The Gift of Community

My client Chris is in the Thalia Symphony and we went to her concert! It was so much fun and we got to go on stage! How awesome was it to have these little girls recognize the Polar Express and frozen songs?! Thank you so much Chris~

This time of year can bring up a lot of feeling and emotions. For me especially, they are both happy and sad ones. I lost my brother 15 years ago during this time. Six years later, my daughter was born on that same anniversary day (after having two miscarriages). No wonder I have so many ups and downs, they are polar opposites and are so intense. I'm not saying anything is good bad, right or wrong, only that I became aware of the source of my own anxiety and apathy and my urge to drown those feeling out with shopping, food or busying myself so that I wouldn't have to deal with sorting them out. I decided during covid that I wasn't going to let my overwhelm get the best of me.  

I started small by asking myself: What is most important?  I landed on this: quality time with family and friends. I've done different holiday challenges each year to keep myself and friends grounded in what is ultimately important- our health and quality of life.  I've lost both parents and a brother in the last 3 years, so I no longer take things for granted. I am more self-aware about what brings me energy and what robs my energy. With this knowledge, I make sure to find ways to achieve balance. On the one hand, there are things that create stress and my ability to release that stress by processing my emotions. This helps me not to drop too low on energy. On the other hand, I intentionally fill my cup with kind acts towards myself and others, practicing self-care and teaching my community how to hang on when life gets rough. So yes, things go up and down, but I have tools that make me more resilient.

For example,  I suddenly felt a panic as I went into Costco for our weekly needs and saw a massive influx of people. I took a breath, focused, and stuck to my list. My daughter was also there to remind me 'to stick to the shopping list' (she's great for that). Later, when I thought about my reaction to the crowds and the chaos, I decided I didn't want to participate in the consumerism aspect of Christmas. I let my family know I would gift them 'experiences' instead of 'stuff'. My body and soul just felt more at peace.

This year, I decided to invite friends over for a holiday brunch so we could enjoy each other's company outside of the gym and get to know each other better. I love it when my people meet and start going to things together or find that their interests align.  It builds that trust and sense of community.  As we share ideas of how to make this workout thing work for us, we figure out our schedules, cook healthy food, sign up for events, and find other ways to feed our soul good quality nourishment in the form of relationships.  I invite to share your talents, interest, ideas, and get our little ones involved, too.