Nourished. Wow. I think that’s what we all crave right? We’d all like something to fill us, satisfy us, and leave us with that “Ahhhhhhhh…” type of contentment.
The first image that pops into my mind when I hear the word “Nourished” is one of a local restaurant. This place boasts locally-sourced menu items. The vegetables were picked right down the street and the dairy, eggs, and meat all come from nearby too. The food is so delicious. I never knew that kale and other unidentified green vegetables could actually taste good! (Like good enough to wish restaurants offered seconds!)
When I leave there I feel full, but not stuffed. And, instead of getting home and still needing to raid the bag of chocolate chips even though I’ve eaten enough calories for the week, I, instead, feel satisfied.
Why? Because my body is nourished.
Nourished. Even the word sounds nice, doesn’t it?
But, it’s hard to stay nourished. Life gets in the way. I get too busy to throw vegetables into the juicer yet alone to prepare them in any delectable way. Beyond food, I often find myself starving for more time, peace, contentedness, and quiet.
I don’t think I’m alone. It seems that most women I meet aren’t resting in that place of satisfaction either. Instead they feel malnourished as they rush from obligation to obligation–running on coffee and the peanut butter and jelly crusts pillaged from Elmo plates. A solid eight hours (in a row) of sleep would be life-changing. As would an uninterrupted conversation with another adult, a half hour alone in the gym (or anywhere for that matter), or a delicious and healthy meal (preferably cooked by someone else).
If there are easy ways to find more nourishment, please, sign me up!
Today, I’m delighted to share with you some of my thoughts about Rachel Randolph and Becky Johnson’s new book, “Nourished: A Search for Health, Happiness, and a Full Night’s Sleep.” (Just the title alone should make every woman who’s been a mom for more than ten minutes at least a little curious!) Rachel and Becky are a mother-daughter writing duo who will keep you smiling and nodding in agreement as you turn every page. In the book they cover many of the areas in which we women struggle to find some peace–be it our eating, exercising, body image, relationships, organization (or lack thereof), or are schedules. In other words: They write about all the things we stress about!
A few months ago I met Rachel Randolph on a blind (play) date. We were fixed up by a mutual mommy friend who thought we would get along just great. And, we did. The hours flew by as we chatted through everything from communicable diseases contracted at the local splash park (standard “mommy talk”) to the career struggles of up-and-coming authors. Our matchmaker did a pretty good job on that fix-up. (Thanks, Amy!)
What I learned about Rachel during our morning together is that she’s real. So, real. And, that’s what makes this book an enjoyable read. In it you’ll find the words of two transparent authors who aren’t afraid to make truthful, yet difficult, confessions for the sake of encouraging and touching their readers’ hearts.
Women of every age and season of life will enjoy this book and find some nugget of wisdom in it that applies just to them.
Maybe you’ll relate more to Rachel who’s navigating her way through her 30s with a pre-school aged son and one on the way. I loved Rachel’s confession “of a former skinny girl.”
In one of the chapters on exercise, Rachel shares how at one point in her life she had seemingly endless amounts of time to devote to running and the gym. But, after she met and married her husband, Rachel recognized her priorities would inevitably change. She and her husband talked about how real life would likely get in the way of having chiseled abs over the next decade. And, they decided that this was okay. This point is one I try to communicate to women I meet in the gym weekly.
We all need to give ourselves some grace in this arena, don’t we?
Or, maybe you’ll relate more to Becky, the mom, in a different season juggling career and grandchildren and life after fifty. In the chapters on body image, I found in Becky’s stories echoes of my own struggle. Rachel’s words offered good reminders to me of how my daughter observes my battle.
I also soaked in Becky’s confessions of clutter-collecting and over-doing it. Though I’ve always written my messiness off as part of my “creative spirit,” I appreciated reading Becky’s strategies for clearing out the excess and what a difference that made in her life. I know there is some wisdom in decluttering one’s home in order to declutter one’s mind. My (borderline neat freak) husband sincerely hopes I’ll embrace this truth someday soon.
You’ll also appreciate the tone of Nourished. Rachel and Becky don’t preach how to be like them. Instead, they share honestly from their experiences and then offer to us the strategies they’ve used to reinstate balance into their lives. We can all benefit from a friend who speaks truth and that’s exactly what these authors offer–truth for the day-to-day quest for serenity.
I hope you’ll check out this great new book and find more nourishment in this new year.
**Disclosures: I’m happy to call Rachel Randolph a friend but the opinions in this post are my own and I received no compensation for publishing this.**
[mc4wp_form]
Trackbacks/Pingbacks