Morning over the hayfield—breathing it all in.
The World Wide Web is an amazing thing, isn't it? It's so incredibly vast, and expanding so fast it's hard to even fathom, and yet in some ways it feels really small. So when Lisa Claudia Briggs and I finally connected last month, we were both kind of wondering the same thing: How come we hadn't found each other sooner?
E-mail started flying back and forth as we realized how much we have in common (she even lives on a farm), and we've quickly become fast friends. Lisa is an intuitive, a psychospiritual therapist, and a sacred streetfighter helping women keep their promises to themselves. She describes her work as mystical-meets-practical-meets 25 years of psychotherapy experience, and she's all for getting rid of that whole pesky perfectionism thing (yes!).
Lisa has a very special website called Intuitive Body (don't you just love that name?), which includes a blog and is all about simple, sacred solutions to living beautifully in your body. One of her Intuitive Body projects is The Wise Woman Council, which she describes as a kind of online gathering at the well for women to quench their thirst. In Lisa's words:
The Wise Woman Council is a monthly round-up of curated wisdom from beloved spiritual teachers, entrepreneurs, and bright rising stars. Each month, 11 women are invited to share their Real-World Rituals—the daily self-care habits that keep them grounded, sane, and awash in gratitude & beauty.
My hope and prayer is that all of us will inspire women who are spinning, depleted, or a bit frustrated to take small daily steps back towards loving embodiment.
I was flattered when she asked me to contribute to the November Wise Woman Council, although at first I kind of panicked since I couldn't think of a single self-care habit I actually do every day. Somewhere between the aspiring and wanting and needing self-care, and the actual doing it, I often fail. But I haven't given up, and I know that even the smallest steps can do an amazing amount of good.
I am so inspired by The Wise Woman Council, and as we head into the crazy month of December, I hope you will be too. You'll also find some beautiful, simple advice from Lisa on surviving the holidays here.
I would love to hear about your own self-care habits and rituals—even if they aren't always daily!
I would love to hear about your own self-care habits and rituals—even if they aren't always daily!
© FarmgirlFare.com, the perfectly imperfect foodie farm blog where our (sometimes forgotten) motto is Progress, Not Perfection—and I'm totally okay with the fact that it took me the entire month of November to get around to writing this post.
Good morning, Susan! I just hopped over to The Wise Woman Council and read your post. How beautiful! Laughter really is the best medicine! I hope your days are always filled with intoxicating laughter! -Marci @ Stone Cottage Adventures
ReplyDeleteHi Marci,
DeleteIt's so true - and thankfully ours usually are. Having seven donkeys around always helps. ;)
Well, you know me, Susan - my dailies are running in the mountains, fetch with the dog and visiting the garden to see what's growing.
ReplyDeleteWhen I start to feel like I'm in a funk, I check my mental mind list for these things to see if they've happened yet that day and, if not, I go do them until the funk passes.
I'm certainly not wise or perfect, but these things at least keep me from losing my mind.
xo
Hey Finny,
DeleteSounds perfect to me - well, except for the running part. ;)
Loving your embrace of Progress, not Perfectionism!! I am going to add that right to my own list. LOL. Thanks for bringing lived life and not pie in the sky to my inbox. A breath of fresh air indeed...
ReplyDeletexoxox, Tobey
Did somebody mention pie? ;)
DeleteMy daily self care habits are daily meditation and daily 20 minute detox/cleanse soak in the tub about an hour before I go to sleep. Those two are the biggest and the ones that there are no room for brokering.
ReplyDeleteI try to eat food that is good for me and that tastes good and do the best for myself I can, when I can.
Love the Wise Women Council!
Hi Kim,
DeleteThat all sounds great. I love the 'no room for brokering.' I would also love to hear more about your detox/cleanse soak in the tub if you care to share. If you don't feel like telling everybody about it :) you can email me: farmgirlfare AT gmail DOT com
Oh, Susan, I loved your contribution to the November Wise Woman Council! Maybe it's a farmgirl thing, but I can so relate to your essay where some of the others, not so much. It may sound silly but milking the goat is actually my daily self-care/meditation practice. It's just her and I and I am totally in the moment. :)
ReplyDeleteP.S. I also signed up to follow Lisa's blog.
Thanks so much, Candy. I don't think that sounds silly at all - in fact I think it sounds perfect, partly because milking is something you HAVE to do every day, so there's no excuse not to skip your meditation. There's nothing like farmgirl multi-tasking!
DeleteHello to my favorite farmgirl and Wise Woman..so appreciative for your generous mention and links...As you know, I love getting women thinking about and talking about how they care for themselves.. it doesn't have to be some big deal formal thing..We all know intuitively what feels right for us.. and it can change with the day, the season.. and even the year.. Trusting ourselves to know is a good thing. Thank you for sharing the Wise Woman Council and my website IntuitiveBody with your amazing followers.. have already met some of them..
ReplyDeleteWith much love to you,
Lisa
I know I'm not the only one looking forward to a whole new year of The Wise Woman Council! Thanks so much for creating such a wonderful thing, dear friend.
DeleteCongrats, Susan! What a great project of which to be a part! I love the intention. Sadly, it has come to my attention that I am far busier than most people I know... which also means that I do not take nearly the amount of self-nurturing time that I should. I take yoga when I can, nuzzle the furballs, walk the dog a mile every evening, and since obtaining my MA I have always made sure to make the time to read for pleasure. Sadly, my quilting and herbals are the first to be set aside to make other deadlines. Unless it's winter or summer break! Many well wishes!
ReplyDeleteHi Lisa,
DeleteIt sounds like you are definitely on the right track, doing what you can, when you can. Reading for pleasure is one of the best things in life, isn't it? :)
There is nothing better than flannel (sheets or a quilt) and a good book. :)
DeleteHow nice to be designated a Wise Woman.
ReplyDeleteAt the moment, what with those two little animals masquerading as small humans in my household, I'm just trying to keep my head above water. The closest I get to a daily moment of anything resembling peace is when, after nursing my younger son before he goes to sleep at night, I sit in the chair in his warm, relatively quiet room for a few minutes, with him asleep in my lap. Mostly to gather my strength before re-entering the fray with my older son, who I can always hear racing around downstairs, thumping and yelling.
It's a long way from a cleansing soak, but it's all I got at the moment.
While not a daily routine, spinning fiber into yarn has a meditative quality. The rhythmic pressing of the treadles, the feel of the fiber through my fingers, the motion of the flyer spinning the fiber onto the bobbin combine to prooduce a connection to past spinners and future projects that relaxes me.
ReplyDelete