I cry a lot these days. Good, necessary cries. Tonight I thought a lot about my Dad and cried. It's healthy.
- Me:
- Owner, "MAP Wellness" - a culinary nutrition and wellness company. Writer. Passionate cook, raw food chef, reiki practitioner, yoga teacher, and LIVE WELL educator. do yoga. enjoy good food. run. plant food. cook. savour wine. read books. buy good food. love. grow your energy. find peace. enjoy food. have passion. skip. eat food. do yoga. listen to jazz. have presence. be present. bike. read. see. hear. be. live. love.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Sneak Peek - Inspiration/ Learning
The following is a list of a few of the books I've read in the last year...In late summer 2010, I spent a few weeks at my folks house in small town Ontario. I literally spent 8 hours a day reading under my mother's beautiful and peaceful pergola, in her exquisitely tended garden backyard. All in the attempt to gain inspiration and learn.
Here is a taste of my reading list, a few cliché picks, a few of my faves; it continues to grow.
1. Eat, Pray, Love - Elizabeth Gilbert
2. The Happiness Project- Gretchen Rubin
3. The Ultimate Happiness Prescription: 7 keys to joy and enlightenment- Deepak Chopra
4. The Happiness Make-over- MJ Ryan
5. The Power of Now- Eckhart Tolle
6. Quantum Happiness- Kathy Freston
7. US: Transforming Ourselves & the Relationships that Matter Most - Lisa Oz
8. The Power of Kabbalah: Thirteen Principles to Overcome Challenges and Achieve Fulfillment - Yehuda Berg
9. Happiness: Essential Mindfulness Practices - Thich Nhat Hanh
10. Tuesdays with Morrie - Mitch Albom
11. How to Befriend Your Shadow – John Monbourquette
12. Bulemia: A Guide to Recovery – Hall & Cohn
13. A New Earth – Eckhart Tolle
…the list goes on. Thanks to Toronto Public Libraries!!
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Post One.
I said I would never blog. And I would certainly never “blog” about writing a “blog”. But here I am. I will reflect upon the past, look to the future, but will exist in the PRESENT. Because that is where I am choosing to live my life now. NOW.
I started this Blog in September of 2010 (note the timestamp?). I made a few posts. Today I looked at them and was saddened. I had written them while I was at a pretty low point, and they were angry, spiteful and full of grief. I have decided not to post them, but re-work them into my latest process of writing and sharing. Here we go......
REWIND.
I was at brunch with a dear, albeit somewhat distanced friend in the late summer of 2010. We were in the throes of an impassioned discussion of our individual life battles that past year, when my friend suggested I write a blog. At that point, I had been going through what I thought was the roughest year of my thirty year life, and I had hit rock bottom. I was 29, unemployed, bankrupt, homeless, and teetering on the brink of depression. My fiancé and I had just broken up for the second time, having called off our wedding a month previous. I had moved out, with no money and nowhere to go. My father was ill. I felt alone, terrified, and hopeless. I wanted my "Eat, Pray, Love" cure; to create my own "Happiness Project"; but it just isn't as clean and simple as they make it out to be in all these self help books. As my friend pointed out, there are a lot of women that want to make huge change in their lives, but the fact is that most of these great inspirational books are written and published by individuals with money. Lots of money. And the ability to take twelve months off from real life to "find themselves", or the cash flow handy to thrive in their Manhattan flat whilst working from home and pursuing their new goals, is inaccessible to most. The reality is that most women are just like me.
FAST FORWARD to today. The PRESENT.
A lot has happened since that chat over eggs and mimosas. And I mean a lot. I don't think I am going to function in a linear way here on this blog....no time lines, no rules. I am going to share with you the events that have shaped me from my teen years until now; the secrets, the truths, the pain, the joy. This is a therapeutic outlet for me, and hopefully a relatable medium for those who may be going through the same things, but feel like they are so alone.
So this is my story......
Stay tuned.. this is only the introduction. I have been working feverishly...and chapter one begins on September 21, 2011. Exactly one year to the day from when this BLOG was originally mind mapped.
I started this Blog in September of 2010 (note the timestamp?). I made a few posts. Today I looked at them and was saddened. I had written them while I was at a pretty low point, and they were angry, spiteful and full of grief. I have decided not to post them, but re-work them into my latest process of writing and sharing. Here we go......
REWIND.
I was at brunch with a dear, albeit somewhat distanced friend in the late summer of 2010. We were in the throes of an impassioned discussion of our individual life battles that past year, when my friend suggested I write a blog. At that point, I had been going through what I thought was the roughest year of my thirty year life, and I had hit rock bottom. I was 29, unemployed, bankrupt, homeless, and teetering on the brink of depression. My fiancé and I had just broken up for the second time, having called off our wedding a month previous. I had moved out, with no money and nowhere to go. My father was ill. I felt alone, terrified, and hopeless. I wanted my "Eat, Pray, Love" cure; to create my own "Happiness Project"; but it just isn't as clean and simple as they make it out to be in all these self help books. As my friend pointed out, there are a lot of women that want to make huge change in their lives, but the fact is that most of these great inspirational books are written and published by individuals with money. Lots of money. And the ability to take twelve months off from real life to "find themselves", or the cash flow handy to thrive in their Manhattan flat whilst working from home and pursuing their new goals, is inaccessible to most. The reality is that most women are just like me.
FAST FORWARD to today. The PRESENT.
A lot has happened since that chat over eggs and mimosas. And I mean a lot. I don't think I am going to function in a linear way here on this blog....no time lines, no rules. I am going to share with you the events that have shaped me from my teen years until now; the secrets, the truths, the pain, the joy. This is a therapeutic outlet for me, and hopefully a relatable medium for those who may be going through the same things, but feel like they are so alone.
So this is my story......
Stay tuned.. this is only the introduction. I have been working feverishly...and chapter one begins on September 21, 2011. Exactly one year to the day from when this BLOG was originally mind mapped.
BYW - this blog is about my experience. My ups and downs, my transitions. It is not here to place blame, name names, hurt or upset. It is not about anyone else but me. It is my journey. And it feels good to write about it. One lesson I have learned this past year, is to stop assuming that everything is about me. Because usually it never is. Except this. :-)
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