It starts early. Technically, you should’ve started mid-way through last January as last year’s resolutions started to crumble. Nonetheless, family dinner on Christmas is a great place to begin. While everyone is going around sharing life updates, you start to feel a niggling sense of inadequacy. What did you even do this year?
This is the spark.
That’s it, you resolve- next year will be different.
This month, we're exploring all things creative: looking at the relationship between meditation + brainwaves + creativity, and hosting plenty of events to flex our creative muscles. To prep us, we interviewed some of our favourite artists around town to give us some insight about how creativity shows up for them. Today, we have Alexa Mazaarello, an incredibly talented photographer, storyteller, and the creator of Body Thoughts.
At MOMENT, we are interested in connections and the practical application of mindfulness. Today, we feature an interview we did with Marie-Therese, a graduate of Harvard & Oxford university with an interest in neuroscience, racial bias, and conflict resolution. She talks about the benefits & limitations of technology in overcoming racial bias. Together, we recognize a shared commonality in practice- whether it's the practice of meditation, or the practice of empathy.
Some of what you are about to read may be hard. It may be surprising, vague, troubling and sad. But it is also true. It is also beautiful and it is, part of my story….
I remember driving home, in the rain, dark, and the roads reflective when I realized she was back. As dread filled my body, I also felt comforted by this acknowledgement. I felt the hair on my body stand on end. Not unlike a lot of relationships, this one was toxic. If not fatal.
Impostor syndrome, panic attacks, anxiety... my three daily rituals. I'm a creature of habit, what can I say?
My entire adult work life* has been plagued by anxiety: a sudden onset of sweaty palms, difficulty breathing, a racing heart beat, and the inability to think... about anything at all. A temporary experience that 100% prevents me from doing anything productive. Working in HR for a company scaling exponentially is no cake walk. Being in charge of the happiness for 300 people ("retention! engagement! culture!") carries a burden. Needless to say, a lot of the time, I'm a mess.
'But Lyndsey, you have three jobs and your Instagram indicates that you're generally pretty happy?' Why yes, dear reader, that's also a true statement. So, what gives? My three daily rituals: