Aspire Magazine: Inspiration for a Woman's Soul.(TM) Jun/July 2019 Aspire Magazine FULL Issue | Page 56

always provides us the most empowering
examples of healing and wholeness and a
place to witness the natural process of growth
and abundance to apply to our lives. Being
the gardener of your own thriving life requires
regular sunshine, water, fertilizer, weeding,
and good companion plants.
To apply this metaphor
to your self-nurturing
practice, reflect on the
following questions:
inspiring reading, setting intention, praying,
eating nourishing food, drinking enough water,
dancing, singing, listening to music, journaling,
or affirmations. What ever those self-nurturing
practices are, identify them and commit to
including them in your day.
• What is your water?
What do you need to do a few times a week
to feel nourished and refreshed? What are
those restorative activities that help you
feel like your thirst is quenched? Perhaps it
is exercise, hiking, taking a class, listening
to a podcast, watching a TEDx talk, getting
together with a friend, practicing yoga,
playing music, or being creative. As Pamela
Metz and Jacqueline Tobin remind us in their
poem Containers, “She contains that which
nourished the world. Pouring freely, the wise
women first quenches her own thirst.”
• What is your fertilizer?
• What is the sunshine to
your thriving life?
What activities do you need to engage in every
single day to feel centered and grounded?
What self-nurturing practices give you energy,
vibrancy, and encouragement? Perhaps your
sunshine is meditation, walking in nature,
spending time with family and friends,
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What activity do you engage in only once
a month or every few months that deeply
rejuvenates you and encourages your
growth? This will be different for each of us
and may require more investment of time
or money. Some ideas include receiving a
massage or a facial, attending a concert,
participating in a retreat, traveling, exploring
a new area, attending a conference, or
taking a day off.
• What needs to be weeded
in your life?
What is no longer serving you that needs
to be weeded out of your life in order for
you to thrive? What have you allowed to