"In a few months, it's going to be this hard, plus Winter." Exactly. Hopes have been dashed that the pandemic would recede during the Summer months.

However you feel about the heat, the light this time of year does make such a difference. It lifts spirits. It helps with the coping. But it’s already starting to fade.

Don’t be in denial that Winter is coming. This way lies darkness. It’s inevitable.

My hair stylist knows that hair carries a story. It’s part of a person’s identity. It holds energy. The ends have been around for months or years depending on the length. So she led me through a meditation process as she massaged my scalp and shoulders, inviting me to make peace with those stories and that energy. To bring that history to a close in preparation for letting it go.

With the Full Moon on June 5, we officially enter eclipse season. Eclipses serve to interrupt regularly scheduled programs. With this Full Moon and the crucible we are in with a pandemic, economic strain and social activism creating a new normal, take time to pause and reflect. Both meditation and free writing help calm the inner chaos so you can tune in to your deeper truths.

Glennon Doyle’s book Untamed breaks open cages you aren’t even aware you’ve built. Required reading if you’ve ever wanted to be a good daughter.

Call in the energy of the New Moon to help you clarify and set intentions. This New Moon in Gemini may inspire you to activate your voice or work on communications. This simple New Moon Ritual takes less than 15 minutes and doesn’t add to your workload the ways goal setting can.

The Moon acts as a mirror. A Full Moon holds space for you to reflect, not just for your day but for the past month or few months.

For the first time in my fitness life, I decided to pursue what felt natural and somewhat easy. This took a moment of intention — getting real about my schedule and my desired outcomes. As a woman in her late-40s, my goals are much more about creating sustained energy, deep sleep, and a holistic vital foundation for health. I want exercise to support me and my pursuits. To add rather than drain.

Cue up New Year’s in your mind. The stereotype will do… dreaming up new drool-worthy images of things you want. The cut body, styled house, supportive fans, loving relationships, engaging jobs. These images motivate for, what?, a week? A month if lucky. These goals are based on end results, blindly ignoring that it takes work and commitment to not only achieve those results but also maintain them. So often we get caught up with the end goal, and so frustrated that we aren't there — when actually there is no “there.”

Need a pep talk or an inspiring conversation? Want to feel part of a larger community of people like you? Podcasts get you out of the funk of everyday life and reconnect you to the world of making an impact. Realign with your values and show up as who you are. Your future self will thank you.

Anxiety. What a strange beast with muscled haunches, layers of dark feathers and slithering parts. Anxiety, the master of movement. Tough to pin down — rarely matched against an opponent that can do so.

As I enter the phase with the third last name of my life, I wonder… Who will this person be? Who will I be? Each last name has accomplishments and challenges associated with it. They’ve had clear ties to men, as does my new last name, but I reached back through time to pluck it from my ancestors who came through Ellis Island. I want to recapture those feelings of hope, possibility and dreams of a new way of living with freedom and independence.

Have you ever written a testimonial for someone? I’ve written a few lately, and I recommend doing it even if you don’t need to. It’s like an amazing journaling exercise where you take a moment to look back over the journey you’ve been on with a person or product. The process supports you in looking at Before/After scenarios in your own life rather than constantly raising the bar or seeing only through the lenses of now without any context.