I’m enjoying a well-deserved lazy morning in bed, complete with PJ-wearing, smoothie sipping, and journalling. I love Sundays.

It’s my last day in Thailand and you better believe that I’m making it a decadent one. First yoga in my hotel room, then lunch with girlfriends, followed by  a WHOLE afternoon at the spa. (Oh, and there’s a visit to the gynecologist interspersed in there, too, which I’m not as thrilled about).

Tomorrow morning I’m up bright and early at 5am for another epic 30-hour journey back to Boulder…

Cycles of work, play, and rest keep me sane and happy. In my opinion, most of us don’t value the rest part as much as do the work/play part.

So, I do hope you’re getting the downtime that you need, too.

What are your preferred ways to rest? Do you think it’s important dedicate one day (or more) for this each week? 

Painting by Joan Griswold.

Last fall, while every fiber of my being tried to acclimate to living back in this country after so many years of living in Thailand,  I hit a round of “mean reds” (à la Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany’s). And by mean, I mean mean. Not just the kind that come for a day or two and pass, but the ones that linger for days, weeks, months on end.

I felt like no one could relate to anything that I had experienced during the past ten years of my life. Traffic and sidewalks felt too tidy. Storefronts felt too sterile. My body didn’t know what to do with the different foods, different climate,  different clothes, or the fact that everyone in this town has white skin and speaks English.  I was trading papaya for quinoa, a Honda Wave motorbike for a Ford Focus sedan, flip flops for moccassins. None of these are bad things, necessarily, just different.  Very, very different.

One of the main things that helped me through was a nightly gratitude list of at least five things. Even if all that I could think of to put on that list were the bare basics: “I’m breathing,” “The sun felt good on my face this afternoon.”

No matter how high, how low, or how in-between things are, there are always things to be grateful for. And, somehow, that always helps me to put things back where they need to be–in perspective. 

So, while it’s past my bedtime on this Thursday evening, here’s my list:

1. It’s 11:11 right now. I love that this reminds… Read Full Post