Reviving the Blog

I started this blog partly for myself as a way to express my thoughts, but a large part of my motivation comes from the desire to inspire others to live healthy, fulfilling lives.  Upon much reflection and an obvious hiatus from the blog, I've come to realize that my inspiration doesn't always come from food (although, I must admit food plays a large role in my life). Like most of you, I find my thoughts frequently wandering and this is often reflected in my writing.  Over the past several months I haven't stopped writing; in fact, I have close to 20 different blog entries I have started but neglected to finish.  I find that when my life is "cluttered" - whether simply from tangible items taking up precious space in my closet or a messy house that I can't find the time to clean, to more serious issues like toxic people absorbing my time or a job that feels like a deadend - it is easy to lose sight of myself and quite difficult to see anything with much clarity.  In my personal experience, it takes the elimination of these distractions before I can move on to a positive, productive place in my life.  I feel as though I'm making great progress and look forward to sharing with all of you.

Through much self-reflection, I have learned that a large part of living a fulfilling life, for many, involves staying focused on a few key concepts.  Yours may be different, but here are some of mine:

Creating beauty - As a visual person and one who loves to create asthetically-pleasing things, I love the idea of finding beauty in everything.  Food, home decor, nature, our own unique style - these are all places I observe beauty daily. And, while life can't always be attractive, I find the opportunity to brighten things up a bit is constantly awaiting us all.

Staying inspired - It can be incredibly difficult at times to feel inspired, as I know from personal experience.  After working long hours, running errands, and taking care of the family, one can feel exhausted, at best.  I find that constantly reminding myself of goals, ideas, encouraging stories or my own special memories is crucial to my personal growth.  I am inspired when I read, talk to others, listen to music, or even when I daydream.  Once open to the idea of staying inspired, life becomes more meaningful.

Making each moment special - Now, this is a critical concept to living a fulfilling life, but one that requires to be carried out with a great amount of intent, at least at first.  It is often the "everyday" parts of our lives that we go through without much joy or expectation.  A trip to the dry cleaner, vacuuming the house, walking the dog - hardly any of us look forward with anticipation to these "chores."  So, the question is, how do we make these moments count, if even just for ourselves?  Here's an example: I often work from home, rarely leaving the house during the day and sometimes with no human interaction until Dave gets home.  It's easy to get caught up in myself with this type of schedule.  I find that giving myself a few key things to look forward to each day helps me to stay focused and value my days at home.  I look forward to listening to my favorite jazz or classical music while working from my home office, taking a mid-morning stroll with the dogs, preparing myself green tea and a square of dark chocolate each afternoon, and allowing myself some time to journal or simply think for several minutes at some point during the day.  While obviously there are days that are more full, more frustrating, or more exciting, these "small joys" help me appreciate the days that would otherwise seem like they don't matter.

I hope some of these ideas strike a chord with you.  Stay tuned for more food talk, recipes, insights, glimpses into my own life, and more.  Thank you for reading :)