I ask directions from my life and it points me in wildly different directions: 4 different jobs. Persimmon tea with a hint of lime. Doing what I’m afraid of from IRAs to teaching adults about creativity.

When I was going through a rough patch in college, my friend Annie sent me a letter. In it, she told me to lay down on the ground and listen.

Roughly five years ago, another friend from that same Chicago posse told me to lay down on the ground for five minutes a day and do nothing. That felt revolutionary, but it came from Feldenkrais.

Lately my mind is a digital mess, but I still am trying to ask directions from my life and really listen. Lately I’ve noted that my body pulls in certain ways. Yes: I want to write about wellness whether that means working for a large HMO or a parenting magazine. Yes: I want newness because my kids are growing up. Yes: I want to work at my favorite bookstore. Every part of my body said yes when I heard there was a job opening there. Working there feels revolutionary to me. When you are in a true third place that feeds peoples’ need for connection: ahh, yes: good.

What feeds you? Last night I crawled into bed at 7:30, looking for nourishment from sleep. After a day at a conference on healing from trauma that covered all the isms (racism, classism, etc etc etc), my mind was blown and tired. Today I’m rested and off to teach my writing students: a two-way creativity street. I hope you are fed in some way today, too: nachos, connection, rest. What does wellness mean to you?