Kimberly Wilson's Blog, page 109
December 24, 2015
Tranquilosophy: Be Kind
Week 51: Be Kind
I was in New York City hauling my overstuffed luggage up and down the subway stairs. After a week-long workshop, I headed to Central Park for a little sunshine before boarding the bus back to DC. Unfortunately that meant multiple staircases with a heavy load in sweltering August heat.
The two times I needed assistance crawling up the stairs, a kind soul would grab the other end of the bag and help me to the street. I didn’t ask. Someone paused, noticed my struggle, and offered a hand.
It was two summers ago and I still remember that gesture with gratitude. Kindness. Although kindness seems like a basic concept, I looked up the definition to see its official description: benevolence, a desire to do good to others, considerate, or helpful.
Every day we are granted numerous opportunities to be kind or not so kind.
Read the rest of this piece by signing up for Love Notes. Already signed up? Unlock Tranquil Treasures and click on the 52 Weeks tab.
52 Weeks of Tranquility
This complimentary program is designed to help us stay motivated and engaged in 2015. One week to go!
To find support and community, join our private Facebook group and use hashtag #52weekstranquility to create additional online connections.
Watch for the release of the 52 Weeks of Tranquility Journal with all 52 inspiring essays accompanied by a lined blank page to capture your experience PLUS a few bonus essays and Savvy Sources late December.
Connect live in our Tranquilosophy Seasonal podcasts. Our next one is New Year, New You on Thursday, January 7, 2016.
Can’t join us live? Recordings are available.
The post Tranquilosophy: Be Kind appeared first on Kimberly Wilson.
December 21, 2015
Tranquility du Jour #359: Artistic Activism
An interview with Dana Ellyn on Artistic Activism. Hear her transition from suburban wife to full-time artist, advice to aspiring artists, peek into her exhibit Speciesism, and learn the art history-inspired story behind my new pig painting.
Direct download: Tranquility du Jour #359: Artistic Activism
Featured Guest
Dana Ellyn is a DC resident and full-time painter who lives and paints in her studio in a subsidized artist housing unit in downtown Washington DC. Ellyn committed herself to full-time status in 2002 when she decided to leave her corporate job and pursue painting. Her work is exemplified by a risk-taking vision, strong content, and colorful critiques of social norms.
Ellyn’s style sits on the fence between social realism and expressionism. Having spent her childhood and college years honing her skills and striving to be technically correct, during the past 12 years she has tasked herself with unlearning those restrictive habits. Ellyn strives to infuse more emotion and meaning in to each new painting she creates.
Ellyn’s paintings have stories to tell and opinions to profess. She delivers hard slaps to myths of all kinds – from religion, to politics to what it means to be a woman. Ellyn’s goal is to employ humor when holding a subject up to her artistic scrutiny. But, humor is as subjective as art and Ellyn’s brand of humor has tended to be a polarizing factor in her art. Love it or hate it, she definitely starts a dialogue.
From childhood until about the age of 30, Ellyn was quiet and reserved. She has now found her voice and she is making up for lost time.
Click to view slideshow.
Savvy Sources
Website: danaellyn.com
New Year, New You Seasonal Podcast
Sign up for weekly Love Notes and access Tranquil Treasures
Podcast app: Tranquility du Jour iPhone and Android
Upcoming Events
Mini Retreat in DC: December 31
2016
Art + Asana in Costa Rica: February 13-20
8-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction in DC: Starts February 26
Art + Yoga in West Virginia: May 13-15
Penning in Paris: June 6-10
Art + Asana in Tuscany: October 8-15
Writing in the Woods: October 28-30
Stay Connected
New to Tranquility du Jour? Peruse my FAQs.
Tranquility University E-courses.
Read along on Goodreads.
Connect on Facebook.
Follow on Twitter.
Pin along on Pinterest.
Eye candy on Instagram.
Browse my books.
Read about my passion for animals.
Pen a review on iTunes.
Techy
To listen, click on the player at the top of the post or click here to listen to older episodes.
New to podcasting? Get more info at Podcast 411.
Do you have iTunes? Click here and subscribe to the podcast to get the latest episode as released.
Get the Tranquility du Jour apps to get the podcast automagically on iOS or Android.
The post Tranquility du Jour #359: Artistic Activism appeared first on Kimberly Wilson.
December 20, 2015
YOUR 52 Weeks of Tranquility Story
I’m putting the finishing touches on the 52 Weeks of Tranquility Journal and would LOVE to include a few stories on how this program has affected you in 2015.
Here’s a snippet from one reader:
This year, I followed Kimberly’s 52 Weeks of Tranquility. Each week I eagerly awaited the new post, and if I was busy, I saved it. I wanted to allow time to read and reflect on what she had to say, suggest, or offer as inspiration. Time and time again, I was amazed to find that the weekly topic aligned with something going on in my own life. How in the world did she know I needed to think about being present? Or that it was time to take a look at the food I eat? Who told Kimberly that I needed help creating a morning/evening routine? Gracious, does everyone know that I need to up my greens and work on my style?
If you’re willing to pen a 200-350-word piece on how 52 Weeks of Tranquility has impacted YOU, I’d be over the moon to receive it. Please pass it along to me by Tuesday, December 22 10amET.
Your stories mean the world to me and I’d be honored to receive them. Bisous. x
The post YOUR 52 Weeks of Tranquility Story appeared first on Kimberly Wilson.
December 19, 2015
Week in Reveiw {Pics + Links}
Bonjour
I’m noshing on cubes of baked sweet potato topped with rosemary and sipping tea this chilly Saturday evening. Next stop, volunteer shift at Hospice.
Before I dash I wanted to share a peek into the week—loved brunch and Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington performance with a girlfriend, hosted the Tranquil Space team holiday fête at The Darlington House, chose generous beta readers for the 52 Weeks of Tranquility Journal, zoomed around town on my bike, took yoga classes, interviewed management candidates, met with clients at The Women’s Center, saw Jesse Marchant perform at DC9, enjoyed six new teacher auditions, introduced Mookie to Santa {he’s a believer}, and had tea with a girlfriend while chatting creativity.
Wishing each of you a beautiful, beautiful weekend. May the spirit of the season ignite a spark within. Pay deep attention to what’s brewing as we softly transition to a new season {hello winter} and a brand new year {hello 2016}. Bisous. x
A Peek into the Week
Gold accessories
Post-Tranquil Space team holiday party
Me + Tim at the holiday party
Our team
Family photo
Our sweet boy
Sparking vino at concert
Savvy Sources
Your iPhone is ruining your posture
12 festive vegan holiday cookies
The unexpected freedom of being single at 41
Anthropologie’s Spotify holiday playlist
5 productivity tips
The secret to Didion’s craft
Orwell’s 11 golden rules on the perfect cup of tea
How to keep a visual diary
Perfect macha tea latte
Last minute DIY gifts
How to find your voice
Weekend Wish List
Serve at Hospice
Savor teacher auditions
Productive meetings
Edit
Write
Eat coconut cake
Wrap packages
Et toi? What’s on your weekend wish list? May it be merry! x
The post Week in Reveiw {Pics + Links} appeared first on Kimberly Wilson.
December 17, 2015
Tranquilosophy: Hollydaze
Week 50: Hollydaze
Despite the festivities, garland, and twinkle lights, the holidays can feel a bit, well, less than tranquil. To combat the chaos, I’ve adjusted my expectations and output over the years.
No more holiday cards. No more cross-country travel. No more piles of gifts. No more trying to squeeze it all in. No more guilt. Simplicity has become my motto. The space between Christmas and New Year’s Day is my rejuvenating reset button.
Our new tradition: teach yoga on Christmas eve, head to Tim’s cabin in West Virginia, take in a movie and Chinese on Christmas Day, roll out the sofa bed in front of a never-ending fire, stay on said sofa bed to read, watch documentaries, and nap. Rinse and repeat for a few days.
While this may not be your cuppa tea, I encourage you to reflect on what would be your ideal holiday. Time alone. Time surrounded by family. Travel. Staying home. Big meals. Takeout. Candlelight service. Watch Santa’s travel on TV. Big parties. A table for two. The ways to celebrate are endless and shift as we do.
Over the years I’ve dabbled with ways to keep the hollydaze feeling more tranquil inside and out. While this list is not comprehensive, the suggestions are tried and true. My hope is that they’ll offer you a touch of tranquility.
Read the rest of this piece by signing up for Love Notes. Already signed up? Unlock Tranquil Treasures and click on the 52 Weeks tab.
52 Weeks of Tranquility
This complimentary program is designed to help us stay motivated and engaged in 2015. Two weeks to go!
To find support and community, join our private Facebook group and use hashtag #52weekstranquility to create additional online connections.
Watch for the release of the 52 Weeks of Tranquility Journal with all 52 inspiring essays accompanied by a lined blank page to capture your experience PLUS a few bonus essays and Savvy Sources late December.
Connect live in our Tranquilosophy Seasonal podcasts. Our next one is New Year, New You on Thursday, January 7, 2016.
Can’t join us live? Recordings are available.
The post Tranquilosophy: Hollydaze appeared first on Kimberly Wilson.
December 14, 2015
Tranquility du Jour #358: The Heroine’s Journey
An interview with Sara Avant Stover on The Heroine’s Journey. Learn the one thing women can do to have the biggest impact on their happiness, how Pippi Longstocking has influenced Sara, and who SHE is.
Direct download: Tranquility du Jour #358: The Heroine’s Journey
Featured Guest
Sara Avant Stover is a yoga and meditation teacher, bestselling author & founder of The Way of the Happy Woman®.
Sara graduated Phi Beta Kappa and summa cum laude from Columbia University’s all-women’s school, Barnard College. After a cancer scare in her early twenties, Sara moved to Thailand, where she lived for ten years and embarked on a decade-long healing and spiritual odyssey throughout Asia. She has since gone on to uplift tens of thousands of women worldwide.
A pioneer in contemporary women’s work, she’s the creator of the world’s first Women’s Yoga Teacher Training, Reversing Our “Curse,” and The SHE School. Sara has been featured in Yoga Journal, the Huffington Post, Newsweek, Natural Health, and on ABC, NBC, CBS, and more.
She currently lives in Boulder, Colorado with her fiancé, Keith Martin-Smith, and their dog Amia.
Her new book, The Book of SHE: Your Heroine’s Journey into the Heart of Feminine Power, is now available.
Savvy Sources
Website: thewayofthehappywoman.com/
Twitter: twitter.com/wayofhappywoman
Facebook: facebook.com/wayofhappywoman
Instagram: instagram.com/thewayofthehappywoman/
Former Tranquility du Jour podcasts with Sara #169 and #219
Join the complimentary 52 Weeks of Tranquility Program
New Year, New You Seasonal Podcast
Winter’s online book club pick: TBD
Sign up for weekly Love Notes and access Tranquil Treasures
Podcast app: Tranquility du Jour iPhone and Android
Upcoming Events
Mini Retreat in DC: December 31
2016
Art + Asana in Costa Rica: February 13-20
8-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction in DC: Starts February 26
Art + Yoga in West Virginia: May 13-15
Penning in Paris: June 6-10
Art + Asana in Tuscany: October 8-15
Writing in the Woods: October 28-30
Stay Connected
New to Tranquility du Jour? Peruse my FAQs.
Tranquility University E-courses.
Read along on Goodreads.
Connect on Facebook.
Follow on Twitter.
Pin along on Pinterest.
Eye candy on Instagram.
Browse my books.
Read about my passion for animals.
Pen a review on iTunes.
Techy
To listen, click on the player at the top of the post or click here to listen to older episodes.
New to podcasting? Get more info at Podcast 411.
Do you have iTunes? Click here and subscribe to the podcast to get the latest episode as released.
Get the Tranquility du Jour apps to get the podcast automagically on iOS or Android.
The post Tranquility du Jour #358: The Heroine’s Journey appeared first on Kimberly Wilson.
December 12, 2015
Seeking Beta Readers: 52 Weeks of Tranquility Journal
Since January I’ve written 24,000 words, spent over 200 hours of writing, and poured passion into the weekly release of the 52 Weeks of Tranquility program. This year hundreds joined the private Facebook group from far and wide to connect, share stories, and gain weekly inspiration on living with more tranquility.
To tie a pretty pink bow around the program, late December I’m releasing the 52 Weeks of Tranquility Journal filled with all original 52 inspiring essays, edited and enhanced. Each essay is accompanied by a lined blank page to capture readers’ experience around the week’s message. In addition, there’s a few bonus essays and Savvy Sources.
I’m in the final editing stage and seeking beta readers. If you’d like to be considered, please email me noting why you’re interested and your editing experience by noon ET Monday, December 14. Special priority will be given to former and much beloved beta readers. As a thank you, each chosen beta reader will receive the finalized PDF and heaps of gratitude.
Thank you for considering and participating over the year. Bisous. x
The post Seeking Beta Readers: 52 Weeks of Tranquility Journal appeared first on Kimberly Wilson.
Week in Review {Pics + Links}
Bonjour
I’m sitting in front of the computer with a pot of Tranquility Tea, purring cat on my lap, and sleeping dog to my right. There are a few hours before I head to my volunteer shift at Hospice, so I’m carefully contemplating the best use of time with competing priorities. So, of course, I decided to pen my Week in Review!
This week was filled with teaching, seeing clients, releasing Tranquility Tea, sharing an online Gift Guide of various useful/consumable Tranquility du Jour offerings, cleaning out my studio office, interviewing new studio management candidates, finishing Safekeeping by Abigail Thomas (recommended by my writing teacher), and practicing yoga.
19 days remain in 2015, three weeks in the 52 Weeks of Tranquility program, and less than two weeks until we pack up and head into the woods for a few days of rest over the hollydaze.
Our tradition is as follows: teach yoga on Christmas eve, head to Tim’s cabin in West Virginia, take in a movie and Chinese on Christmas Day, roll out the sofa bed in front of a never-ending fire, stay on said sofa bed reading, watching documentaries, and napping. Rinse and repeat for a few days. A rejuvenating reset button.
What are your holiday traditions? May they refill your most-deserving soul. x
A Peek into This Week
Blooming tea by the fire
TranquiliT shoot: Carol + Kim in their long sleeve full skirt wrap dresses
Tranquility Tea
Yummy green smoothie
Savvy Sources
The Daily Routines of Great Writers
Do Not Despise Your Inner World
How to Survive {+ Thrive} During the Holidays
Pig Jumps from Truck on Its Way to Slaughterhouse {happy ending!}
Leonard Cohen on Creativity
Joan Didion on Grief
The Perfect Daily Routine
8 Meaningful Gifts to Support a Simple Life
Weekend Wish List
Host a festive Tranquil Space team holiday party
Serve at Hospice
Savor time with girlfriend over brunch and Gay Men’s Chorus performance
Package items to ship
Prep team gifts
Plant daffodil bulbs
Et toi? What’s on your weekend wish list? Bisous. x
The post Week in Review {Pics + Links} appeared first on Kimberly Wilson.
December 10, 2015
Tranquilosophy: Practice Yin
Week 49: Practice Yin
Come to a challenging seated yoga pose like pigeon, double pigeon, or a deep lunge with the back knee dropped. Hold for three to five minutes and breathe.
Welcome to the juicy world of yin yoga. Yin is based in Chinese medicine and touted to have a similar effect to acupuncture—sans needles.
Energy flows through invisible pathways called meridians. During an acupuncture session, needles are inserted into meridians to allow blocked energy to flow.
Yin poses stimulate a certain meridian and stretch the connective tissue while a typical yoga class stretches muscle. It’s a yummy, slow, quiet practice that helps counter a go, go, go pace with an infusion of nurturing and intense stretching.
Butterfly is my go-to yin pose and featured in the above photo. It works wonders to stretch the lower back and stimulate the kidney meridian—considered critical to fluid energy flow. Butterfly also helps to calm the mind and ground the spirit.
Let’s try it, shall we? Read the rest of this piece by signing up for Love Notes.
Already signed up? Unlock Tranquil Treasures and click on the 52 Weeks tab.
52 Weeks of Tranquility
This complimentary program is designed to help us stay motivated and engaged in 2015. Only 3 weeks left!
To find support and community, join our private Facebook group and use hashtag #52weekstranquility to create additional online connections.
Connect live in our Tranquilosophy Seasonal podcasts. Our next one is New Year, New You on Thursday, January 7, 2016.
Can’t join us live? Recordings are available.
The post Tranquilosophy: Practice Yin appeared first on Kimberly Wilson.
December 9, 2015
Introducing Tranquility Tea
Introducing our new organic hand-blended Tranquility Tea co-created with Plum Deluxe in Portland.
It’s a beautiful and fragrant blend of green tea, rosebuds, chamomile, lavender, and vanilla essence. This cuppa serves as a complement to big dreams, creative play, and mindful moments.
My motto for this product is slow down, sip tea, and do good. Your purchase helps support two small businesses and a portion of proceeds benefits rescued farmed animals at sanctuaries.
Preparation: Use 1 1/2 tsp per 16 oz cup. Steep with below-boiling water for 3-5 minutes. High quality bonus: Steep your tea twice for a second cup.
Available in 1 oz bags {makes 15-20 cups – double this amount if you steep twice}.
$10 includes U.S. shipping and handling
Optional add-on: Biodegradable empty tea bags with draw string for easy transport of this lovely blend. $4 for 20
The post Introducing Tranquility Tea appeared first on Kimberly Wilson.
