This time of the year is dark, especially here in the Pacific Northwest where the nights are LONG and the days are SHORT. I have found this year, I’ve been especially excited to put up lights. This summer we moved into a house that was built in 1947. I took the opportunity, living in this old house, to get electric candles to put in each of the windows. The warm light that emanates from the holiday lights and candle lights is inviting, inspiring, and has invited my curiosity about light.
Light illuminates the darkness and dispels fears of the unknown. I have nightlights for my children that keep those timeless monsters lurking under the bed and in the closet at bay. In these times of winter darkness, I often go running long before the sun comes up. For my birthday, my husband bought me a new headlamp. I have found this comforting as I have been running with just the light of my phone to illuminate the path directly before me. A number of times, I’ve been spooked by breaking branches, rabbits, and other wildlife, barely able to see more than a couple of feet in front of me. My new light lets me see a little further ahead providing a new sense of comfort and certainty.
Light brings warmth and hope, and I find myself inviting both of these elements into these dark days to keep the gloom away. Light inspires and leads us forward. Light brings dispels fear of the unknown and lets us see forward. What else does light represent for you? How do you think of and use light? What brings light in dark times for you? How can you bring more light in? How can you be the light in times of darkness and how does that bring encouragement and inspiration, too? What lights you up and helps you to see forward?
Quote I am Pondering:
“Look and you will find it – what is unsought will go undetected.”
~ Socrates ~
Podcast I am Enjoying:
From the Lazy Genus podcaster: I’m Kendra, and these are my people. I’m a wife and mom and all the regular things. I love it and sometimes I don’t, and that’s perfectly normal amen.
Like you, I’ve listened to everyone from neighbors to Dr. Oz talk about how I should live, how I should parent, and what swimsuit looks best on my body shape. (Answer: I like winter.)
Over the years, I’ve learned that if my worth is based on how well I do everything I should, then I am a terrible human being. So you know what I did? I quit trying so hard. And I started being a genius about the things that matter and lazy about the things that don’t. It’s the way to live, you guys, and I’d love for you to join me.
This is not a place where you’ll get tips on how to do it all. The Lazy Genius Collective will tell you to stop doing it all. Living by a list of “shoulds” is exhausting and leaves zero extra time for just being a person and watching TV. And isn’t that what we all really want?
My thoughts on the podcast and why I’m enjoying it:
This podcast has many tips for parents, but also just practical tips and tricks for people with busy lives – a.k.a. ALL of US! I love the idea of being more intentional about choosing how I spend my time, being more thoughtful about the time I devote to certain things and giving less time to the things that aren’t as important. Being more intentional about how I spend my time and how I don’t spend my time is especially important to me as I not only have young children, a business, and educational pursuits, but also as I strive to craft an intentional, meaningful, and purposeful life. In a sense, by being more intentional with my time, I am striving to light the way before me to keep me on my path – time management and awareness are essential to keeping me from getting lost.
#230 How to Feel Like a Person with Andi Kolber
Helpful Companion Links
- Learn more about Aundi’s work on her website and follow her on Instagram @aundikolber
- Get her book Try Softer and grab the Try Softer Guided Journey (releases October 5th).
- If you want more resources from Aundi, check out her free companion video series for the Try Softer Guided Journey.
- To find a therapist,
- Go to psychologytoday.com and use their filter system to name what matters most about your therapist or to emdria.org for therapists who specialize in EMDR.
- Aundi recommends choosing three therapists you’re interested in and requesting a free 20-minute consultation to see if it’s a good fit. Most therapists offer this.
- If finances are a hindrance, ask therapists if they have a sliding scale.
Book I’m Reading:
Stillness is the Key by Ryan Holiday
Instant number one New York Times best seller and Wall Street Journal best seller
In The Obstacle Is the Way and Ego Is the Enemy, best-selling author Ryan Holiday made ancient wisdom wildly popular with a new generation of leaders in sports, politics, and technology. In his new book, Stillness Is the Key, Holiday draws on timeless Stoic and Buddhist philosophy to show why slowing down is the secret weapon for those charging ahead.
All great leaders, thinkers, artists, athletes, and visionaries share one indelible quality. It enables them to conquer their tempers. To avoid distraction and discover great insights. To achieve happiness and do the right thing. Ryan Holiday calls it stillness – to be steady while the world spins around you. In this audiobook, he outlines a path for achieving this ancient, but urgently necessary way of living. Drawing on a wide range of history’s greatest thinkers, from Confucius to Seneca, Marcus Aurelius to Thich Nhat Hanh, John Stuart Mill to Nietzsche, he argues that stillness is not mere inactivity, but the doorway to self-mastery, discipline, and focus.
Holiday also examines figures who exemplified the power of stillness: baseball player Sadaharu Oh, whose study of Zen made him the greatest home run hitter of all time; Winston Churchill, who in balancing his busy public life with time spent laying bricks and painting at his Chartwell estate managed to save the world from annihilation in the process; Fred Rogers, who taught generations of children to see what was invisible to the eye; Anne Frank, whose journaling and love of nature guided her through unimaginable adversity. More than ever, people are overwhelmed. They face obstacles and egos and competition. Stillness Is the Key offers a simple but inspiring antidote to the stress of 24/7 news and social media. The stillness that we all seek is the path to meaning, contentment, and excellence in a world that needs more of it than ever.
Please check out my latest blog post, Be Careful, Recipes and Inspiration Yield Different Results! You can find my most recent post, Losing Sight, and my October edition of Three Thoughts for Thursday here, on my blog, as well. Beginning in April 2021, I have had the privilege of Co-Hosting with Kathy Hadizadeh, the Emotional Intelligence Special Interest Group for ICFLA. Please stay tuned for our sessions in 2022 which will kick off in February.
Please also watch for details on my upcoming January “EQ and WooWoo” workshop with my colleague and Spiritual Coach, Katie Kay, designed to begin the new year with manifestation in mind. We will be hosting quarterly sessions that intertwine the use of Tarot and Emotional Intelligence to help you and your clients step outside the box in order to take your coaching work deeper.
If you are interested in joining and co-creating these learning communities, please use the link above to find out more about ICFLA’s workshops and watch for more information on registering for January’s Manifest Workshop 1 in the year-long series on “EQ and WooWoo”. I hope you will come along for the journey!
I’m always looking for new inspiration, new books to read, new podcasts to listen to, so please send your suggestions my way or comment on this post to offer some new recommendations!
As always, thank you for your continued support and readership! Stay strong, stay brave, stay true to you!
Wishing you a season of light and warmth!
Desiree Briel Rodi Consulting & Coaching 