Have We Forgotten How To Just BE?

Have we forgotten how to just be?

We hear it all the time. The importance of being mindful. For being present. To enjoy the moment.

The past two years living in a pandemic have felt….well uncomfortable. Hard. Stressful. 

We have been drawn to things that will help us numb. Disconnect from the hard. To make us forget what we really are feeling.

We’ve been taught that we can muster change. We can choose joy at every moment. That we have the ability to make everyday…perfect. We’ve been fed this lie to the point that we are all living with unrealistic expectations of what our day to day life is supposed to be.

But have we forgotten to just BE?

When is the last time you allowed yourself time to sit with your thoughts? No distractions. No checking your phone. For me personally, it had been a VERY long time.

Sitting with our own thoughts sometimes feels prickly and unfamiliar. We’ve trained our brains that distraction is coping, when in reality it never allows wounds to heal or planted seeds to grow.

For Christmas, my husband gifted me with an overnight stay at a spa that is about a 45 minute drive from our home. A chance to unplug and recharge. The spa has a relaxation room filled with soft classical music, fruit infused water, rocking chairs that overlook a pool, and luxurious robes to wear all day. What more could a girl want! The main rule in the relaxation room is NO PHONES.

I didn’t think much of this rule at first. Wrapped in a cozy robe, I grabbed my cup of steaming coffee and sat in one of the creaking rocking chairs. I took a sip of my coffee and sighed a deep breath. Not even a minute went by before I subconsciously reached for my phone. But I didn’t have my phone with me. Phones aren’t allowed in the relaxation room. I also did not have a book or my planner with to distract me. I sat there listening to the soft classical music and realized I was there, alone with my own thoughts. Why did this feel so foreign? The quiet without distraction. Why did I suddenly feel uncomfortable in my own skin? I had no distractions. I just had to be.

I rocked with my coffee in the quiet, enveloped in my own thoughts for about a half an hour. It felt long. It felt difficult. But as the minutes ticked, I felt my shoulders relax. I felt the stress drain out of my jaw. I felt my short breaths become long and intentional. My body was slowly remembering how to just be. It felt like an old friend coming back and giving me a hug.

 As heavy as the world is right now, making space to hear our own thoughts may be something that makes everything just a little bit lighter. Sending anyone reading this extra encouragement in this hard world right now.

Warmly,

Jenna

Workout Playlists

Hi Friends,

Working out is a form of therapy for me. I LOVE my Peloton bike, Beachbody On Demand and going for an occasional run. I am always looking for new music to add to my workout playlists, but wanted to share some of my favorites with you!

Hype Running Playlist:

• Can’t Hold Us Down, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

• The Champion, Carrie Underwood

• Fight Night, Migos

• Freedom, Beyonce

• Give It Away, Red Hot Chilli Peppers

• Glory, The Score

• Good as Hell, Lizzo

• High Hopes, Panic! at the Disco

• Level Up, Ciara

• MIC Drop, BTS

• My Song, Know What You Did in the Dark, Fall Out Boy

• Power, Kanye West

• Raise Hell, Dorothy

• We Will Rock You, Queen

• Work It, Missy Elliot

• Make Way, Aloe Blacc

• I Am Here, Pink

• Champion, Bishop Briggs

• Raising Hell, Kesha

• Here Today, Aloe Black

• Fight Song, Rachel Platten

Country Workout Playlist:

• Aw Naw, Chris Young

• Blown Away, Carrie Underwood

• The Bull, Kip Moore

• Burning Man, Dierks Bentley

• Comin’ to Your City, Big & Rich

• Desperate Man, Eric Church

• The Fighter, Keith Urban

• Fire, Brett Elderedge

• Fire’t Up, Brantley Gilbert

• Flatliner, Cole Swindell

• God’s Country, Blake Shelton

• Move, Luke Bryan

• Night Train, Jason Aldean

• Renegade Runaway, Carrie Underwood

• Setting the World on Fire, Kenny Chesney

• Shoot Me Straight, Brothers Osborne

Christian Workout Playlist:

• Chainbreaker, Zach Williams

• Changed, Jordan Feliz

• Confidence, Sanctus Real

• Counting Every Blessing, Rend Collective

• Fear Is a Liar, Zach Williams

• Happiness, Need to Breath

• Hard Love, Need to Breath

• I Will Be Undignified, Rend Collective

• Jericho, Andrew Ripp

• Nobody, Casting Crowns

• Rescue Story, Zach Williams

• The River, Jordan Feliz

• Still Rolling Stones, Lauren Daigle

• Story I Tell, Micah Tyler

• There Was Jesus, Zach Williams & Dolly Parton

• Thrive, Casting Crowns

I hope you enjoy! On a side note….for March, I have currently have two openings for coaching clients. First come first serve by e-mailing me at JennaSchneiderCoaching@gmail.com.

Warmly,

Jenna

Our Favorite Children's Books

Hey Friends,

I had a conversation with a friend the other day about books my girls have been reading and it made me realize how excited I get when I talk about children’s literature. I wanted to share some of our favorite books, and would love to hear some of your favorites as well! Here are just a few:

Ellie’s favorites (she is currently age 10)

• Anne of Green Gables

• Rebel Girls Series

• The Family Under the Bridge

• Pollyanna

• The Little House on the Prairie Series

• Little Women

• The Secret Garden

• The One and Only Ivan

• Glimmer Girls Series

• The Borrowers

• The Never Girls

• American Girl Series

• The Wind In the Willows

• The Penderwicks Series

Annabelle (she is currently age 7) These are from when she was younger as well!

• Brambly Hedge (she loves the pictures in these books)!! This is one of my favorite series to give as a gift.

• Dasher (favorite Christmas book)

• The Treehouse Book Series (these are her current favorite)

• The Green Ember

• The Gruffalo

• To Thee I Sing

• You are all Kinds of Wonderful

• The Tree Lady

• Butterfly Park

• Rhodas Rock Hunt

• The Blessings Jar

• Elephant and Piggie Series

Sending lots of light and love for 2021 and Happy Reading!

~Jenna

dear 2020,

Dear 2020,

As we all sit with emotional vertigo, we close your pages with pain and gratitude. Pain for the losses, the numbing of minds and hearts, the barren souls emptied dry from the lack of human connection.

The yelling. All the outside yelling. So many hurt people…. who in return, hurt people.

Gratitude, that your mercies are made new every morning. That even though people have seen so much pain and hate; their souls still yearn for love, the most. Love still prevails.

For years we’ve been shouting, but you 2020, shouted louder with this very message:

Love those in your homes. Love your neighbors. Being busy does not equal success, fulfillment or love. Being present, giving gratitude, and leaning on faith…is what nourishes our souls.

So I acknowledge the pain, but flame the fire to what we call gratitude as we welcome in 2021 with guarded anticipation and relief.

I pray that 2020 was the abrasive awakening and 2021 is the healing and transformation. I pray for the day when we can all exhale again with uninhibited joy.

Sincerely,

Jenna

Where is the quiet?

There has been so much going on in our world the last few months.

It is like we are all standing in the shallow end of the beach, and then, unexpected roaring waves come crashing in without warning, causing us all collectively to find our balance and to try and navigate what is up from down.

All while still trying to maintain normalcy for our families and livelihoods. There is so much trauma being experienced by our entire world. More for some than others no doubt, but still impactful.

I recently read the book Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry. It is one of the most simplistic yet thought provoking novels I have encountered, but it made me ponder….

Where is the quiet?

We are bombarded with chaotic images and messages on a daily basis. Our brains, hearts, and nervous systems were not meant to handle the nauseating pace of information that we are being inundated with.

In the book Hannah Coulter, Berry takes us through Hannah’s life story through her eyes. It takes place on a farm and describes the changing of life seasons through love and loss, and the beauty that makes life come alive. But the underlying theme of the book, is the importance of community and connection….something that feels so distant in our lives today….

There seems to be a thickness in the air. One that takes extra energy to move about and to breath. What makes the air more breathable is the simplicity of a good conversation, watching children play amongst fireflies, or a family gathering filled with love and laughter.

Even that has limits right now.

But what if all of this is to strip away the unnecessary. What if it is to get us back to simplicity. To yearn for the quiet again, but to learn from the noise, to bring about change so that we can ALL be able to sit in the beauty of the quiet. To feel safe. To not feel like we are struggling to push through the thick air, but that the air becomes easy for us ALL to breath.

God created air for us to breath equally. It was given to the entire human race.

Let us not forget to search for the quiet. To let ourselves get uncomfortable in the quiet. To acknowledge who we are in the quiet. To let the loneliness tell us a story…

Notice the equal breaths our bodies take in.

It is in the quiet where we are meant to learn and to notice our breath.

this feels like a lot…

I woke up this morning feeling the heaviness… that we are all feeling. I want to first say, that everyone will handle the stress of this pandemic differently. The best thing we can do for others, is not to judge, but show acceptance and empathy. We also need to think of others, and how our actions will directly impact others. (A HEM…toilet paper).

When I was in graduate school for Public Health, we learned about pandemics and how a crisis, like the one we are in, affects a society…. but learning and then living in one, are two totally different entities.

When I put my public health educator hat on, I believe we all should be practically quarantining ourselves. When I put my mom hat on of a 9 and 6 year old, I think how am I going to keep my girls aways from other kids for long periods of time??! (but then I soon realize what a 1st world problem and how many others are actually suffering right now).

I found myself short with my husband tonight because of the weighted anxiety I know I am feeling from all of this. I gave him a hug and said I’m sorry…this just feels like.. a lot.

My mind keeps racing to the nurses and physicians on the front lines. That has a whole new level of……heaviness, but I am so grateful for every single one of them. My sister in law is a Respiratory Therapist, and I can only imagine what the next months will look like for her.

With all that being said, I wanted to share some POSITIVE action items we can do to stay mentally healthy with the upcoming months. YES months, not weeks.

I wanted to share the list I have made for myself, to help keep myself in check over these next few months, and hope they may help you as well.

1. Schedule a weekly or DAILY zoom session with friends. It is important that we have conversations and feel connected.

2. Limit exposure to the news and social. Stay informed and educated but put limits in on what your mind takes in.

3. Get outside everyday and exercise. Nature does wonders for everyones mental health and overall attitude.

4. Be open and honest about how you are feeling that day with family members.

5. Organize one space in your house a day. Big or small.

6. Take a break from your kids! I “homeschooled” my kids today. By 6pm, I needed a break. Take the breaks moms and dads if you can. My kids are currently downstairs watching a Nature show on Disney Plus with their dad, and I am upstairs in my bedroom with my door shut…candle burning…and classical music playing. Momma needs a reset for tomorrow.

7. GET creative every day. We all have a sense of creativeness inside ourselves. Brainstorm ideas on how you can use your creativity for good.

8. REST. The stress of our current state is A LOT. Our bodies and our minds need to find spaces of calm and rest during this period. If you’ve never meditated before, now would be a great time to start! Even a 5 minute guided meditation that you can find on You Tube can turn a mindset right around.

9. Read something that inspires you. Listen to something that inspires you.

10. Look for the good. Embrace the slow. Enjoy the conversations with your family. Learn with your kids.

11. Fuel your body with whole foods.

12. Even when everything is unknown, if you are someone that loves planning and looking forward to the future….still do it. Think about summer and all the fun things we are going to get to do as a community.

13. PRAY. I truly believe in the power of prayer and I’m praying for anyone that is reading this.

As I am just pulling together finishing my coaching website, this was not the first blog post I had intended on posting. But when life gives you lemons, you make lemonade.

I believe we will see the best in humanity in the time to come.

Sending everyone a big air hug.

XO,

Jenna

@jennaschneidercoaching