A message from Rachel...

This past Thanksgiving holiday, I had the opportunity to spend a quiet, peaceful, and slow-paced week away with my parents and grandmother. This was… new.

My three siblings were unable to make it this year. I always anticipate their arrival around the holiday and love to hang with them and crack jokes on the couch. But, I did not see their absence as a loss.

I saw the entire week as an opportunity to reflect, refresh, and replenish. Starting with an early drive north Monday morning along I-75, hooking a westward turn onto I-10 passing through Tallahassee and Pensacola, Florida to the beautiful Orange Beach, Alabama - a peaceful haven nestled on the southwest border of the state and along the Gulf Coast.

Our suite was located on the 15th floor where the 24-hour views of the sky, ocean, and sandy shore transitioned into beautiful color tones as if on an artist's paint palette. The suite’s patio looked directly out to the Gulf waters and for 3 cycles a day, morning, noon, and evening, I was compelled to sit and watch the view for nothing less than an hour. A  refreshing breeze in the morning and evening, and the people-watching that entertained me in the afternoon, all made for a great opportunity to reflect, refresh and replenish.

The end of the year does not always bring the feeling of recharge and renewal. But perspective is what counts and the decision to invest and to take part in what you need as fuel to continue moving forward is what’s important. 

Here’s what I chose to reflect on, refresh in, and become replenished while away with family and securing some quality rest and quiet on the water:

Reflect: I am grateful for the year I have been able to experience. From month to month, life has been happening. But in the “happening”, I’m glad I took notes (figuratively and literally). Notes I can now reflect upon, and continue to bear fruit from to become a better human being for myself and toward others. Always be grateful and learn from every circumstance of life.

Refresh: The outside air and nature’s natural ebb and flow really allowed me to refresh on choosing to dream again. That’s right! I said dream again. Sometimes life’s rhythms and routines can put us in a rut and the imagination, dreams and desires can get stifled. Seeing the endless distance of the Gulf waters reinvigorated for me the awareness to imagine and dream. I not only resurfaced some of my dreams, I verbalized them out loud and wrote them down. I sat with them for a few minutes on the patio and a fresh wave of energy and inspiration came to me to update those dreams and find ways to insert them into my reality to create a pathway for them to come alive tangibly.

Replenish: I made the decision to fill up on adequate rest, and the variations of rest that fulfill the body, mind, and soul. From investing in a good sleep pattern while on vacation, to reading a book that had been dusty for months, to cooking and sharing moments with my 83-year old grandmother in the kitchen, to taking selfies with my dad, to simply closing my eyes lying on the patio chair hearing the natural waves and splashes of the Gulf waters. Wherever the setting may be, attempt to find an outlet for rest. 

And that’s my 15-story review.

Reflect On.

Refresh On.

Replenish On.