Book Review: Hip Tranquil Chick by Kimberly Wilson

In the interest of spring renewal (which involves getting through the pile of books - literally about 2 dozen - that I keep saying I'm "going to read" but never make time to), I picked up the copy of Kimberly Wilson's Hip Tranquil Chick that I had gotten from Amazon oh, say, a couple of months ago.

I have to say, I was fairly well set up by her weekly podcast to know what to expect - a guide to mindful and fabulous living told in a somewhat annoyingly girly style. For me, the language was just too much - it was like Cosmo meets Yoga Journal. That said, if you can get past the sheer volume of pink, leopard print, and kitten heel references (which feel like they happen at least once every 5 pages or so), it's a very well thought-out, easy to read book. It covers the basic principles of yoga in an easy-digestible format that made it that much easier to apply it to my life, and gives ideas for living mindfully, decorating fabulously on a budget, taking ultra-good care of yourself, and taking ultra-good care of others through your work. While a lot of the information you could easily get from other sources, the benefit of the book is that it's compact (only a couple hundred pages maybe), VERY easy to read, and covers all the bases.

So, if you're looking for a quick refresher course on how to create a groovy and tranquil existence (and you want to develop a drinking game wherein you take a shot every time you see the words "kitten heels"), definitely pick up this book.

scheduling drama

So, yesterday, I really did it to myself. Without fully realizing or understanding it, I had booked myself so solid on Thursday that I thought I was going to die - coffee with a colleague at 9:30, followed by a seminar at 1:30, which I had to leave 15 minutes early to participate in a focus group down the street at 3, and then a webinar at 5, followed by a television interview (for an upcoming documentary on Somerville Community Access Television) at 7. Needless to say, I ended up not making a couple of the events - notably the seminar and the webinar. But man, I was still stressed out.

One of the things I'm realizing slowly but surely is how precious my time is - I'm feeling very protective of it at the moment, to the point where I'm almost reluctant to set meetings at all. Which, of course, is not really reasonable - I have to meet with my clients, go to networking events, etc. - but I'm starting to feel a need become much more selective of the events I do attend, and I'm definitely monitoring the amount of volunteer work I engage in.

The things you learn along the way...

Some days are better than others

So, today wasn't BAD exactly - it was... challenging. Mostly due to the insane PMS that hit me right around noon, which resulted in the purchase and consumption of three - yes, THREE - candy bars. Small ones, yes, but three. And I just haven't been the same since.

What is it about stress and hormones that makes you DO things like that? I was sitting there eating it saying "my lord, this is going to make me a mess in about 10 minutes when all the sugar wears off," but it didn't stop me from eating another bite.

Ah well - there's always tomorrow. And I have a whole pot of low-fat stuffed grape leaves in case I get hungry again!

And the inspirational quote of the day is...

Something I saw on one of my other blogs today, a quote from Neil Simon. Enjoy!

Don't listen to those who say, "It's not done that way." Maybe it's not, but maybe you will. Don't listen to those who say, "You're taking too big a chance." Michelangelo would have painted the Sistine floor, and it would surely be rubbed out by today. Most importantly, don't listen when the little voice of fear inside of you rears its ugly head and says, "They're all smarter than you out there. They're more talented, they're taller, blonder, prettier, luckier and have connections…" I firmly believe that if you follow a path that interests you, not to the exclusion of love, sensitivity, and cooperation with others, but with the strength of conviction that you can move others by your own efforts, and do not make success or failure the criteria by which you live, the chances are you'll be a person worthy of your own respect.

Reflections on self-reflection

This seems to be a time of fairly intense self-reflection for me; I'm busy as ever between the zen kitchen, a fairly active social life, long-term relationship, family commitments, etc, but there's a growing part of me that's been retreating to look inward the last couple of months. First it was just reading everything I could, watching The Secret and listening to teleseminars and watching Suze Orman on WGBH (who ROCKS, by the way - a new role model for me!) - then it turned into meditation and journaling, and making time for yoga and extra-long baths in the evening. And now, I'm trying to pare down my social life a bit so I can have more time for the meditation and journaling.

Why am I doing this? Well, I'm not sure other than to say it needed to be done. Sometimes (and this last few years has definitely been an example of this) you get so caught up in the day-to-day fires that you end up on autopilot, moving from task to task without making time to take stock of situations and learn the lessons you need to. This autopilot mentality has lead to so many negative things in my life - from the weight gain due mostly to eating on the run and not taking time to check in with my body in terms of what it needs, to the friends, clients and lovers I shouldn't have taken on but did because I ignored all the various red flags that were staring me in the face from the beginning. Now that I'm taking things a bit slower, I'm still getting a lot done, but I'm more careful about it. I do better work, I eat better (and a LOT less - but I think that's more the onset of spring than anything else), and I'm a lot happier with the friendships I've been able to nurture and the clients that are coming to the zen kitchen. And I've finally gone under 200 again - which means that 10 pounds has said goodbye to me.

So I like it. And I'm going to keep doing it.

On Self-Improvement

This is the beginning of a poem or a story, I know it:

There's only so long you can go on a self-improvement bender before you start to believe that you're hideously, irreparably broken.

This thought came to me about a week ago, after going through a Ladies Who Launch Incubator, reading book after article after book about how to Fix That Which Ails Me, and agreeing to do a six-week service trade with a professional coach because that's just how messed up I was feeling. In every possible way, I was convincing myself that I was broken beyond reason, only to read more and convince myself that I was even more broken then I am. Finally, towards the end of a Human Awareness Institute meeting I was convinced to attend by a relatively new friend, I had a breakthrough. The facilitator asked if I would be joining them for the upcoming workshop they were holding, and I was finally able to say, "Actually, I really don't think it's the right time for me to do that."

I'm done "fixing" myself. While positive change does need to happen, it also IS happening, and I need to step back and accept that instead of constantly trying every new thing presented to me that seems like it might turn my life around.