I’m in the final days before closing on my St. Augustine home, and I forgot how truly exhausting and emotional moving can be. Amid all the boxes and decisions, I found unexpected peace through a creative project of building custom crates to protect my framed pictures. What started as a money-saving task turned into a grounding experience that reminded me how much joy and calm I find in working with my hands and being present in the moment.
In this Wise Walk, we explore how creativity can serve as a powerful grounding tool when life feels overwhelming. Whether it’s building, painting, playing music, or teaching yoga, I share how creative outlets help me stay connected to myself and centered in my environment. I invite you to reflect on what activities bring you back to yourself and offer space to breathe a little deeper.
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- What tools do you fall back on to stay grounded, present, and refueled when life feels overwhelming?
- Are you aware of the moments when you need to lean into those tools to retreat from chaos and reconnect within?
- What activities help you feel grounded, present, and connected to your body, mind, heart, and senses?
- How do those activities help you slow down and let the non-creative parts of your brain turn off?
- What experiences in your life help you switch modes, breathe deeper, and feel more centered and satisfied through your senses?
I invite you to explore the creative outlets that are calling to you. Use them to ground yourself, especially when life feels chaotic. And if you’re inspired, I’d love to hear what’s working for you, so feel free to share and send ideas my way. I’ll see you next Thursday for another Wise Walk.
In this episode:
[03:27] To save money, I decided to build a crate system to keep my pictures safe while moving.
[04:18] I really got into the project, and realized I really enjoyed working with wood. This gave me peace of mind and will make moving the pictures really easy.
[05:20] My supportive sister agreed to help me. She also got a rush of satisfaction from completing the project.
[06:33] The project and the construction made me calm and helped me be present. You can’t work with power tools and not be present.
[07:13] Creativity and creative outlets is one of my grounding tools.
[09:03] There are many psychologists and scientists that talk about the power of using creativity as a grounding tool. It promotes relaxation, triggers endorphins, and helps us be present.
[10:53] Rock climbing is another activity that helps me shut off parts of my brain. I need to be present for the next hold that I can grab safely.
[11:30] Make a list of the things that are in your toolkit that will help you express yourself creatively.
[12:01] Grounding is a way to center yourself on the most basic function. It’s being present with what you’re doing.
[13:28] Creativity and mindful movement allows us to use specific parts of our brain.
[14:03] Another way I’m grounding is by teaching yoga. When I’m teaching yoga, it feels like I’m fully present and grounded.
[15:37] I just wanted to share how impactful these creative tools have been for me during this crunch time.
Memorable Quotes:
- “Grounding is really just about tuning out the noise and tuning in to the here and now.” – Mary Tess
- “There’s something so satisfying about creating with your hands, moment by moment, and then stepping back to see what you’ve built.” – Mary Tess
- “One of the grounding tools that becomes really important for me when I’m under stress or overwhelm or exhaustion is using my creativity.” – Mary Tess
Links and Resources:
Mary Tess Rooney
Email
Facebook | LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram
Heart Value
EP251: Energy By the Minute
Sometimes things don’t go as expected. Yet, there are unexpected surprises that give us more than we imagine. This episode talks about celebrating the surprises of life.
I’m feeling extremely energized and happy this week. Why? It’s my birthday week! Yes, I completed another trip around the sun. I find myself in this new year where I get to carve out another chapter of my story. It makes me reflect on how far I came and how far I can go.
I’m here to spend quality solo time with you for EP101’s Wise Walk as we discover our True Stride. I am literally the definition of a surprise. In this episode, I share my birth story with you and how I completely surprised my parents. It’s a story my mom tells me every year during my birthday. It already holds a special meaning for me, and I felt it’s a lesson on embracing change (outside of being hilarious).
On our Wise Walk, I talk about dreams, intentions, and the chance to craft a new narrative. Come with me as we reflect on these Wise Walk questions:
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- Where in your life are you allowing for surprises to come in?
- Are you taking the time to celebrate them?
- When you think of your past, where has your life taken a detour and that detour worked out better than expected?
- As you think about your future, where can you release the expectation around how it comes to life?
There is this cosmic unknown that is influencing our paths in life. We can embrace changes as they come our way, making the most out of each moment. Embracing the moment puts us back in our power.
You have to be willing to open up to the possibilities. Don’t get too attached to the “how.” Let the universe support you. Allow the future to fluidly unfold with these Wise Walk questions:
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- Where in your life are you allowing growth and expansion to occur?
- Where are you releasing expectations and openly inviting love and new experiences into your life?
- Where have you honed in on some expectations that are potentially limiting?
- Can you release the limiting expectations?
Join this inspiring community to uncover a new sense of freedom, and be sure to follow and review the True Stride podcast as we continue to exchange our light and Heart Value with each other.
In this episode:
[00:23] – Welcome to the show!
[01:33] – Mary Tess shares why her birth was a surprise for her parents.
[03:38] – Celebrate the surprises in life.
[05:54] – You never know where life will take you.
[08:34] – Mary Tess shares a love story that surprises her. What shocked her?
[11:20] – Be open to receive good in your life.
[13:17] – Allow the future to fluidly unfold.
[15:36] – Thank you for listening!
Memorable Quotes:
- “I am taking my life chapter by chapter. And each year I’m gifted is another year I get to write the story of my dreams.” – Mary Tess
Links and Resources:
Mary Tess Rooney
Email
Facebook | LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram
Heart Value
The daily ability to self-reflect and apply what you learn or discover to your everyday life is sexy. No doubt about it. You take time to self-reflect every week with the True Stride podcast, so YOU are sexy. This episode celebrates your sexy self-reflection.
I had a chat with a friend who met a new dude and, from what I heard, it’s going well so far. When I asked what had her so jazzed about the guy she’s seeing, my friend said she likes that he’s really good at self-reflection. She thinks it’s sexy. He’s honoring who he is and presenting himself in a way that others can get to know who he is. Honestly, it’s understandable that self-reflection and self-awareness are attractive traits.
I’m here to spend quality solo time with you for EP94’s Wise Walk as we discover our True Stride. Let’s evaluate how sexy we are for taking time to self-reflect and look at what that does for us as individuals and what that does for people around us. What we say “yes” and “no” to creates space for opportunities to align with the activities, people, and experiences we want.
On our Wise Walk, I explore how self-reflection allows you to key-in on who you are and who you want to be. I also talk about how it helps you share that connection to yourself with others. Come with me as we reflect on these Wise Walk questions:
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- Do you currently take time to celebrate and honor the sexy self-reflection in you?
- How often in your life are you self-reflecting?
- Are you training your self-reflection muscle so it becomes a natural reflex?
- If you are using it regularly, how has self-reflection changed your life and your connections with others?
- Where in your life are you noticing those opportunities that you’re saying “heck yes,” or those opportunities where you’re hesitant?
- In those hesitant moments, can you give yourself the opportunity to say “no”, to make room for more “heck yes“ moments?
- With each day, can you take time to self-reflect on how experiences make you feel?
- When you feel off, can you say “no” to bring yourself back into alignment, and say “yes” to opportunities that attract more of what you want?
You are unique. We’re all unique, and we all need different things at different times. Self-reflection helps you stand in your truth so that you’re following the path that is best for you.
The time you take to be with yourself will nourish your True Stride. Celebrate and appreciate who you are and who you are becoming with these Wise Walk questions:
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- Where are you self-reflecting and listening to your body?
- Where do you notice that you need some time to recover or heal?
- How often in your life are you taking time to honor your body’s messages to yourself?
- Are you self-reflecting on the messages your body sends, and are you taking action on those messages?
- How are you adopting the cues you get from self-reflection about showing up for yourself?
- When you are asked a question, will you give yourself the space in that moment to see where your answers lead you?
- Will you see an opportunity to create an intimate connection with the person asking you the question?
- Can we vulnerably share the origins of our behaviors and beliefs so that someone else can know us on a deeper level?
Join this inspiring community to uncover a new sense of freedom, and be sure to follow and review the True Stride podcast as we continue to exchange our light and Heart Value with each other.
In this episode:
[00:23] – Welcome to the show!
[02:33] – Mary Tess talks about being connected to who you are and what you want in life.
[05:16] – Mary Tess looks at the flip side of our reaction to what gives us energy and what doesn’t.
[07:55] – Sleep is so healing and nourishing.
[10:17] – Our body gives us clues of what we need.
[11:44] – Mary Tess reflects on this particular habit she does when she goes out to eat with friends. PART 1
[14:08] – Mary Tess reflects on this particular habit she does when she goes out to eat with friends. PART 2
[17:19] – Self-reflect to give gratitude.
[19:40] – Celebrate and appreciate who you are and who you are becoming.
[21:20] – What do you need more of?
[23:00] – Thank you for listening!
Memorable Quotes:
- “If I know what I want and what I don’t want, and if I can communicate that clearly to myself and those around me, I’m going to keep attracting those people and activities that do light me up.” – Mary Tess
- “We have the opportunity to stand in our truth, to become more of who we are and who we’re meant to be, and to let other people see us shine that light on ourselves and the direction we want to go.” – Mary Tess
Links and Resources:
Mary Tess Rooney
Email
Facebook | LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram
Heart Value
