Spring & Simplicity

I often reflect on the beauty of a new season and all of the promise that comes along with it. Spring is one of my favorite seasons of all. I love the renewal, the fresh, clean promise that you feel when you hear the birds return to our forests.

I recently returned home from 2 weeks on the Baja. I love the warmth, the dry blue skies on a daily basis. I love the beautiful smell that permeates the air and the ever present lightness of the days; however, coming home to my West Coast gets sweeter each time that I do it.

At this time of year, returning home to the North Shore when the weather is as sunny and warm as it has been, it is just a pleasure. Besides the glorious weather, I am grateful for the feeling of being happy to come home. Home really is my sanctuary and I truly do love my home and the community in which I belong to.

The spring is a time when people begin to find a little pep in their step and I find that in general people find it easier to share a smile with a stranger. One of the things that I find with the Mexican people and that I appreciate so much about them, is that they are so warm and giving of themselves. For the most part they would never dream of walking past you without looking you in the eye and offering a heartfelt smile.

It has been my experience that many people here find it no problem to walk past a stranger and to ignore them entirely. It seems so foreign to me. How can we be so cold? Now granted, I am far more touchy feely than most people, so I am told, but  then again, I am also the girl who hugs you when I greet you and when I leave your presence. Regardless, I would never dream of walking by someone with out acknowledging their existence and I cannot venture into that mind set for even a moment to try and understand the mentality.

I have a good friend that moved down to Cabo 3 years ago. To give you an idea of who Carlene is, let me tell you that she is a gorgeous person from the inside out. She is beautiful, charming, and sincere. She is a straight shooter that is business savvy and the kind of friend anyone would be lucky to have. Anyway, she and her husband decided to take their 3 young children out of the hustle and bustle of West Vancouver and they have never looked back since.

I had the privilege of enjoying an entire day with this lovely lady while I as down in Cabo last week. To know her before and after moving to Cabo you would believe that she was an entirely different person. She is calmer, more centered and more joyful than ever. There is an ease in her spirit that was not there before. There is a light in her eyes that is new. When I questioned her about her obvious transformation, she was pleased to share with me her evolution.

Basically my girlfriend explained to me how Mexico has offered she and her family a laid back life style where they are surrounded by people, a community that experiences Spring all year long. People are getting plenty of vitamin D and they are very family focused rather than worrying about what their neighbours are doing, if you know what I mean. Everything that is important to the Mexican people, they find within their family and within their own home.

It sounded so simple to hear this amazing recipe for this new found balance and happiness, but the more I sit with it the more obvious it seems. Of course there is a

serenity that prevails when we have our priorities straight and have all of our focus on our immediate family. It is only when we venture beyond our own family and home that we find ourselves taking on too much, worrying about other people’s journeys, that is when we find ourselves in a position to feel overwhelmed and therefore a vulnerable place to be personally.

Returning home as I said was a beautiful thing, but I brought with me the lesson that my girlfriend gifted me. I came home committed to being more joyful and by using her basic but powerful recipe in my day to day life. Just a few days in and I have already been challenged to keep my life simple and to keep my focus directly on my own immediate family.

Now, when I say that I am keeping my eyes on my own backyard, what I mean is, I am not allowing myself to over extend my mind or heart on those that are not apart of my immediate circle of family and friends. I have been notorious for giving more than was in my well to give, and often to those that really have no business taking my attention away from my true beloveds.

What does that look like, you ask? Well, it means that I stopped myself from emailing that friend I have not spoke to in 6 months to see how she is. Instead I choose to trust that she is fine, and instead I read my daughter a book. It means that instead of going for coffee with an acquaintance that I usually find to be an energy vampire, I called a good friend and connected in a way that left us both feeling nourished and full. Instead of replacing all of the lamps in my house today, I spent 4 hours cleaning out my garage. Simplicity. 

After being away on a family holiday, people always notice the tan and ask where have you been and what was the highlight. Clearly, to know me is to know that having that family focused time with my amazing husband and brilliant children was by far the greatest highlight of the trip for me, but a very close second goes to my girlfriend Carlene who gifted me with the idea of simplicity. She has successfully and joyfully been modeling the life I wish to live.

Don’t get me wrong… Car and her husband still have the heavy responsibilities that we all carry day in and day out, the difference is that they go about their days with a sense of peace that is rare to find here in this beautiful place that I live, where beauty is everywhere, and so you would think peace would be also, yet you actually have to look a little more deeply to find it as often.

So, what do I do with this new found perspective? I go into my days with a brighter heart, spreading the joy and peace I have found with each person I meet, by simply sharing an authentic smile with the intention of modeling what Carlene modeled for me. I want to live a simple life in away that keeps me grounded yet still provides plenty of room for amazing opportunities and serendipity to find me.

I never take for granted that my family has the privilege of taking a two week holiday in a tropical place. I am very thankful for the opportunities that our hard work lends to us, but I am also grateful for having people like Carlene in my life to remind me of how easily joy can be found. Happiness is a choice, in each and every moment. Living life with an open heart and a pure intention will attract beauty beyond our wildest dreams. I know this for sure. I have seen it with my own two eyes.

Wishing you a beautiful spring that brings you a true happiness, Mexican style.

Love & Light,

Xo t.

Carpe Diem

With all of this talk lately about healthy living and using your life to live each day to it's highest potential it begs the question... "Are we really living our best lives.?"

 It is so easy to answer this question with a resounding YES! Of course that is the answer we want to give. Of course we want to be using every moment of our lives to the greatest possible use and enjoyment. The real question though is what is holding us back from living out our dreams? Whether the dream is a job, a possession or travel, what binds us from having those dreams come to fruition? More commonly than not, the number one answer I get when I ask this question is that the need to earn money somehow always comes between the dream and reality.

 Imagine for a moment if money wasn't an object. Imagine if your bills were paid, you had all of your basic needs met... would you still feel like money was an object between you and that job, that car, or that extended fishing vacation? Imagine for a minute that you redefined what was a need in your life and what is a want. What if you realized that what you thought you needed is actually what you have come to believe you need vs. your actually needs. Society has an amazing way of imposing needs upon us when really all we really need are basic essentials, our family, our friends and our own sense of need vs. want. There are so many demands placed upon via society, social media, and advertising, that if we bought into all of these demands we would all be blond haired, barbie dolls, driving convertables that very few of us can afford, all the while dressed in one designer label after another.

Don't get me wrong. I love beautiful things. I love many designer wares, but I love them because they are well made and I will likely own them forever which means they are made with amazing quality and are classic designs. Yes, I love some of these brands. No, I cannot afford many of them and yes, there have been moments where the thought of having them reigned supreme over the reality that I did not need them. I have recently come into a place of happy medium that I am very comfortable with. It took me long enough to figure it out, but it's true that there are many other high end brands, and designer names that have nothing to do with the initials, LV, CC, or YSL. There are gorgeous well made things in the world that may not last me forever, but will easily get me through the next ten years. Just long enough for my preferences to redefine themselves if they wish.

In this revelation, my family and I have found a way to find more balance between wants and needs and where and how to invest our means accordingly. No we will not be heading to the runways of Paris this year to personally hand pick next falls collection that I will be wearing, no, instead I will be heading back to my closet to revisit last year's gear that served me quite well then and will do so again I am sure. With this concession and many others like it, we have found a way to take ourselves out of society's grasp and have willed ourselves the luxury of 'unplugging' from this ever present race we all find ourselves in. Even if this reprieve is temporary, it is a starting place to grow from and it gives me hope that the simplicity that I have craved in my life is one step closer to living a more authentic life, and one step farther away from 'needing'.

 I hope this post encourages you to take inventory of what it is that has eluded you and to find a way to manifest it in your own life. We all have it in us to live our dreams, it is more about determining when is the right time for ourselves to claim that dream once and for all. In the meantime, this will be my last post for a while. Carpe Diem.

 Gone Fishin',
t.