Once upon a time, there was a girl who created a blog. She was very scared of her own idea for a long while. But once she finally committed to it, she got so excited that she started writing a couple of articles every week for her newly-found creative outlet.

She also had a Facebook page and an Instagram account to fuel, as an addition to her platform, and she started networking with people who had similar passions as she did, and attending meetings and events which could propel her creative work forward. And it all was so fun and interesting and fulfilling. And she cemented friendships. She started waking up earlier so she had time for everything which kept her busy. All the blog-related work + the job which paid for her rent + her yoga practise ( + hosting at the yoga studio) + her beloved social life (because, after all, she was a social butterfly).

Every time she sat down to work at her computer, she was happy. Sometimes, the writing of a certain article could become a struggle, given the fact she was a perfectionist. She would spend days in a row reviewing a certain text until it sounded right. Most of the times she went to write outside of the house, amongst the people. She absorbed their energy, while getting inspired by the places which were home to her musings, and of which atmosphere was perfect for her ideas to flow. So, all in all, despite the hard work, it was fun and, most of all, she was passionate about it. Having so much to do, and so many different ideas and projects going on (she also worked as a model/actress every once in a while) was challenging, but her mind was buzzling and the girl felt in her element. Everything was right. This was her path.  And she lived at this pace for a year, non-stop.

Until one day, when she felt really tired. And that feeling led to her feeling extremely restless because there was no way she could feel so tired at that point. She had so much work to finish, and so many collaborations in need of her attention! And the more she resisted to the possibility of being tired, the more depleted she felt. And the more depleted she felt, the more she worried. It was not possible to slow down at that point. She was actually running late! And there was also this huge work/trip she had to plan. And she started ruminating about the dangers of the adventure she was about to embark in: come the summer, she would have no job-paying-rent anymore, no house, even her love life was getting more and more confusing, and it was as if all the things which once had been more or less stable in her life had started falling apart. ALL AT THE SAME TIME. And she had known in advance they would – almost everything was part of the “big plan” she had created for herself -, therefore she felt even more ashamed of feeling what she was feeling. It wouldn’t have been a huge problem hadn’t I been so exhausted, she thought. She had gotten used to being an iron-girl, and she was not willing to let that  self-proclaimed status get vanished. Anxiety and fear took over. Eventually, she had to stop.

The girl is currently learning how to breath (figuratively and literally). She is learning to accept. She is learning to manage expectations (or to be humble, if you will). She is learning to surrender. And today she made a green juice. She had stopped making green juices because she convinced herself she didn’t have time for them. Today she made a green juice, and she enjoyed the process of making it, and it nourished her. Afterward, she sat down and recalled the words of a friend: “let it come”. She felt happy. The girl decided this is a juice worth sharing. And here’s the recipe for you all, so that you too can nourish and refresh yourselves, if you wish. In case you, too, need to recover, for a moment, from anything you might be going throught. And hopefully sit down, surrender to your own circumstances, and “let it come”.

For this potion you will need:

+ 1 frozen banana cut to pieces

+ 1 little plum

+ 2/3 pieces of broccoli

+ the juice of a lime

+ a big bunch of rucola (I like to add a lot)

+ chilled sparkling water

Mix everything in the blender and make it as liquid as you wish by adding sparkling water to taste. Et voilá, THE GREEN JUICE.

The girl dedicates this recipe to the best friend she could possibly have at her side. The one who reminded her that yesterday there was an important birthday to celebrate. The one who took her to dinner to celebrate one year of “gewoon doen”.

Mijn dank is groot, Gato Grande.

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