Today is an absolutely perfect fall day here in Atlanta. I’m sitting out on the back deck trying to convince my cat that no, when you’re three stories up it’s just not the perfect time to jump up on the safety railing watching squirrels play, enjoying the breeze, and noticing the start of the leaves changing. So location-wise, I’m not having mass amounts of FOMO….

But all that said, life has been especially tough for the past few months. My beautiful mother passed away following a long illness, I had to move house through the thick of it, and one of my freelancing opportunities came to a natural, if unexpected, close, which kicked up a lot of financial anxiety.

Most days I wasn’t exactly sure how I would make it through everything, but that’s exactly why this blog is important to me. When things feel out of control or the bottom drops out, is there a way to trick our brains into giving us a moment of peace? I keep coming back to the study I talk about on my About page, that suggests that vacation planning can significantly boost your happiness.

I’m not saying it magically makes everything OK when the going gets tough, but it’s at least a tool to add to your belt. For me, writing here combined with doing something active each day (usually yoga), finding ways to practice gratitude, sending compassion to people who are experiencing their own troubles, and accepting support from my amazing family and friends have all helped me enormously.

And so I’ll keep writing here for as long as I can, in the hopes that I can help us all breathe for a moment, make our day a little easier — who knows, maybe even laugh! — so that we can get through life on our terms, not our fear’s terms.

Much love to you all,
Lauren