Two words to describe this summer: actively merry. Traveling to new and well loved environments alike, collecting inspiration for lifework projects, connecting with loved ones and making new friends, celebrating for a variety of joyful reasons, beach time, bbq’s, fresh fruit, farmers markets, dining outdoors, reading on the balcony as the sun sets late, lots of good ol’ Vitamin D  - this summer had it all. Here are some photos of good times, positive feelings, and merry memories I collected from this beautiful season.

Before the leaves start to fall and the temps start to chill as we head into the next season (woohoooo!), we send this one off with gratitude. What did your summer give to you and you to it?

Have a fabulous holiday weekend as we transition from one season to another. See you back here on Tuesday (no laboring on Labor Day – don’t forget!) where it will be all things fall. You can almost smell the pumpkin muffins, can’t you? Cheers, friends!

Hello! It’s been a week since our official Good Life Lab Experimenter, Kate, has received her Good Life Lab Mission during the Happy Hour podcast: Gratitude as a daily ritual. How’s she doing? Here’s what she has to say:

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“I have chosen to do a gratitude journal for this assignment. I find that writing down what I am grateful for  allows me to slow down and really appreciate what I am grateful for. Plus, having all of my gratitudes in one journal is not only organized, but a wonderful thing to read in the future and reflect back on. It is a great time capsule.

To be honest, I am finding this assignment difficult. My job and outside circumstances have been very challenging for me recently. I feel exhausted from my days, so it has been very difficult for me to sit down and reflect on what I am grateful for. That being said, the gratitude journal is just what I need during this challenging time. The journal is allowing me to realize the really important things in my life. Having this journal during this time of my life puts into perspective that this difficult time will pass for me. I need to stay positive and grateful for the good things in my life. This journal is really allowing myself to refocus my thoughts onto stuff that is positive instead of things that are currently negative and stressful. Therefore, I am grateful for this gratitude journal and for this assignment!”

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So – how’s it going for you all? Are you in a similar position as Kate – where the stress and rapid pace of life makes it difficult to make gratitude a daily ritual even though its affects, when practiced, are elevating?

For many, this is the truth of the experience, which is why we are not all on the daily gratitide bandwagon, right? And it’s not that the results are great. It’s not that the practice is unpleasant in any way. In fact, as Kate said, she clearly sees it as something that enhances her experience….. if she can get to it and not drive herself crazy with the feeling of obligation along the way.

But when it becomes another task on a to-do list, it can stress us out, right? Ohhhh the Self Care Stressers. I know them well. Do you? This is what I call it when we  intend to do things that are so great for us, but we choose to go about them in a way that then  becomes a stressful obligation with judgement and disappointment attached to them if we don’t “succeed.”

Here’s what I’d like to propose if you are in a similar boat. We heard Kate use the word “difficult”, and that may be a word you’ve found yourself using. Wonderful.  We now know that the way Kate (and you?) have chosen to go about this is considered “difficult.” That’s fabulous awareness. Nothing bad, nothing wrong, no level of failure here. It’s just the fact of the matter. The reality of her reality.

We work from here. We simply work from here.

And here’s the single question that we often forget to ask ourselves and yet launches us into a newly empowered space: How can I make this easy?

We’re kicking the “no pain, no gain” BS aside and simply asking: How can I make this easy?

Is there a way you can envision gratitude as a daily ritual that feels “easy”? Think about it.  What is that way? What does it look like? How would it work? Maybe it means ditching the journal and using stoplights as your signal to consider what you are grateful for. Maybe it means jotting things down on post it notes as you think of them throughout the day and then adding those to your journal over the weekend when you have time.

Do it the way you define as easy for yourself. It’s perfectly wonderful to change course. It’s the most loving thing you can do for yourself. There is no rule that says you have to carry out a mission in only the way you first set out. We learn along the way. We observe along the way. We gain awareness and insight along the way, right? Wonderful! Let’s use that to our advantage. And take the easy route for once. This does not need to be a struggle and the satisfaction is no greater if you had to “work hard” at it.

So, I ask: How can this be easy? I’m cheering you on as you allow yourself to now do it that way.

Cheers!

Hey, ladies and gents! My first fall catalogues have started to arrive in the mail, and I could not be more thrilled. Have you noticed the first signs that fall is indeed around the corner? I’m clearly as fickle as a pickle (if pickles are fickle) because even though I am loving (with all my heart) this beautiful summer weather in Portland – with clear blue skies and the works – I’m easily tempted by the siren-esque images of golden leaves covering the landscape and cozy, sweater-clad lovelies hunkered down by the fireplace with hot chocolate in hand and Fido sleeping comfortably in lap. Are you getting excited for fall?

Life is sweeter on vacation. And life is sweeter when you return from vacation. Vacations are amazing that way. Have you noticed this? I’m currently in that post-vacation high after two weeks of travel. I’m energized, I’m in love with my life, I’m happy to be back here – in this place, my home, my work, my routine. It’s funny what choosing to give yourself two weeks of fun, indulgence in all things you love, and away from the norm – will give you in return. It’s like having your cake and eating it, too. Two weeks of vacation splendor and then returning to life with a new view – colored more lightly and brightly, carrying with it the same sense of joy that was experienced while away. Just naturally so. It’s a wonderfully funny phenomenon, yes?

Have a fantastic holiday weekend! May it be filled with joy, laughter, great people, and radiance.

I’m SO excited because I’ll be spending the holiday weekend in eastern Iowa at my grandmother’s house where we’ll be celebrating a family reunion. It will be SO good to feel the Iowa summer heat and take in the fresh Midwest air. It’s funny how you don’t realize how much you love the air, the sky, the simplicity of a place until you’re removed from it. I knew I loved it before, but now I REALLY know I love it.  My eyes are wide open for this trip, and I cannot wait to enjoy it with my family. Bring on the Bluff Lake fish (I’ll post on it soon. It’s a phenomenon, friends. A phenomenon.), the small town fireworks, the card tournament, grandma’s raspberry pie, and the merriment.  I’ll be back here on Tuesday.  Until then, cheers and Happy 4th!

By the way – the photo above is of the raspberries picked from one of the terraces in our front yard. I could hug the former owners in gratitude for the gifts they left us in these plantings. Raspberries, apples, cherries, oh my! Love it!

Hi, guys! It’s Kate here – your official Good Life Lab experimenter. This assignment of making a vision board has been fun, fun, fun! I mean, what is not to love about going through your favorite magazines and pictures and then picking out the items that make you feel the happiest? I did decide that making a vision book, instead of a vision board worked best for me and my lifestyle.

Again, like the last assignment, I went pretty crazy!  I just couldn’t stop cutting out pictures and pasting them
into my vision book, which was another reason I needed to use a book instead of a board!

I really haven’t found many challenges with this vision board assignment yet, and I don’t really expect there to be any in the near future. I did, of course, organize my book into key areas within my life. I found that very helpful when pasting the pictures into the book. For example, I have a travel section in my vision book. I have the pictures of the places and images that bring me that overwhelming happiness feeling. I also have a small “material thing” section. That section has a house that I would love and some decorations that make me feel at home and at peace. Breaking up your vision board into
sections might not be for everyone, but I did find that it helped me.

I am just having so much fun with this assignment. I hope you are all enjoying it, as well.  It’s easy and it’s fun – gotta love that! Can’t wait to catch up with everyone during the next Happy Hour podcdast!

- Kate