What happens when you finally unwind
gentleness, strength, and a really good obsession
This week brought an unexpected lesson in gentleness — and it came from a facial, of all things. Funny how the body knows things before the mind catches up.
↓ In today’s email:
This week’s inspiration: The butterfly effect of kindness
Latest blog post: Building a body for the future
What I’m watching: My favorite HRT
This Week’s Inspiration: The Butterfly Effect of Gentleness
This week, I treated myself to a great facial, and upon receiving that gentle touch, I had no idea I was so tightly wound. As someone who cares for others — both personally and professionally — I was seemingly not as chill as I thought.
But after minute after minute passed, as an hour went by of gently rubbing, scrubbing, exfoliating, masking, steaming, massaging... I drifted into another world and emerged so relaxed and so peaceful.
And that carried into my day.
I carried on a full conversation at A Market with someone who looked vaguely familiar. I bumped into a favorite client in the parking lot and gave her a hug. And then a friend of mine, having had an impossibly terrible week, needed some TLC. I cooked for hours for her, with so much warmth.
I guess this is the butterfly effect — a tiny change in the initial stages of a system causing huge, non-linear consequences elsewhere over time.
One hour of gentleness, and suddenly the whole day unfolded differently. More open. More warm. More present.
And it became abundantly clear that we need so much more kindness in our lives. In such a coarse world, we need kindness for each other — and even more, we need kindness and grace and sweet gentleness with ourselves.
Wishing that for you as we enter a new week. Peace and blessings. May there be beauty, grace, and kindness.
Latest Blog Post
Building a Body for the Future
Having been a college athlete 30 years ago, I have mostly stayed in motion — albeit gaining 70 to 80 pounds when pregnant. Now I’m rethinking my physicality, and not for how my body looks, but for what it can do. Not just now, but for the decades to come.
In this week’s post, I’m talking about sarcopenia, osteopenia, DEXA scans, and the 20-year plan I’m building — for skiing the Dolomites, hiking Mont Blanc, and maybe even the Inca Trail. I’m starting to lay new groundwork.
Tell me — are you reconsidering your physicality now? Has it changed in recent decades? If so, how?
What I’m Watching
HBO’s Heated Rivalry — My Favorite HRT
Heated Rivalry is a 6-episode sensual saga of love, longing, and downright sexiness between two NHL players. Note* Graphic sex warning. Your children should be asleep or in a different zip code when you watch this, maybe your husband too. It is a story of star-crossed lovers who, in the context of the hyper-masculine world of hockey, may have to suppress lust and an abiding love. It is also a story of self-discovery and realization, all of it unfolding against the backdrop of consequences that friends, family, the sport of hockey, and its fans might exact on these men for “being out.”
All heart and truly, all passion, there’s no shortage of naked bodies, thoughtfully sculpted. Think Mapplethorpe — (but not his flowers.)
This hit show has become a true sensation, particularly for women of a certain age. We are LOVING it. Actually, I think the word would be we’re obsessed.
Check it out and see if it makes you feel renewed and more alive and certainly more appreciative of love, in all its forms.
Here’s to gentleness, strength, and a really good TV obsession.
Dr. Catherine
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