Keeping up with our rhythm of sharing our Check In Page with y’all, here’s our founder’s January reflection:

How was your first month of 2020? What have you been grateful for? What has been challenging?

“The first month of 2020 started off with being in South Africa, a place that feels like home in many ways and where my soul is restored, refreshed, and reset. I got to be there because of my other job which allows me to incorporate travel into my annual rhythm of work. South Africa has always been a life-giving place and time for me. I can often fall into a trap of needing to be productive and running at an unsustainable speed of life, at the sacrifice of rest and quality time with friends and family. South Africa’s pace of life just doesn’t allow for this type of speedy mentality. There is a high value placed on relationships and quality of relationships and time is just different. While initially can be aggravating for my go-go-go mentality, in the end, it is always restorative and a reminder that my being is more important than my doing.

While in South Africa, I also got to dream and practice setting my rhythms for the new year. Rhythms for my daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly lifestyle. Rhythms that correspond to my spiritual, physical, emotional, and relational wellbeing. I needed to set time aside to think through these well to make sure I was being realistic with them, but also challenging myself in a way that would help me grow into a better person and see the goals I set out for 2020 actually come into fruition.

This practice of setting rhythms and being intentional with these rhythms is a big part of why Kindred & Co is using the month of February as our Intentional Challenge month. It’s easy to set goals and rhythms and attempt to achieve them all on our own, but it’s another thing to set out to achieve goals in a community setting where there is accountability. More of this to come tomorrow.

So I’m grateful, so grateful, for the time I had in South Africa. For the sunshine of summer, for the relationships and friendships (both new and familiar), for the time – extended and rich, for the food, for the culture, for the rest and restoration I experienced.

My challenge came in learning to balance being in South Africa and still running a business and preparing well for the IF:Gathering from a distance, with limited internet, and with a time zone difference. Many times I felt my anxiety and stress threaten to take over and push out any semblance of rest and gratitude I was experiencing. It was a strange tension to be in a place where my priorities and perspective of pace of life is shifted and also run a business and prep for a large event quickly.

Returning from South Africa, the tension still exists as I try to put the rhythms into practice before my natural tendency of powering forward shifts into place. Even the other day I was struggling to find time to get all the to-dos done before leaving for Dallas next week. Only to realize, I probably wasn’t going to get everything I dreamed of doing, done in time. Anxiety and stress and frustration threatened to sink in. But my husben reminded me that truly the only things that matter in getting to IF are myself, the planners, and my team coming with. Everything else is bonus. He reminded me to be grateful and excited and joyful for the opportunity to go as Kindred & Co with being such a young business. To enjoy the experience, to learn, to soak everything in and to have fun.

So January has been a balancing act, and I imagine the rest of 2020 will be as well. But looking forward and moving forward with intention and rhythms set and grace and patience towards myself and others in mind.”

How has your January 2020 been?