live with intention – Page 2

THIS TIME IN WHICH WE FIND OURSELVES

be the change, community, family, grow heal love, home, keep it simple, live with intention

Parents. We're stressed about the choices we have to make. Back to school? Stay at home? Have to work? Tough choices. But let me try to relieve one part of this burden from your shoulders. Your children's future will not be messed up because of this year or two of un"normal" school. I say this as a parent of a kiddo going into grade 2, having registered him to return to class, watching local Covid numbers daily to see how they're trending, + also putting plans in to place to home school while also working from home. I say this with the perspective of having experienced the public school system, home schooling, starting at new schools three or four times, including starting at a new high school for my last…

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WE’RE IN THIS TOGETHER

essential oils, gratitude, grow heal love, live with intention

How is everyone doing? This is a stressful, anxiety-inducing time. Uncertainty looms large. + the support network found in our community we would usually turn to - visits, coffee, dinner out - has been largely cut off. How can we manage? Personally, + I think this is true of many people, it's intentionally choosing how we manage our mindset. Even during "regular" life, I need to have a solid practice in place. Now it's more critical than ever. So here is what I do, and I hope it's helpful for you too. GRATITUDE I journal five things I’m grateful for first thing in the morning, + last thing before bed. Feeling thankful in the core of you, shifts your mindset almost instantly, + practicing it regularly shifts your mindset pretty…

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YOUR BEST DAY STARTS WITH YOUR BEST SLEEP

essential oils, family, live with intention

Sleep! So important! Stay tuned below for a wealth of info on all the Ws of sleep. + most importantly, the 'How' of getting enough good quality sleep. When Aaro was a baby we joined a mom+baby group. They hosted a sleep expert one week + it changed the way I thought about sleep, not just for my babe, but for me as well. There's so much necessary benefit we gain when we sleep, but we generally put sleep last on our priority list because there are so many seeming priorities during the day. + sometimes we just need some time + space to mindlessly scroll on social media. For me that alllllways happens at night. Usually right before I get ready for bed. It's a bad habit, because at…

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THE ART + PRACTICE OF JOURNALING

gratitude, grow heal love, live with intention

I journal almost every day. It's both proactive + prescriptive for my mental + emotional well being. I'll journal topics or questions that come up as I'm doing life. I journal affirmations - pages + pages of affirmations - about the person I'm becoming + the life I'm creating. But whatever form it takes, it's incredibly necessary. It's become an anchor in my self care. An anchor in mindset, intention, gratitude, + presence. I notice a clear shift in how I'm feeling if I miss too many days of journaling. Ritual is such a necessary part of our existence . It is an anchor of identity + belonging. It helps centre us + connect us - to ourselves + to each other. One of the affirmations that I've been incorporating…

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DOING SUMMER SIMPLY

family, keep it simple, live with intention

Summer. A time to focus on the family. Although, if we're being honest...all year long is the time to focus on the family.Yet. Summer has a special place in our hearts - we've all anticipated the freedom of those long summer days, sprinklers + splash pads, watermelon + popsicles, picnics + barbeques, camping + late nights...Summer can be insanely wonderful + create all sorts of the best memories. + it can also be stressful, chaotic, + way too busy. + often, a little lot of both. get your simple summer ebook here Over the years, I've learned how to do summer really simply. + mostly due to the fact that we've had my step-daughter come to stay with us for longer stretches of time. Now that she's older, + things…

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SIMPLIFY

be the change, gratitude, grow heal love, keep it simple, live with intention, live your purpose

Simplifying starts with gratitude, because when you are grateful for what you do have instead of wanting what you don’t, you stop striving for what isn’t in your life – the grass gets ever-green on your side of the fence. Satisfaction, contentment comes from within. It allows you to shed that what doesn’t fill you up in order to have space to focus on that what is your truth. Simplifying your life makes space for all the good things you’re looking for when you fill it with clutter. So let’s make it simple. stop buying things you don’t need. stop committing to things you don’t truly want to do. stop filling your hours on smart-i-tech-commercial-filled-product-placed-why-are-you-doing-this-to-your-life unnecessary filler. When you simplify your life, you find out more of who you really are.…

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…

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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…

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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.…

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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…

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