ZOE'S MOST SACRED PLACE (A SECRET)

Hi everyone! With my family, I am pursuing being more active, and eating smaller portions of the great healthy food that I do love to eat (a lot of:) We found that in simply walking around this secret place during lunch, both helped us digest, and be more active- to breathe, to relish in our surroundings, and simply be grateful for the love, companionship, and family we all, at some point in our lives, can take for granted. So here it is, ZOE'S MOST SACRED PLACE, with accompanying quotes to lift your day up!  

"Silence, I've come to discover, is something you can actually hear." Haruki Murakami 

Inhale the future, exhale the past. Your breathe is in the present. ALWAYS. 

"I love when conversations and energies just flow. Not forced. Not coerced. Just present."

"Don't you DARE for what one more second, surround yourself with people who are not aware of the greatness that you are." 

"I just want to have a completely adventurous, passionate, weird life." 

"What you think, you become. What you feel, you attract. What you imagine, you create." Buddha

"Every single is YOUR DAY if you claim it."

"Accept what is, let go of what was, and have faith in what will be." 

"The most important relationship you will ever have in your life is with yourself." I didn't like this picture when my sister took it, but this is a lesson I wanted to share. I AM ENOUGH. TODAY I AM IN CHARGE AND CHOOSE HAPPINESS! 

Thank you all so much for enjoying and reading my posts, it means the world to me and I so appreciate the good vibes and comments! This is a journey towards self-actualization that we are taking together-sometimes I have to remember the trials, tribulations, and worry are a part of that path towards being present. I'm getting there. Together we're getting there.

 Namaste,

Zoe

*If you enjoyed this post and others, make sure to go follow me on Twitter and on Instagram for more recipes, life-hacks, and inspiration. You rock! 

5 WAYS TO POSITIVELY IMPACT YOUR DAY

         Hello everyone! Today, I wanted to discuss with you all how to remember you. I, often, in my life, forget to take care, honor, and  respect myself: my best self, so here are 5 ways in ZOE'S HOW TO: REMEMBER YOU! 

My desk: a book Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Wolf, and a cup of tea

My beautiful breakfast: fried egg,
avocado, & Ezekiel toast 

FOOD. COOKING. BAKING. 

If you've already checked out my earlier post, you will know, I am an absolute foodie. I love everything about food, it is an experience involving all the senses. Being creative, I love trying new recipes from cookbooks; in this, I am totally and utterly engrossed in small tasks for a finished product. It allows me to be mindful of the smaller things, which in life, are truly the most important.

Tip #1: COOK SOMETHING TO MARVEL AT! 

BOOKS. ESCAPE.

I love reading, obsessed would be a better word. Books allow me to enter new world of fantasy, consider moral dilemmas, and inspires my present reality with art, language, and characters. Books have always made me world all the more richer- returning to a loved book, is returning to part of myself I might have lost temporarily in the chaos and confusion of life. 

Tip #2: READ. READ EVERYTHING AND ANYTHING. LET YOUR WORLD BE MORE COLORFUL. 

TEA. RELAXATION. 

This is the simplest thing you can implement in your day to remember to take care of you. My family loves tea, and I have drinking it since I have been a wee child. A cup of tea can relax you and lessen your chance of heart attack, carries bountiful beneficial antioxidants, and is supremely hydrating for the skin. Green tea can also contribute to weight loss. How about that? Take that ten minutes of me time, you deserve it.

Tip #3: DRINK TEA FOR ENERGY AND HEALTH! 

ART. CREATION.

        In the creation of art for fun and enjoyment, art is not hierarchy- it is for pure pleasure, complete create control of the imagination. In creating art, I remember my childhood- and let my self go, to create and innovate. Art is and has always been a form of therapy, even buying a coloring book or doodling can release harmful emotions and feelings! 

Tip #4: ART IS A FORM OF THERAPY! 

A hike up Mount Holyoke. 

EXERCISE.

Exercise is integral to my emotional, physical and spiritual well being. Whether yoga, my favorite, Zumba, cardio, BodyPump, resistance, hiking, biking, etc- I need that time to just sweat that shit out- that emotional garbage, shame, guilt- to get it out of my system to be that better person in tune with her emotions. My advice: find something you love, whether a class, working out on your own, and stick with it and TREAT IT LIKE THE SPA. This is you time- time to care and honor your beautiful self and all the wonderful things your body can do. 

Tip #5: SWEAT THAT SHIT OUT! 

WARNING. I am not perfect. I struggle just as much as the next person with finding that me time, honoring and respecting myself, & remembering that positive thoughts can shape my world into a more productive, warm and kind one. I wrote this post as a way to remind myself, as well as others, of the ways I remember I'm beautiful. At the end of the day, no matter what practices you use, self-love has to come from yourself and no one else. It is a journey I'm still on, but God I'm fighting for it. 

I love you all, if you enjoyed this post and others, make sure to go follow me on Twitter and Instagram for more inspiration, life hacks, and recipes!

Namaste,

Zoe 

HOMEGROWN WONDERS OF THE WORLD

Hi everyone! Today I wanted to share with you one of my days. My day today was spent meandering through the beautiful gardens and meadows of a local arboretum called Willowood. This particular nature preseve I have visited since I was a wee child- it has remained a place of calm and peace amidst turbulence and confusion in my life. Here I can truly breathe, let go, listen to birds chirping away, and revel in the most natural and homegrown wonders of the world. Here are some of the photographs that I took today along with quotes that continue to aid me in times of trouble. I hope they inspire and provoke reflection.....

  

         I am done with the past, the future has plenty of room for change."

      

     "The smallest deed is better than the greatest intention." 

        "If you wait until you are ready, you'll be waiting the rest of your life."

        "The earth is what we all have in common."

                                         

             "Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair. 
 Khalil Gibran

                 "Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail." Frank Lloyd Webber

                       

                            "I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in line." John Burroughs

 

                "Come forth into the light of things. Let Nature be your teacher." William Wordsworth

                                       

        "Deep in their roots, all flowers keep the light."Theodore Roosevelt

 I hope these images inspired you like they inspire me- to move more naturally in the universe, peacefully. I love you all, wishing you a week of being respectful to yourself, love, beauty, and stability.

*If you enjoyed this post and others, make sure to go follow me on Twitter and Instagram to see more recipes, life hacks, and inspiration. 

Namaste, 

Zoe