How are you generous to yourself?

Take a deep breath, pinch your nose and hold your breath, we are going deeper than just buying yourself a craft beer or a pedicure after a long week at the office. The pressure to be Mary Poppins and "perfect in every way," is tough to achieve. The things on our to-do list are legion. It's only proper to finish the MBA, ensure the beach body abs are rock solid, an empty email inbox, kids in the right sports with perfect A's while being respectful and cheerful. The house and lawn remain tidy and blue birds ride on your shoulder as you whistle you way home.

I live in the DC suburbs, and the area is full of movers and shakers seeking to make a difference. The air within the beltway is thick with the requirement to perform. Those that have moved away report the need to decompress and normalize, before appreciating the new hometown. Social media only fuels the fire. I post the beautiful pictures of things that are going well, and so do my friends. The stories of failure are seemingly deleted with a touch on the screen, but the expectations of a perfect life remain. 

Our complicated lives need care in all facets, and it is not limited to more time on the treadmill. Author and businesswoman, Arianna Huffington wrote a book on the importance of sleep following a physical collapse due to exhaustion. Prayer has been a longstanding practice to recenter life's priorities and calibrate worry. The practice of meditation has exploded over the last couple of years as proponents have realized a twofer, better health and increased productivity. Consumption of soft drinks and smoking continue a downward trend indicating many are making healthier choices. The collective we, are starting to pay attention to the whole person, making these topics more widely accepted to address publicly.

What does it look like for you? What are the systems you have in place to relieve daily stress? How do you prevent yourself from getting stuck in the quagmire of perfectionism? Who watches out for you, so you don't spiral into depression when things become too much? What is a concrete step you can take to be generous to you? These answers may include doing less and not adding other things to the list of must do's. You are important and we want you around a long time. The world wants your best and that is delivered through a health body, mind and spirit. Be generous to you.

YouTube Link: How are you generous to yourself?

What are your family heirlooms?

On August 29th, 1887 the family bible was dedicated to the Woodward family and included the family tree back to 1826. Births, weddings and deaths fill the yellowing pages inside the back cover. The heirloom book waits patiently for every life to be recorded in each section. I am the current custodian and will pass it, and the responsibility, on to the next generation, when my date fills the last column. During each five-year family reunion, we look at the names and remember those that have gone before and built the family we have today.

I was blessed to be born into a family that is loving and cares for one another. Perfect, no, but the family has maintained unity over the years. The family traits include faith, a strong optimism about life and a love of each other. For others, recounting family history can be painful and the reasons, sadly, are legitimate. These wrongs may have been against an individual or a sign of the times, but they are a part of the story that we carry into the world. Heirlooms may have been lost to poverty, fire, flood or war and in some cases, reduced to a tattooed serial number on a forearm.

For good or bad, these stories are to be known and to understand the influences of how we have arrived at today. Rejoice if you have reason and start over if you don't. Today offers a choice and the opportunity to create new heirlooms and traits for the generations to come. Our history informs, but does not define our future. May today's date be found, in your penmanship, by future generations, as you create their heirlooms.

Going Further: What heirlooms will you pass onto the next generation? How do you invest in the generations that will follow you? How do you reconcile the wrongs of the past with your today? What is the greatest gift your family lineage has passed onto you? What family history question did I miss?