Hi,
I hope this post is finding you well and thriving.
Thank you for allowing me a few minutes of your time.
This month’s newsletter includes:
- Setting Intention and Creating Space
- Feeling Stress at work? Find Out How to ‘Stress Well’
- Recipe: Kerry’s Basil Tomato Salad
- You Make the Difference
Here, in the Northern Hemisphere, we are heading into Summer.
This year, the summer solstice falls on Friday, June 21, 2019. This event marks not only the first day of summer but it’s also the day with the most amount of daylight.
In summer, we celebrate and enjoy warm weather, longer daylight hours, vacations, being outside, relaxation, recreation, Farmer’s markets, and abundance of fruits and vegetables! Here’s wishing you a rejuvenating, restful, fun and safe summer!
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Setting Intention and Creating Space
Here we are nearly midway through 2019. What are your favorite ways to create space and help your intentions come alive?
For me, I ask myself three questions to support my purpose and passion. I use the answers to help me set my intention for a vibrant day, week, month, and year ahead.
- What am I releasing attachment to that no longer serves me?
- What am I bringing forward that serves me?
- What am I creating new?
I use the following steps to help my intentions come alive. I begin and end each day with a clear desk/workspace.
- I keep a ‘daily to-do’ list and a ‘future action’ list.
- At the beginning of the day I start with a clear desk where I work from my ‘daily to-do’ list.
- If something comes up that is a non-emergency and not on my ‘daily to-do’ list (thought, idea, new action item, etc.) it goes on my ‘future action’ list.
- At the end of the day, I sit at my desk/workspace and review my ‘daily to-do’ list. I feel the satisfaction of action items checked off! I create the next day’s list including appropriate items from my ‘future action’ list.
- In the process of creating the next day’s ‘to-do’ list, I clear my desk ready for the next day.
This ritual opens and closes each day with a clear mind, purpose and focus. I’m not walking into an area where I feel behind before I even get started, nor am I leaving unfinished business at the end of the day to worry about and possibly affect my sleep that night. It’s written down waiting for the appropriate time to act on it.
This daily ritual has created space in my life where I feel productive and accomplished. It minimizes the feeling of overwhelm, feeling like a failure, or feeling like things are never ending. It lessens the things I may have forgotten about or didn’t get done because I didn’t write them down.
A clear desk/workspace creates space to release, bring forward and create new intentions in my daily life. It’s about progress, not perfection. My days are full, not busy.
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Feeling Stress at Work? Find out How to ‘Stress Well’
Recently, I had a great honor to be interviewed for a company-wide informational blog on how to ‘Stress Well’ at work.
Pause, breathe, grab a favorite beverage, and enjoy the read.
Looming deadlines, overlapping priorities, strained relationships, staggering workloads. It’s no wonder stress at work is common – and on the rise. More than half (52%) of the workers in a Robert Half survey said they were overwhelmed at work on a daily basis, and six out of 10 reported an increase in work-related pressure in the last five years.
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Recipe: Kerry’s Basil Tomato Salad
Serves 4-6
Ingredients:
1-2 lbs mixed ripe tomatoes, different shapes, colors and types
Sea Salt
1/2 small red onion, finely sliced
Fresh ground pepper
1/4 cup basil leaves, stacked, folded and cut into small ribbons (substitute a pinch of dried oregano or any favorite)
1 teaspoon thick balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 large clove crushed garlic
1 pinch of dried chili pepper flakes (optional)
Directions:
Depending on the size of your tomatoes, slice some in half, some into quarters, and others into uneven chunks.
Put tomatoes in a colander and sprinkle them with a pinch of sea salt. Give them a toss, season again (optional) and give a couple more tosses.
Let tomatoes sit in the colander for about 15-20 minutes to let the excess juices drip out and flavors intensify. Discard the excess juice.
Place the tomatoes in a medium bowl along with the onion, black pepper, and herbs of choice. Give a good toss.
In a small covered jar or bowl – shake or whisk together the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, garlic and chili pepper (if using).
Pour dressing over tomato mixture (to taste).
Mix well and you are ready to serve either on their own or spooned over a beautiful bed of your favorite greens.
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You Make the Difference
If you are new to my newsletter or have been receiving it for a while, know that I like to keep them short – hence the 3-4 item limit (typically 3), no pictures, and minimal links to click!
If you have any thoughts, comments, and/or subject ideas for me to write about, feel free to respond directly to this email. All emails come directly to me. I look forward to hearing from you.
Along those lines, I am in the process of updating content on my website.
I am going to go out on a limb here and share in an open request that I would love to include some additional testimonials.
I believe, and am truly grateful, for the power of word-of-mouth which has allowed me the opportunity to continue to share my wellness work with you and others I meet along the journey.
So, if you have found value in my website content, newsletters, social media posts, attended classes and/or workshops with me, been a client, etc. and you would like to share a one- or two-sentence testimonial about the experience, I am most grateful.
If you are inspired to provide a testimonial, it would be really helpful to receive it by June 30. You can reply to this this newsletter email.
Thank you for being a part of this wellness community. Continue to shine brightly.
Until next time, “Mindfulness is a pause. It’s the space between reaction and response. That’s where choice lives.”
With Gratitude,
Kerry
Kerry McClure, BS, E-RYT(R), YACEP(R), NC
Board Certified in Holistic Nutrition(R)
Speaker, Author, Teacher, Mentor
www.kerrymcclure.com
Mission Statement: “Spreading the power of wellness, longevity and vibrancy to audiences everywhere”
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