Meditation Mama

Winter is the worst time of year for me. I really struggle with my ability to stay focused, productive and my anxiety increases. I get very irritable with constantly seeing white snow, cold weather and layering on clothing. It is difficult for me to get past this attachment of hating winter.  It doesn't help that winter is some of the busiest times of the year for my family. After the holidays, my kids and husband's activities go into hyper-drive. Each day there is some sporting event, that either I have to drive to - in horrible weather conditions, or my husband is coaching and is not home to help shovel/snow blow our super long driveway or help with the myriad of chores around the house.  I constantly feel exhausted and unmotivated to be social, get off the couch or even do the things that I enjoy, like cooking, reading and being in nature. I end up scrolling on Facebook, binge watching brainless television or day dreaming about what I really would rather be doing in the war...

  I've been running through the circles of my life trying to meet the expectations that I believed would make me happy. After graduating college, I was very ambitious, I quickly started a masters program, purchased a condo and was planning a wedding. I was doing everything that I thought was expected of me in the opinions of others, to be a successful adult. After getting married, we quickly got pregnant, moved into a new home and I taking more classes towards a second masters. When my first child was born, I was going to all the mom groups, I was buying all the things that everyone thought was popular for kids, that we didn't really need. I was on every leadership team at work to advance my career. But it wasn't truly making me happy. I was running to put out this image of the woman/mother/wife that can do it all. However, I still thought that more, would make me happier. If I got the new administrator job, if I got the new big house, if I had another baby; after that, the...

  Focusing on a resolution or goal for the year, can be very superficial. You see so many ads for weight loss, healthy eating and travel in the new year, but I have never been able to sustain those goals and end up feeling guilty for not being able to follow through.  Then one of my co-workers shared what she does and that is choosing ONE WORD. That word is "not based on temporary inspiration or on the latest pep talk. It's found in narrowing our focus, because we believe less is best."  This word should permeate every aspect of our life: spiritual, physical, emotional, relational, mental and financial and how those are also interconnected with the choices that we make in our everyday lives.  To discover your word, according to the authors Gordon, Britton & Page, there is a three step process. 1. Prepare your heart by looking in. 2. Discover your word by looking up. 3. Live your word by looking out. Using these methods, modified slightly, is how I determined my w...