind and soothes my soul so I can DEEPly REST no matter how overwhelming and stressful my day may be (something that's hard to do when my mind is running five miles ahead or behind the present moment).