Inspirations of Well-Being {10}

8 Experiences That Inspired My Well-Being This Week

1. Roots

Last week was one I had been looking forward to for a while. My family—in specific, my grandmother, aunt, uncle, and cousins—came to Seattle for a 7-day visit. The experience elicited so many feelings and realizations, and was incredibly nurturing on numerous levels. At the core of what personally manifested was this–a feeling of blessedness for having such a close and loving family and for being an active participant in the creation of it.

2. Home

Playing tour guide for the week, I was also able to see where I live—Seattle, Washington—through the eyes of my family, which gave it a great element of freshness. Through this I came again to realize how the city I call home truly is that, a nurturing and fulfilling place complete with communities that greatly support my well-being.

3. Culinary Treasures (1)

There are so absolutely amazing restaurants in Seattle. Part of their beauty is that inventive and thoughtful chefs apply their creativity to the lush bounty of fresh foods that the Pacific Northwest—and the Seattle area in particular—has to offer. This week I was lucky enough to delight in the creations of many of these restaurants—including some like the Walrus & Carpenter and Cascina Spinasse that I had yet to visit–and to experience them with my family. There’s nothing like “breaking (delicious) bread” with the people you love. What was especially magical about our restaurant “tour” was that the last night we ate at Poppy. Not only was its creative Indian-flaired food wonderful but the name of the restaurant could not have been more perfect–as my family gathered together to honor a great man who had just passed on–my grandfather, Poppy Abe.

4. Culinary Treasures (2)

As much as I loved eating in amazing restaurants for one week, I actually missed the connection that gets created when you prepare your own food and cook your own meals. And so, while I feel really lucky and appreciative of the culinary experiences I had last week, after my family left on Saturday, I was really happy to get back into the kitchen and cook up some simple, but delicious, meals.

5. Earthly Delights

My garden beds continue to grow, with the greens abundant and prolific. I’ve enjoyed various types of mustard greens on top of burritos this weekend. Also a garden treasure was the harvesting of my first ever home-grown radish. Sure it was only one (since there are only four that grew) but still the experience of harvesting and eating a vegetable that I had never grown before–which was beaming red, and had the perfect crunch/spice profile–was a glorious experience.

6. Dialogues

I have had really amazingly heartfelt conversations this week with friends, my boyfriend LB, and my family. I feel so honored to have shared the space of honest and soulful conversations with so many people. What became evidenced was not only realizations that will help me live a more abundant life, but also—of course—an even greater bonding that I feel with these wonderful people.

7. Patience

I’m in the process of re-creating the Planetary Apothecary logo and website. It’s a slow and thoughtful process, one that I am letting evolve in what feels like a natural and conscientious pace. The experience feels quite different than past ones—my old approach would more likely have had me “rushing” through the experience to “get it done.” But now I am letting it manifest in a way that feels consistent–this is evidencing really wonderful results. For example, yesterday in conversations with LB I was able to get to the root archetype that I want to logo to capture and express. I realized that if I would have pushed forward on the original schedule I had set for myself I would have not connected to this construct and therefore the logo would not have truly been rooted in what seems to be at the core of my creative expression. Patience, you truly are a virtue–and a great gift that yields wonderful rewards.

8. Transformation

We are in a very eye-of-the-needle period, with Venus, Mercury and the Sun connecting into and revving up the Uranus/Pluto square. I feel that through my writing as well as dialogues with people this week I have been able to give them insights that have really helped them shift a feeling of apprehension into a sense of personal empowerment. It’s been very soul-satisfying.

What inspired your well-being this week? I encourage you to share your experiences and insights in the Comments section.

*** To learn more about the inspiration for Inspirations of Well-Being, see this post.