31 Inspirations @ 31

Yesterday, I was blessed to celebrate yet another year on this earth, and what a year it’s been!!

So many incredible things have happened in my life that I would have never imagined a year ago.

I set an intention at the beginning of the year to feel these Radiant, Clarity, Flowing, Connected, and Worthy and I’ve been feeling all of them in BIG ways!

From the WELCOA award and San Diego trip to the birth of our niece and countless opportunities to speak to, present and teach at the local, regional and national level, I’ve felt radiant and have been “in the zone,” doing what I love.

I’ve met several inspiring and passionate people who are making a big difference in the field of health and well-being, including Dan Buettner, Dr. David Katz, Tom Rath and the Food Babe. Connecting to these people and others, like my CNE community, has been so energizing.

Everything that has happened this year has brought me closer to realizing that I’m “enough” or “worth it,” feelings I’ve struggled with my whole life.

I was reminded of this the night before my birthday when Bill surprised me with a garden in our backyard (and a cute little RNK Rachel’s Nourishing Kitchen sign!).

As someone who is known for killing plants and not being able to keep anything alive, I’m hopeful that having an actual garden will turn things around!

Inspired by my friend, Jessica, I now take off on my birthday and do exactly what I want to do, spending the day at my favorite place – Belvedere Square.

I worked out at the gym in the morning (awesome, high energy class with Angel!) and then grabbed a juice at Plantbar.

I ran into my friend Celeste and made a new friend, Monyka, who is another woman driven to do big, meaningful things in Baltimore.

I had lunch with Lola, who I’ve known for almost a decade but whose Nia classes I just started taking a few months ago. I LOVE Nia! The best way I can describe it is judgment-free joyful movement 🙂

She was kind enough to treat me to a yummy lunch and give me this flower as a gift!

In it was a note and one of her signature phrases:

“Do it with passion, or don’t do it at all!” 

Yes!

After lunch, I went to my favorite chocolate place – Pure Chocolate by Jinji – and got a little goodie bag of chocolate treats, including one of these black raspberry lemon thyme chocolates.

One thing I noticed is that raspberries were everywhere.

They’ve always been my favorite fruit, so I felt particularly special to have them in everything from my salad to my tea to my chocolate 🙂

It’s so neat when fun things like that happen, isn’t it?

My sister-in-law, Layne, brought her two cutie pie kiddos to visit me a little while later (adorable!). We wandered around the market, a mesmerizing place to explore for a 2-year-old!

I spent the rest of the afternoon writing this post before Bill took me out to dinner at Great Sage.

I wouldn’t have changed a thing.

I was energized and inspired by all of the people I physically spent time with and all of the texts, phone calls, emails and Facebook messages people took the time to send.

I felt so abundantly loved!

Last year, as I reflected on turning 30, I wrote this blog post about my 30 Truths at 30.

Since then, I’ve learned even more from all of the amazing teachers and experiences in my life and the books I’ve read.

So, another year later, after taking time reflect about what inspired me most over the past year, here are my 31 Inspirations at 31 that have shaped my thinking and influenced my “doing.”

I hope they speak to you, too 🙂