 The Fall Equinox is just around the corner, marking the first day of fall and passage into a new season. It's also one of only two days in the entire year where day and night are in balance. And while I— like many females— am very excited for cooler temperatures, Ugg boots (don't fight it, they're comfy), and pumpkin spice lattes (don't fight it, they're delicious), this post is about much deeper stuff.
Lots and lots of symbolism can be drawn from nature at the equinox to apply to your life. In fact, when any of the seasons shift, it's the perfect time to look inward in introspection. With the Fall Equinox, it brings up (at least) two important questions: 1) day and night are in balance, are you? (more on that in Lessons From The Fall Equinox) and 2) what are you harvesting? I live on a farm and get to see this beautiful cycle every year. Fall is a time when farmers who have worked hard all year on their crops start to gather and harvest the fruits of their labor. What did you work on all year and what do you have to show for it now, at harvest time? Read on for what the Fall Equinox can teach us if we're willing to take an honest look at how we are living our lives.
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 Last week contained the summer solstice: the first day of summer and longest day of the year. I really, really enjoy when dates like this roll around because I think it's a great time to reflect. The summer solstice is a very appropriate time halfway through the year to stop and take notice of how life is going.
 If you think about it, eating in season -- though trendy -- is not new at all. It's really the original way to eat. Our generation is used to having access to all kinds of foods at our grocery stores these days, but it hasn't always been this way. For many people, eating seasonally IS a new way of eating.
I try to eat seasonally as much as possible. Here are 5 reasons to give it a try.  If you've been reading my blog for a while, you know that I love Brene Brown's book Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead. Her work on vulnerability and courage has changed my life and I highly recommend this book if you haven't read it.
At the beginning of the book, she references the idea of wholehearted living, which is from another book of hers, The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You're Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are. She describes it like this...  Having trouble finding time to exercise is THE biggest excuse I hear. I can sympathize. It's tough, especially during busy seasons of life. Even with the best of intentions, we ALL get in a slump sometimes. When that happens, the hardest part about starting back up is getting over the inertia of it all. If you find yourself 1) in a fitness slump, 2) constantly starting a fitness routine and ditching it after a week, or 3) you can never quite find the time to exercise, then this post is for you.
If you think strength training is just for bodybuilders or competitive athletes, allow me to set you straight: strength training is really just exercising with resistance in order to build muscles. That's it. And while I think everyone* should be doing some sort of resistance training, I'm not necessarily saying you have to attempt super heavy weight lifting. There are many varieties of resistance training (TRX! Pilates! Some types of yoga!) so stay with me...
 I've always loved to read books. There's something so exciting about a new book and what it might say to me. Recently, I ordered a new book, What I Know For Sure by Oprah Winfrey. It's a compilation from her monthly column "What I Know For Sure" from O Magazine. I was excited to read it, because I assumed from the premise of the book that it would be chock-full of wisdom from someone who has led an incredible life. I was right. This post is about one of her essays that gave me a new perspective on life
 When I graduated from college and first started living and working on my own, eating healthy was not on my radar at all. I was a picky eater, and I was busy! Getting used to all the things that come along with starting life on your own is an eye-opening experience. Now there's a hashtag for it: #adulting
I was adulting pretty well I guess, except for my nutrition. One day I was eating lunch at my desk when a client came in who was a "health nut." [That's what I used to call people who simply care about healthy stuff. I guess I'm in that club now, so the joke is on me. My 22 year old self would be rolling her eyes.] But she taught me something really important, and I've never forgotten it.  I have many conversations with people about overall wellness, and this comes up more than you'd think. I know that a healthy diet can be challenging to introduce. It takes more time to think through your grocery list and sort through healthy recipes than it does to buy prepared, processed foods. Plus, it's not always as delicious as french fries are. It's already hard, so it can be doubly frustrating if your loved ones (spouse, kids, roommate) aren't thrilled about it. If that strikes a nerve with you, hopefully you'll find some inspiration here to help you make it more fun and appealing to them.
 Here's something I’m pretty passionate about: how we measure our progress while on our fitness journey. Stop comparing yourself to others, stop obsessing over your weight, and stop expecting too much too soon. Otherwise, you’ll never be satisfied. There are so many ways to measure and see your progress, so don't get hung up on the wrong things. If you're on a fitness journey to be healthier, this post is for you. You may be making more progress than you think.
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