A Week of Thanks

It’s a roller coaster of more opportunities to practice gratitude; coupled with time with family and friends you want so badly to be that magical, picturesque scene you see on TV; mixed with missing those who aren’t around; served with a side of being mad at this holiday for what it represents in the world.

It’s a lot, both positively and negatively, and all that grey area in between.

I’m looking forward to Thanksgiving this year, to spending time with family and if I’m being honest, eating with reckless abandon. I’m looking forward to a little more time off, more baking, and maybe a few more minutes of “me” activities between the events.

And at the same time, I am deeply missing my mom right now. I feel it so much it stings. And of course, holidays exacerbate this.

I’m also in a place where my routine is already disturbed and I’m worrying about it falling off a cliff. Routine is a huge tool in maintaining my mental health, so this is a big deal for me.

So what balance tool do we reach for this time of year in the ups, downs and sideways of the season? Everyday mindfulness.

Everyday mindfulness is the times outside of (or instead of) a formal seated practice where you tune into the moment to help clear up or clear out those thoughts that aren’t serving you.

It’s time to take in the richness of a moment and be fully enveloped in it. It’s a way to breathe with the suffering or the joy or whatever is showing up in you this holiday season.

Here are a few ways to practice it:

If you’re spending time in the kitchen, slow down and focus on every act of your preparation. The slow peel of an orange, the sweetness and soft texture as you sample it. The smell of the kitchen, the feel of the warm oven, the sounds of tinkering and life that surround you.
Practice deep listening. When you’re with your people, whether you like what is being said or not, can you tune into every word, every facial reaction, every bit of energy shared between you? I find it helpful to physically turn my ear toward the person talking and then get deeply curious about every word.
Find moments to stop and check in. Take a deep, mindful breath when you step outside. Smell the air and listen to the sounds of nature. Stop for one minute before you get out of the car and just breathe. Turn off the radio on your drive to your celebration, take in the sounds of the car and the road and world around you.
And when you are in the presence of something that makes you thankful, see if you can soak it in a bit deeper. Pause, breathe, and see if you can cultivate so much gratitude that you feel it physically – a deep warmth in your chest, that pull in your heart, a lightness in your shoulders or your belly.

I hope this helps you find a little more peace and presence in your week. I am thankful for each and every one of YOU that take your very precious, valuable time to share in my words. I am beyond thankful to take this journey towards balance with you.

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Balancing a Brain that’s Fighting Back

By Katherine Warren • April 6, 2025

Your brain will straight up lie to you. There’s no way to sugar coat that, friends, there just isn’t. But your brain also creates beautiful ideas and inventions, and well, everything you see that surrounds us. It’s the power of the AND. Your brain is the king of the “and.” The first step in finding balance is recognizing this. The second step is discerning the beautiful part of your brain from the beast. The third is not reacting to, judging or negotiating with the beastly part. It’s tough, tough work. It’s lifelong work. And even if your friends start calling you things like the “definition of balance” (a term so kindly bestowed on me by some friends recently). You’re still gonna have to work your a** off on this part for the rest of your life as you sway back and forth, in and out of balance. Does it get easier? Yes and no. The beauty of understanding the feeling of balance is that you don’t have to rely on your brain so much. You know how it feels to be in a place of solid, grounded peace, no matter what your brain is shouting you “should” or “could” be doing. The harder part is that the more you find balance, the more likely it is that you are upleveling your life. Your focus and pure presence have likely brought about more of whatever you define as a successful life--mentally, physically, or materially. That uplevel can mean those brain lies cut a little deeper, make you question every decision you make to protect your peace. If you’ve learned to sit with that pain in your belly, it might fight a little harder to make you pay attention to it. It might put up a bigger fight to try to force you to listen to those untruths. This is when you have to remind yourself, your brain will straight up lie to you. Under no circumstances should you negotiate with these thoughts. That’s where spiraling lives, that’s where lack of balance lies. Sometimes holding hard to your balanced routines will do the trick.