Living Life The Happy Way - Rachel Stokes

Have you ever walked into a room filled with people you know — people you genuinely like and enjoy being around — and yet something inside of you suddenly feels… off?

Maybe you feel it in your gut.

Maybe there’s a tightness in your chest.

Maybe it rises right into your throat.

And your first thought is, What is this? Everyone here is fine. I want to be here. So why am I feeling this way?

Sometimes we’re quick to label that feeling as “bad energy.” But what if, instead of immediately deciding what it means, we simply get curious about it?

It could be your nervous system responding to the noise, movement, conversations and stimulation around you.

It could be an old experience being activated that you haven’t consciously connected to yet.

It could be that you’re feeling a little vulnerable, overwhelmed or unsure of where you fit in that particular moment.

Maybe there’s something you want to say but aren’t saying.

Maybe your intuition is asking you to pay attention.

Or maybe you really are noticing a shift in the energy around you.

You don’t always have to know.

Instead, put your feet firmly on the floor. Take a slow breath. Place a hand over the area where you’re feeling the sensation and ask:

What am I noticing right now?

Is this mine?

Do I need to do anything with it, or can I simply allow myself to feel it without creating a story around it?

Sometimes the most powerful thing we can do with energy is not immediately interpret it.

Just notice it.

Ground yourself.

Listen.

And give yourself a little time to understand what your body might be trying to tell you.

Monday Reset: Just Two Minutes to Shift Your Day 🌿
Start your week with a gentle reminder: you don't need a full hour to reset—you only need two minutes.
Taking just two minutes for slow, controlled breathing helps calm your nervous system, clear mental clutter, and bring you back into the present moment.
Before diving into your to-do list today, take a deep breath in, let it go, and pause.
✨ How are you taking a moment for yourself this Monday?

🌕 Under the Sturgeon Full Moon 🌕

What a beautiful evening we shared under the Full Moon last night.

Our circle was filled with a wonderful group of women—some familiar faces and some joining us for the very first time. Yet somehow, when we gathered together, it simply felt like we were exactly where we were meant to be.

We lovingly held space for one another as we released the things that no longer serve us—the old stories, opinions, judgments and beliefs we have carried for far too long.

But last night wasn’t only about letting go.

It was about taking something back.

The pieces of ourselves we may have given away along the way.
The pieces someone else may have taken from us.
Our voice. Our confidence. Our joy. Our power. Our value. Our worth. Our softness.

Under the Sturgeon Moon, we were reminded that our value has always been ours. No one else gets to determine our worth.

There was something incredibly beautiful about watching women release what they no longer wanted to carry and then claim themselves back.

Thank you to every woman who stepped into our circle, trusted the process, and lovingly held space for the woman beside her.

You are Worthy 💜
You are Loved 💜
You are Enough 💜

For all these years of being married to John, “the weekend” has rarely meant Saturday and Sunday.

In the early years, my weekends were filled with our children—their activities, their events, and everything that came with raising a family.

John worked shift work, and for many of those years he was also a volunteer firefighter for Pasadena. When he was off, sometimes he was with us at whatever the kids had going on…and sometimes, if something was burning, that was where he was needed. Being a firefighter was something he truly loved, and it was part of who he was during that season of our lives.

Our family has always had its own rhythm.

Then the children grew up and created lives of their own, and suddenly it was just the two of us at home. But we were still living according to that shift-work calendar. Our “weekend” might fall on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday, and we learned to enjoy the time we had rather than worry about what day the calendar said it was.

And now, another season is beginning.

John is retired. ❤️

Today, on an actual Saturday, our family is gathering to celebrate his retirement, and I’ve found myself thinking about just how many different seasons of life we’ve already lived through together.

This new season brings more freedom, but it comes with responsibilities too. John’s dad lives in the apartment beneath our home, so even now, when we want to take off somewhere, we make sure someone is here for him.

And maybe that’s simply how life works.

We raise children. They grow up.
Our homes change.
Our parents age and sometimes need us.
Careers that once seemed like they’d last forever come to an end.
And the rhythm of our lives changes again.

Maybe there isn’t a season where we’re completely free of responsibility.

And maybe that’s not even the goal.

Maybe the gift is having the ability to embrace each season while we’re living it—finding the joy in what it brings, accepting what it asks of us, and being grateful for the people we get to share it with.

We’ve had a lot of different versions of life over all these years. Each one has brought its own challenges, its own joys, and its own memories.

And now we get to discover another one.

I don’t know exactly what retirement will look like for us yet. I’m still working, John has officially retired, we have family responsibilities, and life will continue doing what life does—changing.

But I’m looking forward to finding our new rhythm.

Here’s to this next season, John. I’m grateful I’ve gotten to walk through all the others with you, too. ❤️

A little reset for your morning. 💜

Before you rush into everything this day is asking of you, take 60 seconds for yourself.

Place both feet firmly on the floor.

Take a slow breath in through your nose for 4 counts.
Hold gently for 2.
Then slowly exhale for 6.

As you breathe out, consciously drop your shoulders, unclench your jaw, and soften your hands.

Repeat three times.

Then ask yourself:

What do I actually need in this moment?

Not this afternoon.
Not tomorrow.
Not what everyone else needs from you.

Right now.

Sometimes we don’t need to fix the whole day.
We just need to help our body feel safe enough to take the next step.

Have a beautiful morning. 💜

💜 Women Who Gather 💜

Tonight did exactly what I hoped it would do.

It brought women together.

It created conversation—the kind that goes beyond small talk and reminds us how much we can learn from one another when we simply pull up a chair, listen, share, laugh, and allow ourselves to be seen.

We came together as women with different stories, different journeys, and a lifetime of experiences. And somewhere along the way tonight, a circle became something more.

As we called it tonight… a tribe. 💜

A place where wisdom is shared, stories are honored, and connection happens naturally.

Tonight reminded me why Women Who Gather was created.

Connection • Conversation • Community

And tonight, we found all three.

My heart is full, and I am already looking forward to the next time we gather.

Your story matters. Your wisdom matters. And your chair is waiting. 💜