Blog – Page 3 – Holistic Living

our PERIODS.

environment, feminism, grow heal love, keep it simple

Ladies! Let's talk about our periods! Who likes getting their period? Nobody I know. They're messy. Definitely. Uncomfortable. Also definitely.Natural? Totally. Gross? Let's end that. My husband is uncomfortable with the topic. But I don't want my son to be with his future partner, if that's where his future lies...in any relationship with women. I want him to be understanding + empathetic. Not uncomfortable + grossed out. As women we dim our power + the beauty of our ability to hold life at our core. + a menstrual cycle is totally part of this. Now. I know some women have incredibly hard periods. Painful. Hormonal. Excruciating. Pre-baby, if I didn't take extra-strength Advil as soon as I started bleeding I was curled up in the fetal position + nothing would…

by Mackenzie 2 Comments

IT DOESN’T MATTER HOW YOU FINISH

be the change, live your purpose

I don't know about you, but I'm great at starting things. I could start new things all the time. Each idea comes in like a brilliant flash of inspiration + I feel compelled to drop everything + jump on it. I've done this often. But bringing these ideas to completion? That's a different story. It's easy to start something. Starting something doesn't require a whole lot of focus or discipline or motivation. That initial rush of a “ohmygod, I have the best idea” is enough to dive into something shiny + exciting + new. Sticking with something though, seeing it through, that takes a gritty doggedness that's harder to cultivate. But not impossible. One of the biggest lessons I've learned (am continually learning) is that it doesn't matter how you…

by Mackenzie 2 Comments

SO…HOW DO YOU THINK THAT WENT?

be the change, live with intention, live your purpose

I imagine that when we leave this life and we move on to what's next, we will have the opportunity to 'sit down' + have a conversation - a debrief, if you will - with our great creator. I imagine it will go something like this... "So. How do you think that went? What did you do with the precious, precious gift you were given?" ... My parents taught me that when you're a guest in someone's house you don't leave a mess behind to be cleaned up. You don't even just clean up after yourself. When you leave, you've made your guests home or lives better. You've made their life easier. When my time on this earth has ended, I want to be able to say, with confidence, "I made the…

by Mackenzie 2 Comments

3 LIFE GOALS WORTH WORKING ON

family, grow heal love, keep it simple

A bit o' truth from this little journey of ours. I've discussed before about some of the challenges our family has dealt with over the past year (plus). There has been no 180degree turn. but I'm climbing steadily to a place of peace, positivity, acceptance, growth. This is how it's happened : No light bulb, no switch flip, no lightning bolt of revelation. A slow, steady, uncomfortable, sometimes unbearable, stumbling crawl in a progressively upwards direction. There have been times that have seemed light + beautiful. + times when I've wanted to just scream, give up, + slide back down to start again. Two steps forward, one step back, repeat, sometimes three steps forward, no steps back. It's a big learning curve for me. Learning to heal, learning to grow together,…

by Mackenzie No Comments

ONE YEAR OF SIMPLE BEAUTY

be the change, environment, keep it simple

Part of living simply is cleaning up the crap that's going in + on my body. Some of the choices we are making include: buying organic +/or local as much as possible;paying attention to labels;cleaning with a vinegar/water mix + using old cotton clothes as rags. On Christmas Day 2014 I made the decision to stop using shampoo. The catalyst for this decision was that my hair would start to get really oily within a half-day of having washed it. It is really frustrating to feel that you're getting gross on the same day that you've washed. Over cleaning stimulates an excessive amount of oil because one's body is trying to compensate for the fact that all its natural oils have been stripped away. So I quit shampoo cold turkey. Thank…

by Mackenzie No Comments

CREATING A LIFE OF MEANING THROUGH LIVING SIMPLY

grow heal love, keep it simple, live with intention, live your purpose

There's so much to be said for living a simple, minimal, filtered life (links to related posts below). + all of it boils down to how we want to look back at our life when we're getting ready for the next great adventure. Loving connection provides the dependable web of intimacy that allows us to cope with life + to live life well. + that is what gives our life its meaning. For most of us, on our deathbeds, it is the quality of our connection with our precious ones that will matter most.Dr Sue Johnson We've been reading Hold Me Tight by Dr Sue Johnson as part of a communication class my husband + I are taking part in. It is a great book. I highly recommend it for any relationships…

by Mackenzie No Comments

MAKING TIME FOR WHAT MATTERS MOST

live with intention

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN 2016 ON focusonsimple.co I recently saw the quote "'I don't have time' means it's not important to you." This was a wake up call for me. I work full time, + am trying to make my side gig my real gig. I have a toddler + husband. Other family + friends. + they're all important to me. However. Most/all of my 'free time' is spent on the side gig, so it can someday be my real gig + then I won't have to do the 'day job'. I keep thinking, 'that's when I'll have time for the things i don't have time for now'. For the most part, that's been time for friends + time for health. + my friends are beautiful + amazing + they deserve better.…

by Mackenzie No Comments

RITUALS FOR AN INTENTIONAL DAY

gratitude, live with intention

What I know for sure...practicing gratitude will change your life (it's science!), sleep is foundational for your best well-being, + rituals (especially in the morning) keep you rooted This is what my morning ritual looks like. Wake up early (most days ;) ), put the kettle on (coffee is ground the night before so it's not loud + waking up the house before I get a few minutes of me-time in), put the diffuser on with wild orange + peppermint, do some gratitude journaling, + look ahead to what will be happening during the day. When my baby boy wakes up, we put on some gentle morning music + away we go. There's been flex + flow with my morning as life has changed + evolved. For a while I…

by Mackenzie No Comments

WORK HARD + GET IN THE ARENA

live your purpose

ORIGINALLY POSTED IN 2012 ON focusonsimple.co Synchronicity, geeze. So after looking up + finding Theodore Roosevelt's quote on nothing worth doing is easy (paraphrase), I came across the following: “It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who,…

by Mackenzie 1 Comment

GRATITUDE + PURPOSE

gratitude, live your purpose

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN 2015 ON focusonsimple.co I have a great job. My coworkers are fantastic. My office looks like it's out of a movie (old building, brick walls, lots of light, miscellaneous team building games). I'm relatively good at what I do. I'm well liked (most of the time. I think.) I have a good relationship with my boss. We work regular hours, no over time is expected. There are the usual work-gripes, but overall everyone is happy. + yet. I really hope it's not what I do to the end of my days. I don't feel deeply fulfilled by it. I don't feel like I'm truly using my life for it's best purpose, like I do when I'm writing or spending time with my son, or when I'm outdoors.…