Being a ‘Business Hippie’ and My Noteworthy Journey

This Post Was Created In Partnership With Noteworthy by Aura Cacia. All opinions are my own.      
I joke with Jason that I’m a business hippie. It’s a joke stolen from Harold and Kumar movies, but at its core it unearths two character traits of mine that are often in tension with one another. On the one hand I’m super laid back, I love to be in nature, I often run around bare-foot, I believe (deeply) in peace, love and the healing power of plants —I mean, I am from Berkeley for goodness sake. But at the other end of the spectrum, I’m also an entrepreneur that’s extremely goal-oriented and driven. I can be materialistic. I like nice things. I can’t wait until I can afford to ride first-class on airplanes. My job comes with a (very) healthy dose of stress, long hours in front of a computer, and sometimes, a decidedly non-hippie lifestyle.  The tension between the business side of me and the hippie side of me has led to some pretty great stuff (like the Jungalow, and my books) — but the challenge for me lies in how I find balance and react to the omnipresent stress while still maintaining the laid-back lifestyle that fits who I am and how I wanna be.  Lately I’ve found that I process that stress in physical ways — an eye twitch, constipation, or insomnia.

 

Enter Aura Cacia. Aura Cacia is a natural health and wellness brand inspired by the power of positive change. They make essential oils that are sustainably sourced from pure botanical ingredients. Their philosophy is very similar to mine. Their mission is to unlock nature’s ability to improve our well-being — and that’s on point to how I think about using plants and nature in our homes. So when I heard about Aura Cacia’s new Noteworthy natural wellness community, I was excited to join in as this seemed like the perfect opportunity to stop and hit the refresh button. Would this help to give me the impetus I needed to help relieve some of that tension I’m feeling between my hippie self and my business self?

 

Aura Cacia has developed a 21-day transformative wellness experience that I’m very excited to participate in. It’s a way of setting new intentions and reconnecting with your authentic self. While it’s an opportunity for self-reflection and mindfulness, it’s also a path that I don’t need to embark on alone. Through Noteworthy, I’m encouraged to share the journey with my friends and family, deepening (or rekindling) connections with the loved ones that naturally aid in bringing  joy, comfort and balance to my life.

 

So each day for 21 days, Noteworthy members are given a task that will help to guide us on our journey to achieve a lush and healthy life. (FYI: for the peeps that like to binge watch shows, while you can look at the theme of each day (simplicity, creativity, meditation, etc) the tasks are revealed one day at a time — a gentle reminder to take it slow.)

 As an accompaniment to my Noteworthy Journey, I’ve made the commitment to do a watercolor a day for 21 days- a creative exercise and some me-time before taking on the tasks of the day. I’m hoping that these quick watercolors will serve as a connection between my business self and my hippie self — a meditation on greater goals and aims for connection with myself, my family, my work, and my community. These watercolors don’t need to be ‘good,’ nor do they need to be for anything at all. It’s simply the act of creating as a mindful mediation — it’s about ‘taking note’ of my feelings and what I need or want for my own health and wellness.

Are there exercises in creativity or self-care that speak to you? Maybe you’ll discover something new on your Noteworthy Journey. To join us on this journey of wellness and connection, sign up here. Follow along with my journey on my IG stories and here on the blog.

This Post Was Created In Partnership With Noteworthy by Aura Cacia. All opinions are my own. Photos by J. Blakeney. 

from The Jungalow http://ift.tt/2rpcF2N