Restocking the pantry
A reminder:
In some seasons of life, we use up every last item in our pantry.
Every can of beans.
Every last cup of flour.
Other seasons are for *restocking* the pantry.
Filling ourselves up again, after a season when we used every last quart of bone broth or bag of quinoa, looks like a lot of things.
Yes, it will likely look like rest.
But it will also look like filling ourselves up with:
Inspiration
Fun
Novelty
Friendship
Learning
Art
Beauty
Movement
I’ve realized that after a tough few years, then some serious energy debt repayment, I’m currently re-stocking my own pantry.
Some ways that I’m filling myself up lately include:
West Coast Swing lessons on Thursday nights (never heard of WCS? Check out: 1, 2, 3, 4. If you’re in LA, come join me!!)
Asking some people who seem cool if they want to take a walk, or chat on Zoom
Making a point of going to the library if I have a few free hours in my day
Reading more self-development books (I loved Megan Hellerer’s Directional Living)
And honestly, on a more frivolous front, I’m doing my hair more (To me, that’s attending to beauty a bit more than I’ve felt inspired to do in a while).
To me, there’s a visceral, felt-sense of my pantry filling up again. It’s related to rest, and rest is certainly an input, but rest is far from the only input.
You might consider: have you re-stocked your pantry lately? And what do you put on your “shelves”?
As always, you’ve got this.
Katie
p.s. I will also say: I don’t think that “re-stocking the pantry” precludes “cooking with your pantry items” (e.g., making things happen in the world; I’m really committing to this metaphor!). I’m certainly achieving external things, too, in this season.
But I am noticing, at least personally, a desire to turn inward a bit, have fun, and a lowered interest in achievement-oriented ambitions, in this season.
Do you notice the same, during pantry-refilling seasons?
p.p.s. If you'd like someone to see through your bullshit and give you personalized, non-nonsense guidance on how to move forward, I can't recommend life coaching enough.
I also can't recommend working with me enough. I’m a skillful, experienced coach, and there is nothing that I love more than blowing my clients minds about what’s possible for them. (I know that’s cheesy, but it’s true.)
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