A Personal Note from Michele

I've spent my whole life undecidedly dancing between two dichotomies. 

On the one hand, I crave adventure. I dream of the times I traveled abroad, sleeping in a 400 year old stone house and sitting on a seaside cliff mesmerized by the waters reflecting shades of blue. If I close my eyes, I can still taste the best fish and chips of my life at an Irish pub. I can hear the live music we stayed up late listening to and I can feel the ground beneath my feet of the hill we climbed past midnight to look at the stars...I've never seen stars quite like that. 

On the other hand, I also crave the familiar, comforting rhythm of home. I cherish the absolute joy of interacting with my kids, the music of their voices woven into the background. I love teaching my children how to cook, making bread by hand and mincing garlic with a knife on a wooden countertop. I enjoy stolen moments walking briskly in the cold night air laughing with my husband. And there's something so magical about the warm weight of a sleeping child on my breast as I listen to the sound of their breathing. 

I could never seem to reconcile the two...until I realized that maybe I didn't have to; there was so much power in simply being immersed in the present moment, without longing for past moments or future ambitions. 

Let your heart guide you to simply be. That's where the magic is. Be present with your whole self, with every physical sense turned on and tuned in to what is going on around you. Notice the sounds, the tasted the feels...and what your heart is aligned with -whatever it is for you.

Right here, right now, this is the moment to strive for, to create, and to be carried away in. 

This one beautiful life is all you have. Make it an affair to remember.