Hello! I'm back from my summer hiatus. I feel refreshed, inspired and ready to get back to work (if not the adulting parts of life yet). We're about 2/3 of the way through summer now. If you have kids off school, they're likely starting to get antsy. Maybe you're counting down the days until you can have a reprieve. I'm right there with you!

As I go about my daily life this month, my mind often returns to the amazing adventure my family experienced in Europe for three weeks in June and July. Rome, Tuscany, Paris, London, Edinburgh. Sigh... And almost immediately I jump ahead in time to think about when we can go back or where we'll go next.

Staying present to life as it is can be difficult but oh, so important. When we're lost in the past or caught up in plans for the future, we're less alive, less able to appreciate or even notice the beauty of what we already have. And that is a great loss indeed.

So as I walk the lake early to avoid the heat and find my mind racing back or ahead, I take a deep breath. I notice the reflection of the trees on the water and the tiny ripples where bugs dance and fish hunt. I feel not just the humidity and sweat but the stir of a rare breeze on my skin. I enjoy a moment alone in silence without music or a podcast or the company of children or even the dog. And I am filled with gratitude.

Life can be full of adulting and to-do's and what's nexts. And also joy and laughter and peace and friendship and family. Before you move on from this blog post to the next part of your day, take a moment right now to breath into your heart space. Express gratitude for the ground under your feet. Expand the air in your lungs. Pause and recognize the right here, and the right now in all its messy beauty.

Now, have a great day!

Namaste,

Christa

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P.S. I've shared photos on my Instagram of our trip if you'd like to see where we went.

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