Sometimes we know clearly what opportunities lie before us, but most of the time we are enveloped in a veil of uncertainty which can make walking forward anxiety provoking. So much of life’s journey and mitigating anxiety is really about becoming okay with uncertainty.

Yet, her question stuck with me, like holding up a mirror. Am I making space to take care of myself? How can I make room to read because it is something I so enjoy? How is my own mental health and wellness?

A theme that comes up in my work often is that of paying attention to what is life-giving. When something is life-giving, it has the power to refresh us, to energize us, to relax us, to inspire us, to grow us, to nurture us.

Do you ever feel overwhelmed? Or perhaps more like you live in a constant state of overwhelm? This may show up as feeling like you can hardly take a breath or like your head is barely above water. This may feel like you are treading water, but not getting anywhere.

Secure attachment is certainly worth striving for, yet how do we aspire without feeling pressure to be perfect and get everything just right? Pressure and perfection are such pervasive themes among parents in our culture today that it can be hard not to assume even more pressure towards perfection and feel even more overwhelmed by bringing up this topic.

Adventures, big and small, tend to breathe life into people. While there is such a place for daily routines and predictable rhythms which ground us, there is also a place for adventure.

Many of these life adjustments usher in great joy and gratitude and the knowledge that we do not live stagnant lives as we are ever changing and growing. Yet, some of these adjustments bring on seasons of grief and mourning as we at some point in our journeys find ourselves adjusting to loss and having to say goodbye to a loved one. We also may find ourselves adjusting to realizing some of our dreams have not been realized and that life has taken a different course than we hoped for.

There is great freedom in beginning to understand that while decisions matter, so does the journey. Even if our original decisions end up not being the lasting course that we stick to, they are not made in vain.