Real Hugs and Crazy Calendars
Hello, Dear Ones,
August is quickly coming to an end, which means my birthday is almost here and so is back-to-school time in Minnesota! With that, I want to share a couple of things I have been thinking about.
The first is hugs. I’ll start by sharing that I’m one of those people who says “I’m a hugger” and I absolutely am. I love hugs. Especially real hugs. You know the kind, the ones where it’s like you can feel that the other person means it. It’s the equivalent of a good handshake rather than an uncomfortable hand pat.
I was in Nebraska this past week, and I got to visit my college roommate who gives the best real hugs. I walked in the door and she gave me a warm, real hug. It was so comforting and genuinely full of love. It made me wish this was the only kind of hug.
Hugs have been proven to be an excellent stress reliever! They need to be at least 20 seconds and the kind you each lean into each other for support. We could all benefit from more real hugs in our lives!
The second thing that has been on my mind is crazy calendars. This time of year tends to be a lot. It’s kind of a “new year” in its own way. The start of a new season and school year can mean a return to structures and schedules that we lapse on a bit over the summer.
The past couple of weeks, I’ve noticed my calendar and number of commitments growing so this weekend I paused and helped myself get a little more organized before I ended up completely over-committed. The first thing I looked through was all of the things I’m currently scheduled and then intentionally blocked some time on my calendar to ensure I can complete all the things I want to get done.
Coming into this week, I feel so much better because I paused before the season started, and I got really intentional about how I want to spend my time. The excerpt below resonated with me because I feel it’s so important to ensure that we have space in between activities and responsibilities. We need to recharge, process, and have time for the unexpected.
What kind of space do you have in the in between for yourself in your life?
This is an excerpt from FIRE, written by Judy Brown:
What makes a fire burn
is space between the logs,
a breathing space.
Too much of a good thing,
too many logs
packed in too tight
can douse the flame
almost as surely
as a pail of water would.
So building fires
requires attention
to the spaces in between…
…A fire
grows
simply because the space is there,
with openings
in which the flame
that knows just how it wants to burn
can find its way.
If that resonates with you, let me know! Is there space for you to re-energize and care for yourself in your life? If there’s not or you’ve tried to make space, but you’re struggling, I’d love to connect. Until September 3, I will be honoring the $30 off a package plus one free visualization session, where we can get to the heart of what you truly want. If you’re interested, you can book a call with me here.
As always, I have an abundance of gratitude for all of you. Thank you for sharing your space and time with me.
With love and kindness,
Jessica
P.S. The fun thing I’m doing to take care of myself is an experiment where I’ve stopped drinking regular coffee. A few weeks ago, I decided to see what would happen and I must say (though it gives me no pleasure to report it) that I’m no longer having afternoon crashes like I was, where I wanted a mid-afternoon nap,
I still love the taste of coffee though, so I have started drinking decaf and I’m now in love with decaf cold brew! Most places don’t have it, so I’ve started making it myself and I’m very excited to experiment with some fall flavors in my cold brew coffee. If you have any suggestions please send them my way.
