Pruning.

A dear client told me today that my blog is on her list of comforts. Sandwiched between take a bath and make lentils is read Lacy's blog. I've had this post welling up and swirling around inside for weeks and after that amazing compliment now feels like the perfect time to share. We've been working on renovating our family cabin for the last several months. Total gut job. It's a HUGE project. We are still living in the RV and are currently parked in a nearby(ish) campsite in the mountains. We thought we'd be done by now. Famous last words. Every timeline we've set along the way has been way off. I'm learning to release the need to set timelines at all. We are both itching to get on the road and at the same time feeling the importance of this grounding time sitting still in the woods.

Cliff goes to the cabin nearly everyday and I meet him on my days off. There's this one tree that we pass on the way in that always grabs my attention. It's my favorite. It's riddled with suckers and has obviously never been cared for. I watched it go from seemingly dead to covered in little white flowers and now it is full of leaves.

One day I decided instead of working on the fence or sanding cabinets that I wanted to prune this tree. It took me a little over and hour of sawing off dead limbs and cutting off suckers. With each one I said, "There, that's better. Let's free you up. How does that feel?" With every branch removed I could feel the tree breathing into this new found lightness.

As I stood back to admire my efforts I thought of all the things that I want to free up in my life. I thought of how sometimes we need to take an honest look at our "limbs" and get to work on clearing. There are times too when we need to invite a trusted someone to help remove the dead stuff that's hanging on and the suckers that are perpetuating chaos in our being.

May I give you some permission to stand back and truly survey what's in front of you so much so that you can clearly see what needs to go and what wants to stay? Here's what came up for me that particular day:

• I took "friend-ven-tory". I said each persons name that came to mind aloud and either said 'Thank you, I love you' or 'I release you, I love you.' This is a practice I do a few times a year. My goal is always to live in alignment with what feels best in the simplest way possible. The energy exchange has to be equal or it just doesn't work. Trust me, I've tried the way of forcing it. Lots.

• I thought of our marriage and how as we have been simplifying we are learning to see each other as new each day. Sometimes that is so refreshing and other times it's all caps HARD. We are learning how to give each other space living in this tiny home.

• I thought of drinking alcohol and how much I have loved calling myself a "drinker" and how it feels like it's time to let drinking go.

• And I thought of how life is so full that it goes far beyond living new chapters but living different lives all together and along the way I've been experiencing hundreds upon thousands of personal mini deaths (I mean that in the least morbid way possible). Each is part of making space for the new to enter into this human experience.

If it feels good to you consider embracing the idea of living many lives and moving through many personal deaths. Look at how that's happened in your life up to today and notice what you've learned along the way. Find the threads of your story and you just might see where they are leading you next. Experiment with your life in the most loving way possible. Change jobs. Stop eating or drinking something that is not serving you. Say goodbye to someone, reconnect with someone else. Speak intentionally. Don't say things you don't mean (especially to yourself) and when you do interrupt yourself as soon as you remember and begin again. Shake things up a bit. Give yourself permission to enjoy the ride in the joy filled times and the pure shit times. The truth is, it's all beautiful. It's life.

Get pruning. Lacy

P.s. If you need a trusted someone to help. I'm here and we are going to get dirty on this next retreat. Just like this.

To take or not to take prescription meds.

Are you taking some kind of meds to support your body and struggling to find peace over it? This has been coming up a lot lately in my inbox and coaching sessions and I want to share a few words. I got an email from a dear client that said,

"My compassion for myself has become so permissible. Maybe it is also in part to finally accepting my bipolar diagnosis, and being open to trying medication, which I previously would not consider."

And then another, "I've had PMDD for years, and I also experience really painful periods. I've always said "NO, ABSOLUTELY NOT" to birth control pills (I've never wanted to alter my natural rhythms...)... In my 20+ years of menstruation, I think I've tried every possible alternative, every possible "natural" remedy that came my way. ...So, I spent half the day crying. I felt like a failure. I've been "standing guard" and trying to protect my body from this thing called birth control for most of my life. I know it's time to try birth control. I've been terrified of saying "YES"...I've been wanting to write you since Thursday (the day I couldn't stop crying), almost one week ago. I just kept thinking that YOU would know what I could do! You would have the answers.

And then I was meditating this morning and these positive affirmations just started bursting out of me. I immediately wrote them down. I already feel a shift, and I've decided I will read those meditations every time I take a pill until I start to feel more comfortable. I still have a little over a week before my cycle aligns to start taking them, so I'm going to keep saying them over and over until then as well."

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Can you relate to one of these women? You are not alone in your struggle and your desire for health on every level. If I could give you one thing it's to remind you that you are the expert on your body! ( <----- Read that again)

I've done the dance between east and west, between pharmaceutical and holistic medicine. In my mind and my experience there is a place for both. I took the birth control pill for over a decade. I loved the pill, it's predictability and that I never had to worry about an oops baby. It served me well and when my body and spirit were ready to come off I did. I took loads of different meds to help my breathing. I loathed them. They didn't help and most actually made me feel worse. I'm sure you have similar experiences of finding some medications really helpful and others --- not so much.

Your body is always talking to you. Listen to it and respond with what feels best for you. My approach in times when I feel that I need some kind of pharmaceutical support is to take the meds to soothe the symptoms and get to work on addressing the the root of what's happening in my body. I use all of my tools (food, rest, meditation, affirmations etc) in conjunction with the drug. I'm not saying that you should pop a pill for every ill or reflex into Western thinking but I am saying that you can remove the story behind taking medications when the moment calls for it. It doesn't have to mean anything positive or negative. It's all information on this life journey and taking medications is usually temporary. I never trust a doctor that says you're going to have to take this forever. Wha? How the heck could you possibly know that about my body? Use your powerful intuition and your super smart noodle to lead you forward.

My sister, Kayla Floyd says, "Know how to care for yourself without any emotion or blame." and I think that sums it up perfectly. Take care of yourself. Do what feels best for you and release any blame, shame or guilt associated. I know that many of you want to heal with food and positive thinking. I do too. I meditate daily to stay connected with the truth of my being. To know that I am pure potential and that I can allow my body to heal itself by itself. I trust that healing is happening in every moment and that each decision I make is for my whole health. And if I wake up tomorrow with a raging bladder infection you bet your ass I'll be taking antibiotics along side my water, cranberry tablets and affirmations that I am WHOLE HEALTH! I'm hoping you feel the lightness in all of this as I'm intending (and smiling as I type). The goal here is to empower you to trust yourself!

I don't live in fear of getting sick or needing to make those kinds of decisions. I trust that all is unfolding perfectly in my life and body. I make game time decisions based on what feels best for me in that moment. We take meds way too seriously. We take most things way too seriously. Remember that things only have the meaning we attach to them. Get still, ask your body what it needs, listen and then take action.

You've got this. And if you didn't know already, YOU ARE PERFECT HEALTH!

I love you, Lacy

All About Ease

This post is less about salad and more about partnership and giving each other support + space. This morning I got up before Cliff to do my morning meditation (it's been over a month of meditating at least once a day! I actually wake up craving it. Crazy cool!) He joined me just as I was about to start listening to a second guided meditation. Perfect timing. After it was over we hugged to rub the feel good meditation energy all over each other. He made breakfast, I wrote in my journal.

Effortless ease. Post breakfast we began talking about detox and the inevitable emotions that bubble up in the process. He said he wanted to take a day to go and sit in the woods and write and meditate and think. I said 'I'll make you a salad for lunch.

The Pro's + Con's of RV Living

We've enjoyed some really lovely coverage (thank you all so much) of our RV make over lately from the Today Show, Country Living and Design Sponge. It feels like now is the perfect time to share some Pro's and Con's of our experience so far.

Togetherness + simple pleasures = RV living.

PRO's

- We've been living in our RV for nine and a half months now. We've finally stopped saying "we sold it in the garage sale" or "I think we gave that away" when trying to find something. It was a running joke early on but now makes me feel so good in knowing we truly have everything we need.

- We recently did a clean sweep and got rid of anything that we haven't touched or used since July 1, 2014. Hard to believe but we are even lighter now than when we moved in. Buh-bye hand mixer and baking sheets!

- This country is incredible and I've never loved nature more. We are spending so much time outdoors. Everything about that feels right. I've started making nature mandalas as a ritual. It reminds me of my time in Bali and it takes me back to memories of making flower soup and mud pies as a kid. I don't think I would have done that if we were still living in a traditional house.

- Practically speaking the fridge is not that small, the shower is plenty roomy, we are always home wherever we go and we never have to stop to pee!

- We eat together more, mostly prepare meals at home and togetherness is sort of our middle names now. Ned is always with us and he totally owns the place (as you can tell he is in most of our photos).

- We look forward to getting on the road as much as we do sitting still. Ned prefers the sitting still parts.

CON'S

- Anytime Cliff walks towards the cockpit or turns on the motor Ned dives under the couch. He has a really safe and comfy spot under there that we've created for him but he still gets nervous when we are on the road.

- The water is my happy place and I get exactly 8 minutes of hot water per shower. EIGHT. And that's an improvement thanks to an oxygenating shower head. It's not all bad though, when we visit new cities we go in search of Hot Springs (Ojo Calente is still our favorite).

- Cliff says if he bangs his head one more time on the low hanging cabinets the damage may become permanent. I have managed to stop laughing when it happens.

- Me time. What is that?

- The necessary evils of cleaning the composting toilet and defrosting the fridge and freezer got old fast. I currently have a bag of berries being held hostage by a giant chunk of ice that has covered the freezer opening.

- Internet connection has been an effort. I'm using my phone as a hot spot because once again we've gone over on our Jet Pack gigs. It's like the early days of cell phones when you could go over on minutes and then you'd get a surprise bill that made your stomach drop. Let's just say I could have bought an entire new capsule wardrobe for spring on what I spent paying for overage charges. All for binge watching season 1 of Outlander.

Lake Tahoe, Easter Sunday

Thanks for all your love and sweet words about the renovation and this life we've chosen. I hope that you read something here that inspires you. One of the things I'm learning over and over through this experience is that you really can have whatever you want and it's grounds for celebration to change your mind, make a U turn or go the other way. We do that a lot!

With love, Lacy (and Cliff and Ned)

You can see all our recent RV posts here. Subscribe to the blog feed here. Follow me on Instagram here. Join me on meditation retreat here.

Truest Self

What if tomorrow morning you wake up fully embodying who you are meant to be? What would that feel like? What would your body look like? How would you move through your day? All the old stories and beliefs that hold you back are gone.

There's just you. Just bliss. Truth. Possibility. Love. She's waiting for you to say YES. She's ready. If you're in goosebumps right now then join me on retreat and let's set her free in the quiet of #meditation.

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