I will use the excuse for my tardiness that it's important to be flexible in life. And sometimes, it can be difficult to put myself in the mood to think more "mindfully." Which is probably when it is most important to do so. When I'm looking for inspiration, I look to what other people are doing and what they've thought about in regards to mindfulness and similar issues. I found a great interview in the Harvard Business Review from 2014 about mindfulness and how it can be utilized in the working world (more specifically, the world of "business," vague as the term is). 

You can find the article here if you would like to read it: hbr.org/2014/03/mindfulness-in-the-age-of-complexity

I will be on time next week! Thank you for your patience in the meantime. 

By: Denell Nawrocki, MA
For most of my life I felt like I needed to DO THINGS in order to make things happen in my life. I always seemed to force my way through situations and circumstances, MAKING them happen the way I wanted them to. This always left me feeling depleted and unwell. Even if I was getting what I wanted, it never seemed like enough. My heart was never full, and my mind always wandered to the next thing. 

When I began down the path of self awareness, meditation, and nature connection, I slowly began to realize that I had been doing it all wrong. The Earth creates and produces some of the most INCREDIBLY BEAUTIFUL and INSPIRATIONAL things known to us, yet she never FORCES it to happen. It simply happens. There is no force in creation. 

I began to think about this understanding in relation to 'getting what I wanted'. If nothing in this world is forced (naturally), then what did that mean for me forcing an outcome? What was I doing in relation to the possibilities of what could be? Was my constricted notion of the intended outcome blocking me from the incredible potentials of WHAT COULD BE? 

I began to change the way I was relating to what I was doing. Where there was once fear and pressure, I replaced with faith, trust and ease. This new way of Being was difficult at first, but as I loosened my grip on the intended outcome of even THIS 'action', I noticed something:

This may seem like a catch 22 but what I have learned is that in order to RECEIVE that which you ASK FOR AND TRULY DESIRE, you must LET IT GO and OPEN YOURSELF UP TO THE POSSIBILITY. There is a non-action associated with the action. It is one of the most difficult things we as modern humans can do (what! NOT be in control?!), but the rewards of LETTING IT ALL GO are tremendous.

I invite you to give this a go, even if just for one day.
In the morning, set some intentions for your day, and then allow the soft voices of your heart and body to guide to through Time to where you need to go.
​You may find that synchronicity and miracles begin to happen. 
​Let go into the flow of life. Forcing it only leads to unnecessary discomfort.

Denell Nawrocki, MA is an Integrative Wellness Coach, Health Educator, Ethnohistorian, and Women's Health Advocate. You can find out more about her and her work at www.generativehealth.org.

I was traveling recently, which I always look forward to (even if it was for work), whether it’s to another country or just a few counties away. But after my initial pleasure at the thought that I get to be in a place unfamiliar to me and see new things and people, I remember how frustrating traveling can be. “Hurry up and wait” is pretty much a guaranteed circumstance, as are difficulties making connections, expenses you would never incur at home, and missing the comforts you enjoy when you’re in your routine.
How to mitigate the frustrations of travel, when the stimulation of new and exciting scenery and situations may not enough? I was in New Jersey last week, which, while far from my California home, is still not exactly an exotic trip to a foreign place. Luckily, there were no major travel hiccups, my hotel was excellent, and the conference I was attending was stimulating and informative. But even in that best-case scenario, I still had frustrations such as jet lag which prevented me from sleeping well, a full schedule allowing little time to myself, and environs that prevented me from exploring (apparently the beautiful woods nearby were “full of bears,” so my only option for outside entertainment was a giant suburban mall). And my flight back was a bit more complicated than my flight out, involving a taxi, shuttle, train, and after a short visit to some family in New York, a gratefully accepted ride to the airport. Then I had two stops on my flight before arriving home, which is again, not ideal.
What to do when you are surrounded by people and have no choice but to wait, or make your next connection? How to take breaks for yourself when you’re traveling, so you can maintain a peace of mind that can be hard to come by when on the go and away from home? For me, it involves lots of podcasts, music, audiobooks, and physical books and notebooks, so I can create a private space for myself when in public. It’s not that I don’t enjoy engaging with people I meet out in the world, but in an airport or train station--I’d really like to just be invisible sometimes. Any introvert and probably some extroverts will know the feeling.
What do you do to create private space for yourself when in public? ​