This past week has been busy, full of lots of focus and tackling little details leading up to a big milestone in my burnout recovery journey.
It also means that I've been prioritizing productivity over presence, intentionally, knowing that I've set aside time this week to take off and recoup after a big push.
As someone who girlboss-ed too close to the sun for years, these periods of planned hustle always come with a period of reflection after the fact and I'm excited to see what I learned this time.
I'm looking forward to more walks, spending time with good friends, and focusing on awe and the little wonders of life.
Oh, to be a kid again
One of the biggest focuses of my burnout recovery has been somatic, regulating my nervous system, and exiting my body's near constant state of fight or flight (freeze or fawn).
A big part of this work for me was finding feelings of awe and wonder in the mundane, the little moments of every day.
Turns out, scientists and psychologists have been studying just this.
Dacher Keltner, a professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, has been studying awe for the last two decades and how experiencing it can positively affect our bodies, relationships, and our interactions with the world around us.
A 2023 scientific report it notes "Empirical studies find experiences of awe to be associated with increased vagal tone, reduced activation of the sympathetic nervous system, and lower inflammation..."[1]
Vagal Tone = a higher measure of the activity of the vagus nerve, the body's largest autonomic nerve, which is responsible for regulating many bodily functions, including heart rate, digestion, and respiration.
Sympathetic Nervous System = the network of nerves that activates fight or flight during stress or danger.
Inflammation = when your immune system releases chemicals to fight harmful stimuli and begin healing.
All of which is very good news for bodies like mine that have spent, not just years, but decades in fight or flight.
It also reports, "Awe is often experienced through encounters with other people’s courage and kindness, nature, collective gatherings (dance, rituals, and ceremonies), music, visual art, religious and spiritual practice, epiphanies, and birth and death."
As I near the end of my period of planned hustle, I'm excited for this week's...
Try This:
The Awe Walk
In addition to being a professor, Keltner is also the directer of the Greater Good Science Center and served as the scientific adviser behind Pixar’s “Inside Out.”
He and his colleagues did a study on the experience of awe through an "awe walk" which Keltner says creates. "...an amazing cascade of physiology that we can find almost any day and is very good for you." [2]
HOW TO TAKE AN AWE WALK:
Pick a day and time for your awe walk.
Choose a place to walk where you might feel a sense of child-like wonder.
On your walk, look around at the same things and big things, following a sense of mystery and wonder.
For this week's Try This, your goal is to take one awe walk, but you are welcome to take as many as you'd like!
From My Journal
TW: References to fictional unintentional and intentional cannibalism; and also alien cannibalism
***I never thought I'd see the day but I guess never say never***
I hadn't been prepared for intentional alien cannibalism when I hit play on the music video for "Show Pony" this week...
I had also just finished Butcher & Blackbird this week which had both intentional and unintentional cannibalism and for a non-horror girlie coming up on Halloween season, I'm not sure this bodes well for what's to come in my media consumption this October. LOL
Anyway, back to the song that started this whole thought process:
"Show Pony" is the 3rd single off one of my favorite albums of the year, "I Love You So F***ing Much" by Glass Animals. Band-leader, Dave Bayley, wrote the album while quarantined with COVID in 2022 and was forced to self-isolate in California (he's lived in the UK most his life). It is a sci-fi sounding album combined with lyrics that encapsulate the human condition that has been on repeat everywhere I am since it released in July.
Despite the cannibalism, the video struck deep as it wrapped up.
⚠️ Warning, music video spoilers ⚠️
Towards the end of the video, the taller (and female presenting) of the two aliens who has been getting to know, protecting, and caring for a cow, finds a barn for the cow to rest in after days of walking together. They light an oil lamp sitting on a hay bale in a barn, set the cow up in the barn to rest and head outside to make a phone call.
Only...
The barn catches on fire while they aren't paying attention and they see it too late, unable to save the cow.
The metaphor hit fast and deep. Drawing a comparison to how in life, and relationships, we:
can care deeply about something and still lose it.
can't control every outcome.
can unknowingly and unintentionally cause harm that is irreparable.
have to face our role in the destruction of something and learn to forgive ourselves.
can have the best intentions and not end up with the desired results.
As someone going through a huge period of upheaval in my life - personally and professionally - I'm both excited to see where life takes me, but also immensely grateful for art and the little moments like this that remind me that I'm not alone in this human experience we call life.
WHAT I'M LOVING:
I can't remember the last time I ate cereal - maybe a year or more since the last time. So I bought an oldie but goodie (frosted mini wheats) as a treat and a box of Magic Spoon to try (the last time I looked for it, they were still online order only for my area). Needless to say, my inner child is THRIVING with cereal for any/every meal of the day. lol
I wrote the journal entry above on the 24th and then on Friday, Jon Bellion, another one of my favorites released his first original song under his name in 6 years - Kid Again. In that time, he's been a songwriter and producer behind songs for artists like Rihanna, Jung Kook, Halsey, Miley Cyrus, Burna Boy, Camila Cabello, Lil Wayne, Jonas Brothers, Zayn, Maroon 5, Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, Tori Kelly, and more. When his album comes out, it's about to become my whole personality 🎧
That my brain thinks I can just start making crochet clothes using a pattern a newbie like me has no business attempting. #oldhabitsdiehard But I'm loving the process and learning that comes with what is both a physical challenge for my poor hards and a mental challenge for my impatient brain.
HAVING A GREAT TIME HERE?
Here's a few ways you can let me know:
Option 1: 💌 Share with a fellow creative or business owner. Community starts with each of us and friends don't let friends chase their dreams at the expense of their mental health! If you know someone seeking more sustainability and harmony in their life and/or business, send this their way.
Option 2: 👋 Say hi! Hit reply and share a sentence or two about anything you enjoyed or hit home for you. I always hope these words find the right people at the right time, but it's always makes my day to hear from you!
