Every month, Hungry and I have goals. Twenty-five to be exact. They are split into five categories: Alana, Chris, Hungry & Fit, Home, Fun. Each have five goals within them. One of our fun goals this month was to do a picnic and hike at Will Rogers with Noke.
Hungry & Fit started as a personal blog before it transformed into a food & fitness blog. We used it to document our cross-country trip to find a new life in a place we’d never been, but we’ve actually kept you in the dark about a lot of our own personal projects. Recently, Hungry started a new job, however, working for one of the most impactful animal welfare organizations in the world.
If you’ve been following him on Facebook or Instagram, you’ve probably noticed a whole lot of pictures of new dogs. These are shelter dogs from the adoption center where he works. Before, he was a manager for a feral kitten rescue, but now Hungry has the opportunity to work with both dogs and cats, of all ages, breeds and conditions. We’re talking about a lot of unique personalities here.
Hooray! It’s lunch time! Or even if it’s not, hopefully you have some break throughout your day for a bite to eat and a breather. You might have five minutes, thirty minutes, or an hour. Use some of that time to nourish your body with filling, healthy food. On top of that, I’m challenging you to also nourish your soul with a lunch break meditation. The day’s event can sweep you up into a tide of stress and imbalance. Maybe you haven’t really taken a second to step back and catch your breath or allow your shoulders to lower from your ear lobes.
Whatever your day is–work or not–it’s important to take a break. And one of the most productive breaks you can take is a meditation break. It will refresh mind and body. You don’t need to sit in the middle of your office floor, legs crossed, shoes off, and be humming an ‘om.’ You just need a quiet place where you won’t be bothered for a few minutes. Maybe that’s your desk, a conference room, a table outside, even the bathroom. Find a spot. You don’t even have to be seated. If it’s loud around you and you can’t escape the sound, listen to some calming music. I have a “yoga” Spotify playlist that has some wonderfully soothing tracks (such as Home Again by Drala). Try to block out the outside noise, but don’t stress if you can’t. This will only take a few minutes, but try to give it your full attention.
Nature is always a great place to find some peace
Yesterday, we walked 17 miles just because we wanted to. It was a planned event with family and I don’t even think it was Hungry or my idea to start in the first place. Originally, it was for training purposes for my basically sister-in-law to get ready for a marathon walk, but we ended up just doing it after the event, still. It was a walk across Los Angeles. We started in Los Feliz and ended in Santa Monica. It was a journey and an adventure. We went through so many different parts of the city, experienced so many different emotions, and somehow made it until the very end. I won’t lie to you, sometimes we wanted to quit, but luckily we had a strong group, and made it to the very end. My feet are sore as I write this, but I’m very proud of our group! We all had different fitness levels, different workout regimens, and were different ages–but we completed the journey and had fun doing it!
Life is this unruly, un-tamable, do-what-it-wants wild thing. It doesn’t really care how you feel, it does what it wants. Sometimes, it is great. Life is on your side, the birds are singing, you got your flow on, and you smile at the world. And then, well, life is moody, so it changes on you in a flash (whether that’s a death, break-up, job loss, or anything else). Where once the birds that sang to you now crap on you and it’s hard not to raise a fist to the world. We’ve learned (through much failure and struggle) that we can’t control life or what happens to us (to a certain degree), but we can change how we react to the world. I love this quote by Maya Angelou:
“You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them. Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud.“
And that’s what we’re here to do today. Maybe life is treating you well, maybe you’re on life’s bad side right now, either way, it helps to spread some good energy. So let’s get going on a good vibes meditation.
Happy Valentine’s Day (or: Single Awareness Day)! To speak plainly, it doesn’t matter if you don’t have that special someone in your life. Love is not always about another person, and even when it is, it doesn’t necessarily need to be romantic. You can love your dog, or your friend, or your coworker, or yourself! Love doesn’t even need to be directed towards a being. Love can just be love. It doesn’t need to be cute or mushy or gross. Love at its barest form is pure and unabashed–without flowers or chocolates or obligations. It’s a powerful force that binds the world together (ignore the slight Star Wars reference). Let’s try just taking a moment today to focus on love and find what good it can do for you. Below is a short meditation all about love to get you in the right mindset today.
You might’ve noticed a little bit of an absence in the past week. That’s because we took a trip down to New Orleans (and around the South).
We started our journey in New Orleans
We had a lovely Christmas weekend including a special Christmas Eve and a wonderful Christmas Day. Thank you to all who made this weekend so delightful!
Tis the holidays indeed!
We are on our first of three movies on our Holiday Movie countdown! Are you getting your hygge on for the holidays? We sure are: hot cocoa, warm fairy lights, blankets on the couch, and so on. Yeah, Southern California may be getting a little confused on its seasons this year (80 degree high in December?! Come on! I want some cold weather), but there still can be a slight chill to the air and anyhow, the magic spirit of the holidays is coming alive. What better way to invite the holiday magic in than sitting down to watch your favorite holiday movies? You might recognize some of the contributors below from our previous movie braintrust. Here’s the #3 out of the Top 3 Best Holiday Movies of All Time!
Andrew (Hungry’s brother) – “Elf”
My top three will have different themes. My #3 is “Everyone of all ages.” When Elf came out, I was a big Will Ferrell fan but I did not like it. It later grew on me and has become a Christmas favorite of mine. I could watch it all year round.
