For the first two weeks of June I had the opportunity to go to France. It was my first time in Europe and I was blessed enough to spend the majority of that time at a chateau originally built in the 11th century. My personal preference for a vacation is to rest. I love to sightsee but I prefer to have a beautiful view, a good book and the sounds of nature surrounding me.

Whatever feelings we may be experiencing from someone who we feel have hurt us (this can include ourselves), the next step in bringing resolution and release to those emotions is often forgiveness or compassion. Forgiveness is one of the hardest things for me.

In case you hadn’t picked up on it yet, I’m a little bit of a self-development junkie. Ever since I read my first self-development book called “Being Happy” I’ve been intrigued with learning more about myself and ways to step into my fullest potential so that I can share insight with those around me. As I progressed through more books I began to see a potential I was hiding from myself and how I could embrace a new level of wholeness that would grant me empowerment from within.

March is here! A month that ushers in the official Spring season. We will start to see budding flowers and leaves on trees. We may even begin to feel a stir of excitement and expansion within ourselves. The seeds we planted in our hearts back in the fall are beginning to grow roots and bud now, filling us with a new energy and motivation to emerge from our winter cocoon and live big. I love the feelings that Spring brings with it and the changes we feel inspired to take at this time.

I cannot express how important this piece of advice has been for me over the past couple of years. The true nature of it has sunk in even more with each goal I set. I have often been the type to set goals but not give myself a chance to be excited along the way until I got ‘there’ wherever that may have been each time. So most times that I achieved a goal I always found myself less than satisfied because I never found myself as excited or proud of myself as I thought I would feel. When we block ourselves from feeling excitement in the early stages of our goals then it makes it much harder to access those feelings once we’ve accomplished them.

When looking to be closer to a balanced state we must first look within ourselves and trust that little whisper of a voice that is calling us to take some sort of action towards thriving on all levels. My little voice lately has been urging me to get out into nature more. When I took inventory of my life lately I've noticed this has been a missing piece. So I've been making it a priority and thankfully the weather here has been beautiful. I've started to schedule hikes, picnics in the park, and just putting my feet in grass for a couple of minutes with deep breathing. Connecting with nature is one way to help restore my energy levels. I find my breathing is deeper, that my 'problems' seem smaller, and that there is more trust that I am exactly where I am meant to be. 

December is knocking at our door and with it can bring a mixed bag of emotions. Elation for the holidays (whatever you may celebrate), the motivation to gather gifts and plan meals, the buzz of getting some time off of work (hopefully!), and the commotion that can come with spending time with friends and family. There is a lot of energy going around right now and we all are probably feeling it already. This week I wanted to pass along a few of my most simple and easy tips to bring calmness to the buzz that may be happening around you.