37 Things I have learned at 37

1. A lot of things (being a parent, marriage, travelling) look way more fun on Facebook than they are in real life.
2. There is a divine timing to your life. If you rush it or force it: you will lose. Be patient.
3. You can only ever understand your life looking back at it.
4. The more you plan a fun day off/vacation/night out, the greater the severity of illness your child will come down with.
5. Some of your best friends and family don’t know how to handle your grief. This does not mean that they love you any less.
6. Yoga is therapy for the soul. Seriously.
7. Things that can be good for you can also be bad for you (red wine, coffee, whole grains). It’s your job as you age to know the difference.
8. It’s the small, daily things that make change. Begin one small daily positive habit each month and in a year, your life will be different.
9. Meditate. Trust me on this one.
10. Post-secondary education isn’t always all it’s cracked up to be.
11. Don’t participate in tearing down other women: not their businesses, their lip injections, their weight. Gossip is a cancer among women. You either help it grow or cut it out.
12. By that same token, if a friend talks shit about everyone else, they are doing it about you. Yes- even you.
13. You deserve a clean and comforting bedroom.
14. Everything is “figureoutable” (thanks, Marie).
15. You teach people how to treat you, so lead by example.
16. It might be hard to see now, but you actually DO have all the answers inside of you. Find people to help you uncover them.
17. You’re not the only one doing or thinking that weird-ass thing you’re ashamed about. Let it go.
18. You’re only as “sick as your secrets”. Talking about it takes your power back.
19. Your body image woes have less to do with your actual body and more to do with the never-ending stream of media and social programming. For the love of God, begin to realize this.
20. Look for the friends who are cheering you on while you’re really kicking ass. Those are special people.
21. Understand that you have the power to heal or stop your destructive family cycle.
22. It’s not a good idea to get a tattoo that you picked off of the wall at the tattoo shop on Canada Day Weekend when you’re 22.
23. A 1000-piece puzzle almost always is a better idea when you’re just putting the edges of it together.
24. It is in the darkest of times that your light is revealed.
25. Love it the greatest healer of all, so don’t rule it out for yourself.
26. Don’t believe the hype: it’s actually NOT THAT HARD to meet someone. You just need to be prepared to be vulnerable.
27. A big necklace and large earrings are, in fact, too much. Except when they’re not.
28. You’ve never wasted your money if you’ve purchased a book.
29. If you toast sliced almonds, they taste so much better and make everything fancy and crunchy, while delivering a real protein punch.
30. If you think you’re drinking too much, you are. Put down the wine and go to yoga, Janice.
31. You can only take people as far as you’ve taken yourself.
32. People can only take you as far as they’ve taken themselves- choose your helpers and healers with care.
33. Everybody just wanted to be validated.
34. No matter what the behaviour, no matter how outrageous, there is a valid reason for everything if you look closely.
35. Self-compassion is the way.
36. If you REALLY want to take care of yourself, prioritize sleep.

37. This life can be hard. Realize that there is enough to go around and accept that we do, in fact, desperately need each other.