The Recipe

"It's a helluva start, being able to recognize what makes you happy." - Lucille Ball

Everyone has it. "The Recipe." The mixture of things and activities that make us us. My beautiful sister touched on it in her post about being intentional. We know the things that we do that keep us on track. Eating right, moving our bodies. These things keep us sane in an uncertain, chaotic life. We are asking ourselves why don't we do these things that we know help us. The answer seems silly and juvenile, but I think we forget. It is so easy to go into autopilot and do the things that have to be done: go to work, pick up the kids, feed the pets, feeds the family, drive here, drive there, sleep, shower, etc. We literally forget to do the things that make us who we are and keep us balanced.

So, what's the solution? Well, I don't know about you, but I am a list-maker. If I need to remember something, I write it down. I set a reminder on my phone. I know I cannot rely on myself to remember everything and that's ok. I'm busy, you're busy, we're all busy. BUT we cannot lose ourselves in the busyness of life. So, write it down. Write down your recipe. This way when life gets you down, you look at your recipe and you figure out what is missing. When's the last time you walked outside and just looked around? When's the last time you hugged someone, like really hugged them? When's the last time you meditated or lifted weights or went swimming? When's the last time you took a breath so deep into your belly you couldn't hold any more air and sighed it all out? These are just examples, but you get what I'm saying? And if right now you are thinking, Stacie, what in the hell are you talking about, then sit quietly by yourself and figure out what makes you you. And if you are already a person who on the daily is doing all the things that make you you and you aren't one to get down, then kudos to you, my friend! I strive to be like you!

I have been thinking a lot about this topic for months now. When we first started our blog, I knew I wanted to write about this concept. I've talked about it with so many people that agree! Figure out you and keep doing you. And over time the recipe may change. Maybe one of your ingredients to life is trying something new. I love that! So figure it out, write it down and put it somewhere where you see it every day.

Here is where I'm at with my recipe (in no particular order):

Baths

Take Lucy (my choc lab) for a walk

Nature (look and see)

Meditation/Deep breathing

Calming drink (tea and/or magnesium drink)

Music

Kissing and hugging tight

Yoga

Palms up moment with God

Girl time with my friends or family (in person or over the phone)

Intimacy with my husband

Water (the lake, the pool, the fountain)

Eat an apple or a handful of almonds (favorite healthy pick-me-ups)

Laugh

Read

Date night

Dance with my kids

Look at the stars

I have my recipe written down and hung up on the side of the fridge as a reminder of things I can do just for me to stay on track. I know myself well enough to know that there are going to be low moments when things just feel off. Sometimes I'll run down the list and be thinking, "I've done that and I've done that so what is wrong" and then I get to one and realize it's been weeks since I've done that. It's all about balance. When any one of these gets neglected, I'm just not me.

I've said it before, I'll say it again, life is a journey. A beautiful, crazy, unexpected, sometimes mundane journey, but I plan to extract every ounce of joy that I can out of the time that I have on this Earth with these wonderful people that surround me.

What's YOUR recipe?