Summer Meditation Challenge Finished

On Failing and Celebrating Anyway

A view from our neighborhood in Lisbon on one of my many sweaty walks with Jaad

Hello lovely readers!

Welp, I think it’s safe to say this challenge kicked my butt.

But I learned a few good lessons along the way. Perhaps the most important one for me is that I need to give myself WAY. MORE. GRACE.

Rather than what I hoped for in this challenge, which was restoration and reclamation, returning to my meditation practice after two years proved to be an intense period of processing and reflection. 

But what it helped me see is that during that time, much of my own sense of self, identity, and confidence has been lost in the process of becoming a wife and mother in a new country. 

Navigating so much new terrain at once has left me spent and struggling to find my footing again.

I stumble through the cobblestone streets of Lisbon lost with a toddler in tow. I stutter and stammer as I push myself to speak Portuguese even if it’s not perfect. I show up at my son’s school parties in costume with a big pot of red beans and rice even if no one eats the red beans and rice except him.

That’s me and Jaad’s lovely teacher Charliana at his school’s end of the year party which was a Brazilian ‘Festa Junina’ theme

I keep trying day after day no matter how hard, exhausting, and lonely it feels sometimes. 

And even when I fail, I keep showing up for myself and my son anyway, and that’s the real win.

That is what this challenge helped me see.

So no matter how it shaped up for you, you should take a little moment to celebrate yourself. Because the fact that you are here is reason enough.

And if you’re up for it - share with me -  what was your win? Let me know in the comments below or by replying to this email.

Thank you so much for joining me on these pages and in this challenge.

So, what’s next? We’ll take a little break and then we’ll be back for the 20 day movement challenge that will begin on August, Monday 5. More details to come.

I hope you are having an easy Sunday wherever you are.

To celebrating our wins,

Summer