Kerri On Down The Road

I am often amazed at how much easier it can be to take care of myself physically than to take care of myself mentally or spiritually.  Years ago I would have laughed at the suggestion that I had even had a spiritual side that needed to be nourished.  And now that I know better, and am grateful for the knowledge, the question becomes HOW am I nourishing it?   When it comes to eating healthy, being active and generally having a healthy lifestyle I feel confident that I am making good decisions that will carry me well into my later years.  I am at the point where the choices I make aren't even choices anymore, they are just the way I live my life.  It took some time, some trial and error and lots of reading and education to get here, and all of that work has definitely paid off.  What I am noticing now is that despite all of the healthy habits I have fostered on that side of the equation, I seem to be faltering and lacking on the less tangible side of thi...

When was the last time that you stopped and actually took some of your own best advice?  For me it has been lately as I have started to advocate for myself.  I have often encouraged this practice with my kids in moments when I have witnessed them quietly accepting an answer or predetermined outcome to something that they are facing.  It is not an easy practice to engage in as it tends to push against a social belief that "good" people are the ones who go along and don't make waves.  And who doesn't want to be seen as a good person?   Recently I have found myself starting to try and incorporate self-advocacy into more of my days.  Often in small ways, like asking for what I would actually like instead of quietly accepting that whatever is on display or presented to me is all that I can choose from.  It is quite amazing what becomes available for you when you politely ask as opposed to that sense of wishing that things could be different.  And ...

 I feel like I am not alone in my long-standing belief that in order to succeed at something, you need to put in a lot of hard work.  And I still do believe that it is a consistent and focused effort that does bring with it eventual success.  Where my thoughts are starting to shift, however, is around what that hard work needs to feel like and look like.  How many times have you taken on a new pursuit, or set a new goal for yourself only to grimace at the thought of what will be required between where you are now and where you wish to be?  Whether it be early mornings spent on the bike trainer, or running in the cold, or late nights spent learning or practicing a new skill, in my experience there has always seemed to be an element of suffering that was required.  It sometimes seems like without that piece, the end goal or success just isn't quite as meaningful.  The pain or discomfort has been the yardstick of just how important or meaningful the end r...

Friends and acquaintances often describe me as easy-going; I can often "go with the flow" when it comes to plans and things of that nature.  What is interesting about this flexible mindset is just how uncomfortable I am when it comes to improvising or making things up as I go.  I often joke about being a first-born Virgo, and how that often leads me towards creating and following well-designed plans and processes.  What it has also led me towards is a real discomfort around the idea or ability to mix things up on the fly.   I have noticed this aversion to improvisation in several areas of my life.  When I was taking piano lessons once, my teacher and I were working on a short duet that we were planning on performing at a recital.  She said that she would play the bass line and I could improvise above what she was playing.  I was like a deer in headlights feeling completely lost and bewildered.  I think my response went something like this "Im...