Kristin Armstrong Writes About Well-Being

WELLNESS GETS A LOT of play these days. There are wellness centers, posts and podcasts, articles and websites. There are wellness clinics, holistic practitioners and every kind of wellness promise — in the form of diet, pill, powder or supplement. There are therapists, counselors, guides, gurus, life coaches and mentors.

What does it really mean to be “well”?

For someone who is sick, it can mean to be healthy. For someone who is heartbroken, it can mean to be healed. For someone who is depressed, it can mean to feel energized or hopeful. For someone who is lonely, it can mean to feel connected or experience a sense of belonging. For someone who is anxious, it can mean to feel calm and centered. For someone who is exhausted, it can mean to feel rested or rejuvenated. For someone who is grieving, it can mean respite or relief. For someone who is stuck, it can mean freedom or momentum. For someone who is confused, it can mean clarity or focused intention. For someone who is overworked, it can mean creating a state of balance. For someone who is bored or restless, it can mean a feeling of stimulation or excitement. For someone who is overwhelmed, it can mean a sense of pace, priority, confidence and ease.

“
I want everyone to be well, to deeply experience well-being in all the abundance of what that means to each person.”

I ushered in this new year with a group of beloved people on my favorite beach in Santa Barbara, toasting with a glass of Champagne to the last sunset of the decade. God really put on a spectacular show, a grand finale, so to speak. Radiant colors of orange and pink cast a warm glow on everyone’s faces, then turned us to silhouettes as the colors faded and the last wink of the sun disappeared, falling over the far edge of the ocean. Just like that, the decade was done. It was as if the curtains closed, a set change between acts in a play.

2020, welcome.

In this next decade, my children will graduate from college, start careers, possibly marry and start families of their own. I remember that decade of my own life well, so much change compounded in such a short amount of time. When I think about my kids, and what I desire for them, it’s no different from what I desire for myself, my family, my clients, my readers and my friends. I want everyone to be well, to deeply experience well-being in all the abundance of what that means to each person. To step into the fullness of everything we have become.

The first step on the path to wellness is to consciously choose it. I dedicated 2019 to cleaning up my energy, and it was the most transformative year of my life so far. I am so incredibly thankful for my catalysts, the people and the experiences that helped me navigate my release and renovation. I honor you every time I help someone else navigate his or her own.

I recently made a packing list in my journal. It includes everything I am intentionally and gratefully leaving behind, as well as the things I choose to carry forward into this new decade. Because one of my main desires is to have more fun, I am deliberately packing light and leaving room for the unknown. I am ready to learn, share, serve, play, work, live and love in ways that create powerful currents of freedom, healing and connection.

Whatever wellness means to you, I wish you well. Your mind, your body, your heart and your soul — integrated, aligned and ready to welcome all that is coming to you, and for you.