Hi Reader,

There is something about August that always makes me want to do a little less.

Actually, if I'm being honest, this feeling usually starts before August 1.

Lately, I have been waking up and thinking, I don't really want to do that today.

Not in a dramatic way. I still have things to do. I still teach, write, answer emails, make plans, cook food, take care of the house, and show up for the people I love. But my body seems to have other ideas.

My body is on a beach vacation in Italy.

Unfortunately, the rest of me is still here.

Maybe it is simply summer. Maybe it is the accumulation of a very full year. Or maybe sometimes our bodies know before our minds do that we need to slow down.

And yet, life doesn't exactly stop because we're tired.

This weekend I'm traveling to Steamboat Springs, Colorado, for my nephew's wedding. Getting there feels a little like a pilgrimage in itself. My daughter is flying in from Europe, my younger brother is coming from Australia, and there will be four of us sharing an Airbnb for five days.

There will be mountains, family, a wedding, hot springs, and hopefully some time to simply be.

So I'm trying not to think of this as another thing I have to do. Instead, I'm thinking of it as a chance to arrive.

Maybe that's what I need right now—not another practice, another goal, or another thing to accomplish, but simply to arrive where I am.

And perhaps, wherever you are in this August season, you might ask yourself the same question:

What if I did a little less?

Not forever. Just enough to hear what my body has been trying to say.

A Journey to Sacred Places

My friend and colleague Lora Stone is leading a spiritual pilgrimage through the Himalayas this fall. The journey includes sacred sites such as Rishikesh, Devprayag, Kedarnath, Tungnath, Badrinath and Joshimath, along with meditation, temple visits, fire ceremonies, time in nature, and traveling in community.

The pilgrimage runs September 23–October 11, with an optional extension for Navaratri.

I wanted to share it here in case this kind of journey is something that speaks to you.

Learn more and register here.​

Perhaps there is something beautiful about pilgrimage—leaving the familiar for a while, traveling somewhere that asks us to pay attention, and returning home a little differently.

Wishing you a gentle week,

Marisa