Finding Our Zen

How we decided what's most important and what that means for our daily lives

Katie's First Act

It's pretty unusual for a fourteen year old to know exactly what she wants to do with her life, but that was the case for me. I had always loved writing stories and reading was my favorite pastime, so it was natural for me to decide early on that I would be an English teacher. I'm a person of many interests, but storytelling and language have always been an anchor.

For most of my career as a high school English, Journalism, & Broadcasting teacher, I adored what I did. I loved the kids, I loved my colleagues, and I looked forward to going to work every day. I coached extra teams and mentored younger colleagues, I planned field trips and chaperoned every prom. I loved it all.

Until I didn't.

Teaching a journalism class in 2015.

The Unexpected Zen

When the stars aligned - rapidly and unexpectedly, mind you - for me to make my exit from public education, I had no idea how much more balanced and peaceful my life was about to become. I took a remote job that still has teaching at it's core, but it's worlds away from what I was doing in the classroom. Suddenly I had the bandwidth at the end of the workday to think about how I really wanted to spend my time (not to mention the fact that I can work my household tasks into nooks and crannies of my day!).

Just a few months before making that switch, Aaron made a career move, too - one that allowed him to experience more appreciation & satisfaction in his work life than he had in quite a while.

Somehow, almost out of nowhere, we'd both finally found that elusive unicorn called work-life balance. Talk about zen.

It's the Little Things

So does that mean we now live stress free lives? Of course not! But it does mean that we figured out that work stress doesn't have to dominate our lives. (Okay, to be fair... Aaron knew that long before I did, but he finally found the job to match those beliefs!)

So now for us, finding zen on a daily basis means enjoying the calm, joyful lives we're cultivating together. And that looks like a lot of small things...

Driving out to the lake to take our dogs swimming.

Walking through the woods on a familiar trail.

Slowing down to make air-popped popcorn and melt real butter to enjoy while watching one of our favorite movies or shows (no phones or crafts allowed so we can simply be in the moment together).

Building a raised garden bed together out of old pallets.

Going for a drive with no particular destination and running into a farmer's market or discovering a local historical spot we didn't know about.

It's A Choice

Choosing to say no to overly-stressful lives is pretty hard these days. And we are certainly not perfect at it! But we believe there is joy, magic, and beauty everywhere you look. It's just a matter of tuning in to the world around you, taking a long deep box breath or two, and being open to what the world has to offer.

So how do you like to find your zen? Leave us a comment or drop us an email. We'd love to hear from you!

And remember, if you'd like some help capturing the magic of your every day, CLICK HERE to contact us to book a photo session, make a reservation for holiday card services, or inquire about bespoke memory books and calendars. We can't wait to help you add a little Zen to your lives!

-Katie