I have to honestly say I have never been more in the present moment than I am right now. I still worry about the past, about the future, about the present, but I am able to put it in the background at times…I have the luxury of muting it. I have my moments of mourning…
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Speckles of Peace
There’s a moment I can’t stop thinking about. I am driving through a new burger joint in Charleston, South Carolina. It seems pricey but smells amazing and apparently has a drool-worthy veggie burger. My hair is salty and damp. Sand falls between my toes each time my knees brush together under the steering wheel. I…
Again and Again
At times I feel jealousOf all of the peopleWho are my ageAnd are still free… Sensitive nipplesUnstretched skinNot yet softenedAnd hardenedCracked openAnd healedBy giving life to another Naive to how it isTo never be aloneIn your mind againNaive to how it isTo carry two heartbeatsWithin one body Realizing thatFor the rest of eternityYou will have…
In Between the Girl I was Yesterday and the Girl I Will Be Tomorrow
In rare moments of what I can only assume to be pure clarity, I catch glimpses of my higher self. I have seen her reflection staring back at me, twice at least. More often though, I have a moment where I see something or someone that has a trait or two of what I know,…
On Short Assignments
Anne Lammott, in “Bird by Bird”, tells us about short assignments, starting with one small bit of writing so as not to be overwhelmed. Have you heard how you can eat a whole hippo, one bite at a time? It is the same idea, but for writing, or life. Although it isn’t novel by any…
Ten Musings on an Alcohol-Free Year
In December 2022, my friends decided they were going to begin the first three months of 2023 sober. Three months, 90 days, liver cleanse, ready for spring. They inspired me to do the same. After three months, I decided to go for six, and after the six month mark I knew I needed to do…
Day Twenty-One: Celebrate
“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” ― Albert Einstein Welcome to the last of this 21-Day Journey! We were worthy before day one, and are worthy now. Hopefully we are now more intimate with our…
Day Twenty: Set Intentions
“There are no new ideas, just new ways of giving those ideas we cherish breath and power in our own living.” – Audre Lorde Intention: To embody, embrace, and LIVE IN worthiness. Intention: For no part of myself to scare me. To fall deeply in love with my life, and who I am, EVEN the…
Day Nineteen: Reflect
“Remember how far you’ve come, not just how far you have to go. You are not where you want to be, but neither are you where you used to be.” – Rick Warren Hello dear ones! You have made it to day nineteen! Whether you are completing this journey in real time or a few…
Day Eighteen: Joy
“What did you do as a child that made the hours pass like minutes? Here lies the keys to your earthly pursuits.” – Carl Jung Joy! It is supposedly what the holiday season is about, but too often we get wrapped up in the to-do’s and the stress and don’t find ourselves as easily in…
Day Seventeen: The Pursuit of Peace
“Remember, despite how open, peaceful, and loving you attempt to be, people can only meet you, as deeply as they’ve met themselves.” – Matt Kahn Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu – “May all beings everywhere be happy and free, and may the thoughts, words, and actions of my own life contribute in some way to that…
Day Sixteen: Beauty is Valid
“Beauty begins the moment you decide to be yourself.” – Coco Chanel We are in the middle of a societal revolution. We are beginning to see a shift to the celebration of all shapes, sizes, colors, and styles of people and fashion alike. Yes, there will always be traces of societal conditioning and hundreds of…
Day Fifteen: Spirituality Redefined
“You gotta walk in rooms like God sent you…” Let’s begin by immediately recognizing that the word or topic of “God” can be triggering. I still very rarely use the word God, although it has found its way back into my vocabulary as I become more comfortable with the fact that I am safe and…
Day Fourteen: Tools
“Nothing will work unless you do.” – Maya Angelou “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” – Maya Angelou Today holds a big ole list of tools in every area of growth that may pique your interest. Explore if you feel called. Remember: all areas of…
Day Thirteen: The Invitation
“Only when we are brave enough to explore the darkness will we discover the infinite power of our light.” – Brene Brown Today we talk about vulnerability. These are lessons that I have learned from a variety of avenues, the main one being “Daring Greatly” by Brene Brown (linked below). The invitation is to be…
Day Twelve: Rest and Restore
“She was an adventurer at heart, but oh how she loved drinking this tea from this mug in this chair. Oh how she loved to be home.” Often the most challenging part of caring for ourselves is learning to truly rest when we need it. Honestly, when I sit or lay down to rest, I…
Day Eleven: Limiting Beliefs
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who…
Day Ten: Who Are You When No One is Watching?
“Wherever you are, be all there.” – Jim Elliot We all have different sides of ourselves. These sides show up depending on who we are with, how comfortable we feel, our emotions, etc. Likely you have heard of the idea of wearing masks, and how we wear different “masks” depending on who we are with….
Day Nine: Cultivate and Create
“There is nothing more vulnerable than creativity.” – Brene Brown We have so many excuses for not being creative, or trying new things, or following our passions. We don’t have enough time. We are scared of judgment. We’re not “good” at it. It’s not making us money. The list goes on and on. Creativity is…
Day Eight: Nourish
“Let food be your medicine and medicine be your food.” Hippocrates, father of medicine Today, we nourish. We hydrate. We pay attention. Firstly, I must acknowledge that we don’t only nourish our physical bodies with foods, but we nourish our emotional and mental bodies with the media and information we consume every day. Choose wisely….
Day Seven: Affirmations
“Be kinder to yourself. And then let your kindness flood the world.” – Pema Chodron I actually didn’t believe in the power of affirmations until I gave birth. I knew they sounded nice and might have a little validity to them but until I used them consistently and felt into the ones that truly resonated…
Day Six: Move
“Movement creates more movement. Movement creates energy. Movement creates life!” – Michael D’aulerio Today we MOVE! Movement is literally the way to move energy and create momentum. It helps us process emotions, release toxins, and of course allows us to create a strong and healthy physical body. Movement is literally magic, especially if you listen…
Day Five: Forgive
“And now that you don’t have to be perfect, you can be good.” – John Steinbeck Today is about forgiving ourselves. As we strive to live a conscious life, we inevitably learn to some degree how important it is to forgive, and find grace in our hearts for those who hurt us. We know that…
Day Four: Inner Child
“I am loved and have always been loved and will always, always be loved. I have never been separated from this love, I have only convinced myself I was.” – Glennon Doyle Melton If you have already spent time delving into therapy or self work, chances are you have already done some “inner child work”…
Day Three: Clear Space
“The space in which we live should be for the person we are becoming now. Not for the person we were in the past.” – Marie Kondo You are worthy of a life that feels peaceful and expansive. You are worthy of a life that the universe has room to work in. Life can become…
Day Two: You Have Nothing to Prove
“Those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.” — Bernard Baruch “I have nothing to prove”, is my motto for 2024. Every moment I notice I am experiencing unworthiness, competition, jealousy, anxiety, judgment, or pressure to be anything other than who I am right in that moment, I am choosing to repeat…
Day One: Take Inventory
“Your Worth Lies Not In What You Do” – Aine Belton Welcome to 21 days of worthiness! I am going to be completing it right along with you. Disclaimer: This entire set of posts was written on the 29th and 30th of November. Usually, I would spend several hours writing and reviewing, but this is…
21 Days of Worthiness 2023 – Pre-Post
Dear Eclectic Purpose Community, On December first, I will be releasing twenty-one short posts on the blog. I am currently in process of uncovering what it means to embody, embrace, and live in my own worthiness. I am completing a 21-Day Journey revolving around worthiness. Each day could be an entire month of work in…
Radical Gratitude
I dare you to not skip this piece just because you think gratitude is overrated. If you are a “I don’t take dares” person, please at least try to refrain from rolling your eyes and going “I know, I know, we are supposed to be thankful for everything.” That used to be me, even if…
A Call to Action
When does it become your responsibility to share with the world? Immediately? Never? The intention behind Eclectic Purpose is first to share extensions of my own gifts, as I feel is my duty, to myself, and as a fellow human. To tap into parts of myself I have kept at bay or on the sidelines…
Trigger Warning : Everything.
The first (and most) of this article is not happy, or hopeful. It is the opposite. I would recommend not reading this if you are in a dark place. Or maybe read it especially if you are and don’t want to feel so alone? Just do whatever you want but protect your energy. Specifically trigger…
On Love and Being Human
Love is too big a topic to cover, even if one wrote for years on end, because it is endless, timeless, vast, unmeasurable. It is impossible to fully understand, as a human. Yet it is also so mundane, simple, and easy. Effortless, natural. It makes sense. Love is such a strange experience, perhaps due to…
On Letting Go of Identity on the Conscious Path
“At the end of the day, our many identities are going to change throughout the course of life. Nobody, no matter who you are, or how stagnant your life is, has the exact same set of labels their entire life. We come into the world as perfect, beautiful shining little balls of light. The world…
To Numb or Not to Numb?
I feel this may be one of the last posts I “publish” before this blog launches. Though it may be more than half a year until that happens. I am nervous. I am nervous to share the shameful things that I have hidden for so long. I am nervous to step more into alignment with…
On Meditation
Meditation Is Hard “Meditation practice isn’t about trying to throw ourselves away and become something better. It’s about befriending who we are already.” – Pema Chodron “I have lived with several Zen masters — all of them cats.” – Eckhart Tolle I’ve told myself for years that “meditation is hard for me”. I have some…
Living in a Historic Home with my Inner Teenager
At this very moment, I am sitting in a home that several generations before me have lived in. I have seen the records at my grandparents’ home of it being bought and sold for years and years since the 1850s. My grandmother was raised here as a child. The home is quite spacious for just…
The Importance of Cultivating Rituals
To build a life you love What do you think of when you hear the word ritual? Maybe you think of religious practices, witchcraft, traditions, or a specific order or schedule to things. When thinking about what a ritual truly is, I came across several definitions: “Rituals are ultra-specific step-by-step instructions that are easily repeatable…
There is no “how”. Just do it.
We often believe that there is a “right” and a “wrong” way to do things. Through conditioning of experience, society, school, church, family systems, etc. we are presented with examples of people doing what we plan to do at some point (or complete lack there of) and we form our own ideas about how things…
One Decade of Vegetarianism
I remember my last meat meal. It was a PF Chang’s frozen chicken dinner. I ate it in the dark living room at 9:30pm in a rental we lived in my junior year of high school. I looked at it and thought to myself, “This is my last day eating meat.” I remember a friend…
On Current Guilt
I am in pain and I don’t know how to process it. I feel like I am waking up from a dream and I don’t even know whether the dream is good or bad in the grand scheme, just that I am deeply learning from it. Most of my dreams are neither good nor bad,…
Manifestation, Witchiness, and Unpacking
An offering of unpacking… Just as when unpacking boxes in an old attic, things like this can feel tender, bringing up old emotions and memories. They can invite laughter or embarrassment, thinking about the person we used to be. Old items can feel painful, or raw, reminding us of old wounds that haven’t been opened…
On Judgment
Full disclosure, judgment is what I fear most in creating Eclectic Purpose. I am finally over the fear of “wasting time” with it because I know that it’s something I must create whether or not anyone else cares. I have been holding on to immense amounts of judgment around it. Fear based thinking? Absolutely. Imposter…
An Empowering Story of Unmedicated Birth
Trigger warning: pregnancy, abortion, birth, postpartum The day I found out I was pregnant, I went to the beach. I swam in the ocean. I worked that day, but I took these few hours to soak up the sun, the sand, and the water. On the way home I stopped at CVS in Mount Pleasant…
On Stillness and Feeling Feelings
Alternatively titled: Mom Rage…Single Mom Rage… This post may need to come with a trigger warning: anxiety, postpartum, rage A brain dump post, if you will. I have struggled with anxiety and intrusive thoughts and overall mental health issues for my entire life, so I have a lot of practice in managing them and utilizing…
Buckwheat Banana Walnut Bread
Surprising Spring Pasta
The Balloon
A true account from the perspective of Brianna Thompson. Jamey and I nearly collapsed in giggles. This wasn’t unusual for us…we had a friendship connection that came few and far between. Jamey had a younger sister, and I a younger brother. When the four of us went out we could almost pass for siblings. In…
Pinot Grigio
Trauma dump alert! Trigger warning below: childhood, self harm. This was written by Early 2020 version Bri who was growing through some things. It feels very raw and makes me want to throw up to share, but that’s part of what eclectic purpose is, a baring of the soul and all of it’s sides, pretty…
On 2019
Originally written as a social media post, but saving it here for historical reasons. On 2019… A recap and reflection: I honestly don’t even know where to begin, there are so many thoughts tangled up in my head…telling my fingers what to type all at once. So I will begin the only way I know…
Spring Pasta with Asparagus and Peas
Sweet Potato Black Bean Tacos
Banana Buckwheat Pancakes
Roasted Chickpea Gyros
5 Things They Won’t Tell You About Self-Care
Written January 2019 Self-care is a “buzzer word” in our society today. Fortunately, this has created significant amounts of awareness and conversation around topics such as mental health, body image, and self-acceptance. Unfortunately, in a sea of information full of opposing or ultra-personal viewpoints, it is easy to become overwhelmed and confused about what self-care…