Amy Hoppock's Blog, page 8

What Have You Stopped Doing (that you use to really enjoy?)

Questions have power! 32 Questions: A Personal Quest Through Questions is my book. This is your invitation to engage with important questions to ask yourself. This week is all about Question #2 in 32 Questions: Have I Stopped doing something I used to really enjoy and need to start doing again? What did you love doing as a child? What did you do before you had kids or all the adult responsibilities that keep us so busy? What kind of things do you love to do, just for the sake of doing them? Writing, painting, hiking, cooking-it could be anything! These are important questions to ask yourself, they are questions that we sometimes forget or don’t think are important. Asking ourselves questions is an important tool for growth. What have you “stopped” doing that you use to really enjoy? Why did you stop?   Did the grown-up tasks of washing windows, folding laundry and cooking dinner distract you from writing poems, taking pictures or painting?   What if your windows had a few more streaks and you were able to create something? I love this question because it reminds us of who we are.  We are not just the roles and responsibilities of today, this year, this season of our lives.  The roles and responsibilities of today, are for a season, they will change. We are (still) the younger version of ourself who loved to wander outside, climb trees, doodle, paint or write stories.  It is so easy to define ourselves by who we are right now. This question reminds us that we are more than what this season of our life requires.  What if you took some time to do the thing that you use to enjoy? In some ways, this whole blog experiment is my answer to the question.  I have always enjoyed writing, thinking about things and putting words to those ponderings.  I stopped the practice of writing regularly in my early 20’s when I got a J-O-B. (Brene Brown talks about not doing A-R-T because she had a J-O-B.) Then I became a mama, there was not any time to write.  I probably wrote a lot in my head but there is nothing on paper, just the thoughts of a tired mama while folding the laundry.  My 2019 reading challenge is another answer to this question. I’ve always loved to read and over the past eleven years (the age of my son…) I had a hard time finding the time (and let’s face it, energy and brainpower) to read. When I challenged myself in January to read 52 books, I thought I probably would be able to do it, but I honestly didn’t know. This year has reminded me that I love to read, and I love to read fiction books too! I had basically stopped reading fiction. This year I’ve been reminded what joy a great fiction book can be. Welcoming these parts of me, back to myself, has been pure delight.  Reacquainting myself with the writer and reader in me has brought joy and alignment to the “roles and responsibilities” that this season of my life calls for. When I decided to make the time, I have found the time. (I bet the same will be true for you!) The benefits have outweighed any of the sacrifices. What have YOU stopped doing, that you use to really enjoy, that YOU could start doing again? Self-care is not selfish. Your decision to paint, volunteer, write, read, bake or hike, whatever your answer is; is a gift to yourself and to those you love. As I have developed a practice of reading and writing over the past year I’ve seen my kids become better and more enthusiastic readers and my daughter sit down to write stories and poems. What seemed for a second like a selfish choice, has become a part of our family culture and introduced my kids to new parts of their unique personalities. Asking ourselves questions is an important part of an ongoing self-care routine. Whatever your answer to the question is, can you find time to do it? Make a plan for when, where and how you’ll answer this question. Put an appointment with yourself on the calendar to do your answer to the question. Honor that commitment to read a book, draw, paint, hike, jump rope whatever brings you joy and feeds your soul. Invite a friend to join you if that helps. Give yourself permission to spend an hour doing something you enjoy, that you use to do, but stopped. It’s time well spent! We have to be braver than we think we can be,  because God is constantly calling us to be more than we are. ~Madeleine L’Engle SUGGESTED READING: Let Your Life Speak; Listening for the Voice of Vocation by Parker Palmer 32 Questions by Amy Hoppock (Follow along with your own workbook!) Enter your email to subscribe– It’s only ever used to notify you of new questions from The Art of Powering Down.

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What Does My Ideal Day, Week Year Look Like?

We just have to ASK the question, have the COURAGE to listen to our own answer, and the BRAVERY to take the action our answer requires.

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Reading Challenge- August Update

When I started this personal reading challenge in January, I was mostly hoping to find a better reading routine.  There have been so many more unexpected benefits!  One that excites me the most is a shift in the reading culture of my family.  My kids have become much more engaged and excited readers over the past few months.  When my son wasn’t golfing, he was buried in a book this summer.  My daughter recently told me that reading at night before she falls asleep “clears her brain.”  She noticed that one night when she didn’t read that she couldn’t fall asleep and she made a direct connection to the fact she skipped reading that night.  That’s a connection I’m in full support of! I was sharing this experience with an educator and I was surprised to learn that there are many studies that confirm exactly what I’ve experienced.  When moms read, kids read.  In honor of my kids’ interest in reading they both selected books they wanted me to read this month. August was an exciting month also because I reached my goal of 52 books!  I’ve been asked what I’m going to do now that I’ve reached my goal.  I’m going to keep reading.  Here’s the August rundown. We were on the road a lot in August so I wasn’t sure how much reading I would accomplish. I felt good about the reading I was able to fit in given the time and commitments I had. I stumbled on a book that is now on my top ten books ever list, so that made it a great month! The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar And Six More by Roald Dahl This was my son’s pick.  His teacher read The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar in 5th grade and he loved the story.  I read the entire book, it’s a book of seven short stories by Roald Dahl. The Henry Sugar story was for sure the best.  It’s about a spoiled rich man who learns a way to read cards and win gambling.  He comes up with an unusual and unexpected plan for the casino winnings.  It’s funny. It’s surprising. It raises a lot of questions about what is possible, what is ethical and what responsibilities we have to our self and others.  This was my first Roald Dahl book. I enjoyed it and understand why kids love his writing. The Art of Power by Thich Nhat Hanh This is the second or third book I’ve read by Thich Nhat Hanh this year.  His style is so gentle and wise. This was about power, but really personal choice.  In the description of the book, it says: “Turning the conventional understanding (of power) on its head, Thich Nhat Hanh teaches us that true power comes from within and that what we seek we already have.”  There really isn’t a better way to describe this book.  It’s a book with so much wisdom to consider and learn from. The Wishing Spell (The Land of Stories #1) by Chris Colfer My daughter asked me to read this book.  She is reading through the series (and loving it.) It’s a very clever concept.  The series is based around an idea that all the fairy tales and characters that we know (Red Riding Hood, Jack, and the Bean Stalk, etc. etc.) are true and live in a parallel land.  Two children, quite to their surprise fall into a book of stories their grandmother gave them and discover a land that is familiar and yet totally foreign.  I probably won’t read the whole series. I do however love that it has engaged my daughter and that she has found an author and series that she loves and carries with her, and of course reads before bed to “turn her brain off.” In This House of Brede by Rumer Godden This book is my favorite book of the year so far.  I know I said that about Gentleman in Moscow, but this IS.  In fact, this found a place in my top books ever list. I try and pay attention when I keep hearing about books, and this was a book that I read about on a couple of lists and even heard mentioned in a podcast.  I didn’t know what to expect when I started. It’s a fictional story of cloistered nuns in England.  It loosely follows one nun, from her successful professional career in London, through her startling transition to becoming a nun.  Not just a nun, but a cloistered nun.  Cloistered nuns commit their lives to prayer and they never leave the order and home which they join. People may visit them, but they don’t even sit in the same room. It’s an intense calling.  The book is so well written. It’s a gentle book about the relationships, trials, and joys of these women. Many reviews on Amazon mentioned it as a book that readers reread at least once a year. I don’t often read books again, this one I will. If you enjoy stories that slowly come to their fullness, thoughtful, well-written books, this one should be on your list. Lost on Planet China: The Strange and True Story of One Man’s Attempt to Understand the World’s Most Mystifying Nation, or How He Became Comfortable Eating Live Squid by J. Maarten Troost This was my first EVER Audiobook.  I checked it out from the library (who knew that was a thing?!)  One Friday in August I knew I was going to be in the car for hours. (Okay, I drove 562 miles that day, and I’m super proud of myself that I covered that many miles, half on my own and half with my son as a co-pilot.) I was looking for something that would be totally light and engaging and require nothing from me (I.E. no thinking).  This book hit all the right notes.  China is a place where I have a little history. This book transported me to my days traveling by train in China.  You haven’t really lived until you’ve traveled by hard sleeper in China. He asked so many of the same questions that I use to ask: “Why does everyone spit?”  “What happened to lines?” “What is this and do I really have to eat it?”  China is a land of contradictions, mystery and great beauty, all of this the author managed to capture. A personal note: The summer of 2019 is one that changed my life. I didn’t have space in any sense of the word (time-wise, heart-wise, etc.) to keep up here. I’m excited to pick up with reflections about questions and the power they hold for us moving forward. If you haven’t subscribed, make sure you do. I have so many great questions I’ve collected and learned from that I can’t wait to share. Thanks for holding this space for me. I’m ready to be back. – – – Amy Enter your email to subscribe– It’s only ever used to notify you of new questions from The Art of Powering Down.

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Reading Challenge 2019- July Update

I didn’t read much in July. It was a month that really knocked me out of my groove. I did read four books. I ended the month with a total of 51 books read. I just didn’t have the heart to finish my 52nd book by the end of July. I was mildly bummed, but this summer has been a journey of accepting what is. I’m a little bit reticent to share the books I read in July, it’s truly the most random mix. But I’m committed to sharing, even if it’s a little {a LOT} more random than normal. In July, I read a three-part series and a classic book on grief. I have said this before, but I love books set in or about China. The series Crazy Rich Asians has been on my radar for a while. I sort of avoided it for a while, because I wasn’t sure how I felt about the title. However, I had been on the waitlist for the books for several months at the library. In June when I was in the library I found the first book (Crazy Rich Asians) on the “Lucky Finds shelf” (The new and in-demand books that they keep on the shelf that you can check out if you happen to find them, they don’t send these ones out on holds) I excitedly started reading it and I HATED it. I couldn’t deal with an entire chapter of a wildly rich man whining (in his head) about how his closet was so shabby and didn’t compare with his friends-or the bible study group that stopped gossiping to pray they could reach their stockbrokers in time to sell stocks on a hot tip and “no one would suffer any loss” (INSERT HUGE EYE ROLL) After a few chapters I returned the book and was OVER the entire series. A few weeks later I ran into someone who was reading the book and we started talking. I told her I wasn’t into it and she suggested that it’s a book that you do better with if you watch the movie first and THEN read the book. . . I was intrigued and thought it wouldn’t hurt to watch the movie. So back I went to the library and checked out the movie. I LOVED the movie… I watched it two or three times in the week that I had it. I was completely hooked after seeing the movie. I think the movie helped me see that in many ways the book is satire and best appreciated as a fairy-tale of sorts. I read the entire series (Crazy Rich Asians, China-Rich Girlfriend, and Rich People Problems) in July. They are over the top; the entitlement, waste and complete cluelessness are jaw-dropping. It’s awful, and I totally loved it. It was complete escapist reading and it was exactly what I needed as I walked through a difficult month. I would recommend the books. I also think it’s worth watching the movie first, I fell in love with the characters in the movie and it helped me enjoy the books more with those characters in mind. I also enjoyed reading more about the author and the real buzz and pride in the movie production and impact of the books. There is always more than meets the eye, and these books are an example of that. The other book that rounded out my reading in July was, A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis. This is a short book of C.S. Lewis’s thoughts and observations after the death of his wife Joy. I found it helpful. His questions, reflections, and realizations were familiar to me while processing the loss of a very close friend. I’m getting back into a routine of reading more after a bumpy July. SPOILER ALERT- I have reached my year goal (52 books and counting) and I’m gaining back momentum. August has been good for reading (so far) I read a book this month that made its way onto my “best books ever” list… so stay tuned next month to read about that book. Enter your email to subscribe– It’s only ever used to notify you of new questions from The Art of Powering Down.

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Reading Challenge 2019-June Update

A little note: I sat down on July 3rd to complete and publish this update, something that I’ve loved doing during the course of my personal challenge to read 52 books in 2019. While I was working on this post I received a phone call letting me know that one of my closest friends had died in a tragic accident. It’s taken me some time to be able to come back to this space. I love sharing about the books that I’m reading and Gina was a part of this conversation in my “real life” on a daily basis. Today it feels like the right time to finish this post. June started out with a rather surprising read for me. How to Be a Good Creature: A Memoir in Thirteen Animals by Sy Montgomery I was drawn to this book at a local bookstore. It was on display and I loved the cover and the title just spoke to me… how to be a good creature. It ended up being offered on a Kindle special a few days after I had noticed it in the store. I’m not an animal person, and I usually don’t love animal books. However, this was delightful. The story of the author’s friendship with an octopus is one that I continue to think about. It’s an easy, fun, whimsical, lovely read. If you are looking for a gentle, fun book this would be one to read. Books For Living by Will Schwalbe I listened to a podcast with Will Schwalbe and I really enjoyed the interview. This book is a book about books and the reading life. He writes a chapter about some of his favorite books and the lessons learned. As someone who loves books, I enjoyed his reflection on all kinds of books and how they impacted his life. You’ll notice another book I read in June was from this book. I have a few others on my reading list that came as a result of these essays. This book leaves one with the question, what books would be on my list of “books for living” and what are the lessons these books have imparted? A fun question that I will be considering more over the next few months! Becoming Odyssa: Adventures on the Appalachian Trail by Jennifer Pharr Davis Hiking the Appalachian Trail is not, and probably will never be on my list of things to do. I did enjoy Wild, by Cheryl Strayed about her solo hike on the Pacific Crest Trail. I think that’s why this book caught my eye. I enjoyed reading the author’s stories, experiences, and difficulties on the trail. Davis decided to hike the Appalachian trail after graduating from college. It was a bold move. It was fun to read about the community of hikers that develops and to learn more about “trail culture.” Again, it’s something I have zero interest in ever doing, so this book was a window into a world that I didn’t know existed. The Alice Network by Kate Quinn I really enjoyed this book. It was surprising, mysterious, and very well written. It is the story of two women, strangers and in different decades of life who find themselves trying to understand the impact of historical events in both of their lives. The Alice Network was a (real) ring of female spies that worked for Britain in World War 1. The book is a fiction book, but according to the endnotes, many of the more surprising events in the book are based on true events. This was my first book by Kate Quinn, and it won’t be my last. This was a very solid, enjoyable read. Bitten by a Camel: Leaving Church, Finding God by Kent Dobson I heard Kent Dobson on a podcast several years ago and this book has been on my “To Be Read” list since then. It wasn’t life-changing, but I did enjoy it. The one thing that I took from this book was a better, more provocative understanding of the verse in the bible about a camel going through the eye of a needle. (As is often quoted (misquoted and misunderstood?) I really enjoyed listening to Kent. I honestly wanted this book to be a bit more about his faith journey and evolution and it didn’t quite get there for me. City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert I found this book in a used book store just weeks after it was released. It felt like such a lucky find I bought it. I really enjoy Elizabeth Gilbert as an author and I realized recently (a few weeks before reading this book) that a few of her books continue to influence and impact me (I’m not thinking of Eat, Pray, Love, I am thinking of The Signature of All Things… it’s a book that is a bit about moss and EVERY time I see moss growing on the side of a rock I think about that book, and Big Magic ) I enjoyed City of Girls. It’s was fun, light-hearted, surprising and swept me into a time and space (New York City in the ’40s) that was just fun. A well-written story, a little bit racier than I usually read, but it was just so well done! What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami This book was one that I discovered in Will Schawbe’s book (Books for Living.) As a runner, I loved the application that Will shared in his book and I really enjoyed this book about the running life. It wasn’t life-changing. But it was enjoyable. Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life by Hector Garcia Puigcerver This was just okay. Honestly, a month after finishing it, I’m trying to recall what stood out to me about this book. I wanted more from this book, and can’t really recommend it since I can’t even remember what it was about! At the end of June, I had read 46 books in 2019. I’m just a few books away from my goal of 52! I’m super curious to see if I make 52 by the end of July! Stay tuned!

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What used to define you, that doesn’t anymore?

This is a growth question.  It’s a question that we can use to look back and think about the events, people, attitudes or weaknesses that for a time we let define us.   Then we can think about how we changed and be thankful for growth! What used to define you, that doesn’t anymore? Define means how you describe yourself.  Is there a way that you used to describe yourself that you don’t use anymore?   What does the change in the way that you describe yourself tell you about your growth? What does it tell you about your journey?   What does it tell you about your priorities?  “As long as we define ourselves by our pain and our problems, we will never be free of them.” -Eckhart Tolle I ran my first marathon in 2001.  Prior to training to run that 26.2 miles I had only run 2 miles (if that) at one time.  I defined myself very clearly as “not a runner.”  It wasn’t just me, my lack of athletic ability was well documented and acknowledged growing up in a small town where athletics were a major part of what defined success.  Sure I could write things that made people laugh or be recognized as a leader, but could I play basketball? (No, a definite and strong no!) It’s only been in the past couple of years that I started to define myself as a runner.  I realized after I ran my second marathon in 2016 that, someone who has run two marathons and 24 half-marathons is probably, by every definition of the word, a runner.   It is silly really, but how I let myself be defined in high school as “not an athlete” followed me and subconsciously defined me for years, even when my actions clearly showed that I was in fact (gasp!) athletic.  In 2016 when I finally owned that after running pretty consistently for the better part of 15 years, covering hundreds, probably thousands of miles, wearing out more running shoes that I can count that I AM A RUNNER, not a lot changed. BUT a few subtle things did shift. Instead of apologizing, or downplaying the practice and act of running in my life, I owned it.  The result of that was when I started calling myself and owning my “running” running became less of a chore and more of a joy.   I ran out of obligation for years. The past three years I have run most days because I am a runner and runners run. The energy of running shifted for me; from exercise for exercise sake and something that I “should do” to something that I do because it’s part of who I am and I enjoy it.   What used to define you that doesn’t define you now? There is power in the definitions that we hold.  What do you define yourself as, or not as, that you could look at? What might change for you if you change how you define or describe yourself, your skills, abilities or talents?   “Regardless, the way we define or see ourselves informs what we do and how we do it.  We define ourselves by the best that is in us, not the worst that has been done to us.”  Edward B. Lewis Enter your email to subscribe– It’s only ever used to notify you of new questions from The Art of Powering Down.

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