Books for a fresh start

If you know me at all, you know that I'm one of the biggest fans of Elizabeth Gilbert's book, Eat, Pray, Love. Today marks her 10th anniversary of publishing this gem, and I am so glad she shared her experiences with the world. For me, this was one of those life changing reads that leaves you feeling empowered to follow your dreams- even if that dream doesn't entail selling everything you have and moving to India on a soul searching yogic journey where your new nickname becomes "Groceries." 

Eat, Pray, Love was more a story of finding what is weighing you down in life and keeping you from attaining happiness YOU created for yourself. I think we all get caught in the rat race of life. Once we graduate from college (or maybe you didn't go to college and jumped right into the workforce) we're expected to find the perfect career, the perfect partner, get married, settle down, have kids, and then ten years later you don't remember how you got there and you've lost who you thought you would be. Elizabeth Gilbert so distinctly portrays those very human emotions of feeling lost once she thought she had it all. Those feelings of emptiness, like, "is this really it?". To some people, maybe it is what they've dreamed of. But, to others, it takes a heck of a lot longer to find what makes us happy, and that's okay too. Our twenties, and even thirties, put so much pressure on getting everything done at once. I commend Gilbert in her ability to make that very scary decision to do some serious soul searching half way across the world. 

Which brings me to her next book, Big Magic, which she recently published and I just started reading. I am in love with the message of this book. Put simply, the point of this book aims to push you in the direction of living a life that is not driven by fear but, rather, by doing exactly what makes you happy. Simple, right? Hah! Depending on your upbringing, social circle, financial situation, or whatever it is, this can be a really difficult thing! We have so many road blocks that prevent us from getting out there and doing what we really want. But, the biggest road block ends up being ourselves. Seriously, if you believe that you can do anything, you really can! Your abilities are endless and once you change your thought process, you'll see and feel it. It's clear as day. 

Big Magic is my badass breakfast read. 

So, if you're in need of an uplifting, motivating, empowering, positive read (seriously, who doesn't?), check out Big Magic. It's sure to get your creative gears working towards a happier you! 

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Movement

2015 ended with the completion of 1 year in grad school. Can you say 'heck yeah'?! 

After that, I traveled to Dresden, Germany to hang out with my younger brother who's living there, and it got me thinking about city life. If you're like me, a girl in the suburbs, you rarely can walk just about anywhere you need to go. We were averaging at least three miles a day! 

View from the east of Dresden, Germany. We covered maybe half of that on foot! 

There's an Upworthy video on city planning that I saw a while back about smarter designs for cities that hits the nail on the head with problems we face. If you haven't seen it, please stop what you're doing and watch it right meow!  More public transportation access, promotion of walking, and incorporating green space are just some topics the CBC news report covers. These types of things foster movement and community among those living there. It's such a simple yet effective idea, you'd wonder why most American cities haven't thought it important to keep us healthy just by building a common sense environment. 

It really resonated with me that the video calls our surroundings obesogenic. That means, you get fat just by existing in your environment. For us suburban folk, really think about when you had to go for a walk today. Or, maybe when you were out running errands and didn't have time to make yourself a snack to go, what were the food options around you? Were you sitting for most of the day (yes, driving means sitting) or were you walking? Chances are you may have grabbed a drink at Starbucks or some chicken nuggets at Chick-fil-a just to hold you over until you got home. Those calories and sedentary behavior pack on the pounds over time, which is why we wake up one day wondering what the hell happened to our bodies! 

So, do you yourself a favor. Create some movement in your life. It could be just waking up five minutes earlier to do some stretches or calisthenics, going on a quick walk around the corner on your lunch break, taking the stairs instead of elevator, or even just standing up from your work desk to stretch out your hips every half hour. Changing habits is hard so, don't beat yourself up. One thing at a time and soon you'll be on your way to burning up some extra calories! 

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