Episode 760: Longing for Aliveness (Mindset & Self-Care)

EBT760 – Longing for Aliveness

Intro  00:01

Hey food bloggers. Thank you so much for joining me in this mindset and self-care focused episode here on Eat Blog Talk. One of the reasons I started a blog talk was to hold a space to talk about the importance of mindset and self-care. Being an entrepreneur can be a lot. If we are not taking care of ourselves, then getting actionable information about SEO Pinterest or whatever else is all moot. I will meet you back here every Wednesday to discuss various mindset and self-care topics. So you have the energy and space to tackle the rest.

Hello. Welcome back. Thank you so much for joining me today. In today’s episode, I want to talk about a longing I know you’ve probably felt because I have felt it too.

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And that is the ache for more aliveness. Maybe you’ve had moments in life that have just lit you up. You laugh until your stomach hurts, you stand under a breathtaking sky, or you lose yourself in a project that made time completely disappear. Whatever it was, for just a moment you were awake, you were alive, you were fully present.

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And then the moment passed.

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Moments are fleeting. They come and go. Back came the laundry, the emails, the calendar, real life, dinner. Back came maybe the flatness too. So if you’ve ever thought, why can’t life feel like that more often, like those times when you really feel alive, then you’re in the right place.

[00:01:32]   

We’re going to talk about that hunger for aliveness and how to start feeding it. I remember a moment so vividly when my family and I were on the road a few years ago. We have an RV and we travel every summer. We were at our favorite campground in Polson, Montana near Flathead Lake with the most breathtaking view of the lake and the Mission Mountains behind it.

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It’s mountain, my favorite view of all time. The sky was glowing with my favorite colors, purples, pinks, blues.

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The boys were off to my side laughing, getting along. We had just had s’, mores, so all the s’ mores goodies were out. Our dog Buddy was rolling in the grass next to us and Dan was my husband was making a campfire. One of his favorite things. It was a perfect moment and I recall just leaning back in my favorite camping chair and thinking, oh my gosh, this.

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This is it. This is what being alive is. And then another thought quickly followed, which was why can’t I feel like this more at home or other times of the year? And here is something I’ve learned since so that was a few years ago when I had that distinct moment. I’ve learned that the magic was not in the view or the setting or in my boys getting along.

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It was actually in my attention. I wasn’t thinking about the next day’s drive or what problems might arise on the road coming up. I wasn’t thinking about my inbox or whether my business was growing fast enough. I wasn’t thinking about how I should be recording more videos for YouTube. I was just there.

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I was fully there. And because I was there, I could feel that. That night reminded me that aliveness is not rare. It doesn’t have to be rare, it’s just easy to miss when we’re racing and thinking past it. I think this is a key to happiness.

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Aliveness is not something you save for vacations. It’s something you noticed in the ordinary, everyday unfolding of events. You do not have to rearrange your whole life or experience a miracle to feel it more often. You just have to practice paying attention. It’s so simple.

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Here’s a reframe for you. Aliveness isn’t about doing more. It’s about being more here. When you slow down enough to notice those small things, maybe it’s the way your kids laughter sounds or the smell of coffee before you take the first sip of it. Mmm, I love that.

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My favorite. Or the glow in the air just before sunset. Oh, I love that too. You start to realize that aliveness was always there just waiting for you. Here is my invitation for you today.

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Give yourself one little pocket of presents. It could be as simple as stepping outside and watching the sky change for five minutes. Or putting your phone down at the dinner table tonight and savoring your very first bite. Maybe your first five or ten bites. Maybe it’s hugging someone you love and not letting go right away.

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Letting it linger a little bit. Or playing your favorite song and actually feeling it. Just sit on your bed or sit on your couch and feel the song instead of busying yourself around the song. And maybe it’s even dancing. My boys and I used to have these dance parties years ago and they always made us feel so alive.

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It could also just be as simple as taking one deep, slow breath right now or whenever you need it. Your breath is always there for you as a tool and just notice it as you do so, how it travels through your body and how it feels. The more often you notice the ordinary, the more alive your life will become.

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If you have been longing for more aliveness, friend, you are not alone. I chase that same hunger and my family’s story in Take the Exit is full of the messy, funny, ordinary moments where I finally found it again.

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If you’ve ever thought I want to feel alive again, or I want to feel alive more often, this book is for you. You can go to eatblogtalk.com/taketheeexit to join the list. You’ll get early details, sneak peeks, and the chance to pre order and remember that aliveness is not waiting for you somewhere in the distant future, far away.

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It’s already here and it’s yours to notice and enjoy now. Thank you for listening. So happy you’re here. I will see you next time.

Outro 

Thank you so much for listening to this mindset and self care episode. These mindset episodes are now available on YouTube, so watch it over there. Search Eat Blog Talk on YouTube and we’ll see you there.