Steph Langdon

Obviously I haven't been posting regularly. I have been trying to be intentional with my time, and haven't been prioritizing this. I have however been taking a mindfulness course and have been trying to start a regular meditation practice for myself (after years of planning to). More on that at a later time...  When I scrolled my google headlines this morning, I did click on and quickly scan this one from CNBC: 12 tiny meaningful ways to feel happier this holiday season, says expert: They’re better than ‘faking joy’ . With tiny things in the title, it has me hooked. I had also just finished a walk with a friend, which felt necessary and good. I do think we need these reminders to enjoy the little things, to take notice, and to not just accept a fate of being overwhelmed. One that stood out to me was to notice the positive - or neutral. As a self proclaimed realist, I've been feeling like there's a lot of negative energy around, a lot of complaints. I even reminded my...

  This summer we had the pleasure of visiting Jack London State Park near Sonoma twice. While this post isn't about our walk there, it is inspired by his (Jack's) words.  I wasn't previously aware of his life and all that he accomplished, but we were all quite impressed. One famous quote of Jack's that stuck with me (since it plays to my interests) is The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time I found this to be a great reminder to LIVE. My cancer diagnosis and treatment, that started in Spring 2023 didn't leave me with a new lease on life, but in a way left me feel mortal. A good reminder perhaps. I don't necessarily live differently. I make some slightly different food choices, I no long drink alcohol, I make sure to lift heavy weights, and go to my appointments. However, with my love of habits and mindfulness, I am reminded to actually live. So many of us are going through the...

  I recently had a birthday, so it feels timely to post on this topic. Gifting has changed in my family over the years already. My brother and I no longer exchange gifts (with our spouses either), but we do give gifts to our nephews. This year my mom suggested that we stop birthday gifts, and I was definitely on board with that; she did still send me a card though. With an increase in consumerism and disposable income, I find that we often don't know what to buy for a gift, because people already 'have everything'. Over the years this has led me to focus on asking for and giving experience/consumable gifts when I can. We do still buy things that our kids need or want, but we also try to not overdo it.  Gifts are meant to tell the person that you were thinking of them, so it's strange to think that they've become somewhat mandatory with certain holidays. We do feel that the conversations with friends have been easy and we often ask for no gifts at our children's ...