The olympics tends to pull out two emotions in me. The first is a competitive “momager” kind of energy where I am loudly cheering on people I now wholeheartedly love and support based on the stories shared about them, and I’m rooting for them like we are siblings. The other is one of emotional relief when they finally get their reward after working so hard to get to where they are. I cry with them, for them, all of the above. I love the Olympics. And I love Snoop.

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But I’ve been drawn to Simone’s performance, as we all are, and watching what can happen when we do the uncomfortable thing, the unpopular thing: and take time off.

There will always be people who think that breaks are an admittance of laziness. There will always be people who struggle watching you rest, because they struggle with their own rest. Projection is a lot of folks first tool of choice to make themselves feel better, and we’ve got to be able to let their words, filled with untruths and personal problems, slide right off of us.

You don’t have to earn rest. You don’t have to be exhausted to rest. You don’t have to fail to rest. You don’t need permission to rest. You don’t have to ask to rest. You don’t have to win to rest. You just must rest. You just get to rest.

It’s necessary.

As you know, my second book, Wisdom of the Path, came out in June and that tour was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. I enjoyed each stop, I’m so grateful I got to do the tour stops, and also…it was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. I traveled to 9 different places in two weeks and sometimes I would land in a city, with no time to eat anything but a protein bar, drive directly to my first interview, head to the studios bathroom to do my makeup, run right into the interview, head to my hotel, then sleep before doing the whole thing again the next day. I was solo traveling ALL of the tour, catching meals by myself after most stops, something I 10/10 wouldn’t recommend. We can be really proud of ourselves for meeting our goals AND know that we need rest. We can be amazed at our ability to do what felt impossible and at the end, need a break.

I knew I would need a break after this tour before the tour even happened, because I am a recovering perfectionist. This means, if I didn’t plan a break, I would keep going. So instead I planned a few days off literally the day after my last scheduled tour stop, because I didn’t want to burn out. And even after I went back to work post break, wherever I could I leaned on finding moments of rest, moments away from my devices, moments where I didn’t have to do anything. Our mental health depends on it.

I used to think my superpower was being able to perform really well under immense stress. I have far too much practice at it. And yes, under pressure, if needed, I show up. But I gave up having that pressurized energy as my constant a long time ago. My superpower now is being able to advocate for what I need while meeting my goals. There are moments where we will work hard and there are moments where we need to be off.

That brings me to this newsletter. I originally set out to do a twice a week check-in with you guys, and honestly, I just don’t have the time. I want to have the time. But I don’t.

And I think we have to be honest with ourselves and others that our time is not infinite. As the one who writes these newsletters, finds the pictures I share, does all the things…I know this takes time. It sucks when you have an idea to do something and you want to bring it to fruition, but there’s only one of you and there’s only so much time. We have to choose where we’re going to spend our energy. And so, what I can commit to, is sending out a thoughtful, in-depth newsletter on the first Wednesday of every month. And being honest with others is also important, so I hope y’all understand. I also hope that this encourages you to think about where you may need to set a boundary or take a break.

Many of us, myself included, had to learn how to rest. All we ever knew was moving from one thing to the next, never slowing down. Until life forced us to slow down.

This tour was the first time that I chose to slow down before life, my body, or my energy had to quit on me first. I still felt the dip in energy on tour, but after tour ended and I took a break, the feeling of restoration came when usually, I’d keep working and instead of restoration I’d feel burn out. I want that for you too. I want you to feel restored.

With back to school around the corner, end of the fiscal year, election season, and the holidays - there are SO MANY THINGS happening that are grabbing our attention right now. Only you know what it is that you need a break from so that you can come back stronger than ever, with clarity, and most importantly so that your well-being is prioritized too.

Here are somethings I’ve been able to enjoy while incorporating rest into my life:

I’m a native New Yorker and I will never tire of the city. Ever. I feel myself get recharged the moment I step out of Penn Station. While on rest, I’ve prioritized long walks through my favorite neighborhoods and it’s such a gift.

For my sisters birthday, I gifted her these two books, both signed by the authors, and I knew they’d mean a lot to her based on what she wanted to bring into this season of her life. I’ve always loved gift giving, and I usually go big or go home, but lately I’ve moved toward intentional gift giving and how I can show the person I love that I love them, through the gift. Is it the cancer rising in me? Idk, but I love this season for me (and for my friends and family :). Gifting books that encourage rest? Here for it!

I drew this bunny because…I had the time to draw this bunny and I mean, if that’s not healing I really don’t know what is. When I say we get to rest, I mean we get to do the absolute small things that we always say we’re going to do but never make time to do because life gets wild. But make some space. Draw the bunny!

When I’m feeling creatively tapped in and rested, it always reflects in my kitchen as well. I absolutely LOVE to cook. I made the pita bread, tzatziki, and hummus from scratch and it was DIVINE. If cooking isn’t your thing, no worries, but maybe you love a decadent coffee or tea, maybe fancy mocktails are your thing, or perhaps it’s flavored water combos that get you going! Ultimately, when we take care of ourselves in the small ways, and slow down, it tends to spill over into other ways. And you don’t have to make pita from scratch BUT if whatever you’re spending that extra time on helps you feel creatively and physically nourished, win-win, no?

Lastly, I’ve been to the beach 5 times this year, and as a land-locked girlie, being at the beach feels like a healing disconnect in itself. There’s something about being near the water that drowns out everything else and I’m able to hear my thoughts in a different way. I also get on my Moana vibe and give all of my problems to the ocean, imagining them being taken away with each wave. I didn’t even read on the beach this year. I just rested.

After writing this, I just exhaled. I think exhaling is a mini form of rest, no? A release of energy. A surrender. Grateful is an understatement.

If you felt any connection to what I’ve shared, get curious. Ask yourself, what is in this for me?

I’ll see you in the next newsletter, Sept 4. Chat soon xx

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