The Kindred & Co. blog is here for you - resources & rhythms to practice being and doing; stories from us & the community in our pursuit of living as human beings; business behind the scenes (BTS) announcements & celebrations.
you are welcome here.
dear kindred friend,
We do ourselves a disservice if we choose to set goals and expectations outside of the context around us. And while those contexts will always impact our lives, right now, they ever more so do and we need to create the space and flexibility to adjust with them.
I saw myself easily spiraling from these questions into feeling sufficiently overwhelmed, anxious, and out of control. Which when that happens, my personality naturally moves to try and counter this by creating a lot of to-do lists, schedules, and plans to create a semi false sense of control.
But in the microsecond before my brain and heart went to the massive to-do lists and plans, I relooked at the question and at the heading of the page “check in – what’s on your heart and mind?”
It didn’t say anything after about “How are you managing those thoughts?” or “what’s the plan to put those things to ease?” or really, having any plan to tackle all the things. It was just a check-in.
We are so very excited to announce that we have our first journal coming to the Kindred & Co. shop starting in July 2020! *squeals of excitement*
This is something you have been asking for, others outside the Kindred & Co. community have asked for, and other brands and companies have suggested we look into. So how could we deny all those three things?
But overall this year has been a little off, and I think we can all agree with that. The things I was doing in January and February – traveling to South Africa and the IF:Gathering – feel so far off, as if they don’t belong in 2020. Yet I think it’s helpful to take a moment to pause and remember they do belong in my 2020 bubble, not in some separate more “normal” sphere. Actively remembering they belong in 2020 helps me understand the strangeness of the year and appreciate the growth, adaptation, flexibility, and changes I’ve experienced and had to make with the shifts of 2020.
While I’m proud of how I’ve made quantifiable and quality progress on these goals, this past month has brought a lot of hardship and questions that have made me stop, reflect, and do some introspective thinking. Systemic racism, police brutality, white supremacy and the neglect and care towards communities of colors and minorities (specifically the Black community) have always existed in this country from the beginning. The start of this country began with the removal and genocide of the Native American people groups. So what’s happened in the last month is not new. But it has felt to hold more weight, pressure, and attention than it has for a while. And as someone who claims to love people, love people’s stories, and want to be in it with people, I cannot sit idly by and not seek change in my own life.
Rhythm implies that there is room for flexibility and space to develop, grow, and adapt. The focus of a rhythm is less on specific tasks and meetings being done within certain time points or by given deadlines, but rather the focus is more on what habits and practices do we want to prioritize and incorporate into our day to day lives. Rhythms are therefore inviting us to create space for development and growth as opposed to a schedule that invites us to accomplish tasks within set timeframes. Catch the difference?
Ironically (or not), the reflection question for May was all about rest. While I feel like I rested well this month, I think it’s telling that I’m still trying to push beyond maybe what my body thinks it’s up for and asking for even more rest. More on this below:
How have you found rest this season? What are ways you can help yourself slow down and ‘stop to smell the May flowers?’”
We don’t have all the skills and knowledge just yet, we are only 6 months old, but we did want to share with you what we do know and what we have found to be incredibly helpful as we carry forward. Hopefully at least one or two of the things we share will be helpful to you as well! This is our small business resource round-up, the tools, apps, and third party sites we use to help keep our business organized, mission focused, and beautiful.
Reflections
At the end of every month we write a reflection blog post that correlates with the reflection questions in the Kindred Planner.
Consider this your invitation to reflect along with us, coffee (or tea) in one hand and Kindred Planner (or journal) in the other.
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being
Your worth, who you are and who you are becoming are so important to the heart of Kindred & Co. that we put together a series of blog posts to help you practice being.
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community
Sweet like honey are the encouraging stories you'll find here.
Read the stories from our community gathered here! Some stories of K&Co. products, yes, but more important, stories of how they are living as human beings, finding their identity first and foremost in their inherent worth.
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From the moments that have shaped Kindred & Co. to the big dreams seen fulfilled to the best roundup of YOUR kindred stories, here are our favorites posts.
