I stumbled upon a hidden trail
Tiffany Baker on nature, gratitude + the winter week challenge
As we meander with gratitude and wonder this month, I’m honored to introduce you to my friend, Tiffany Baker. She was one of the first people I called when I first sensed a nudge toward work beyond the local church. I knew it was possible because I’d watched her figure it out for a few years. We met through our delightful friend, Jeremy Smith, and have yet to meet in person! I love the internet sometimes.
If part of you aches for a slower pace in your life, Tiffany is a voice that will graciously invite you to pay attention to that longing. Enjoy!
Tiffany Baker is a former ordained minister and educator who became an entrepreneur in order to blend her unique skills and expertise into a vocation that lights her up. She teaches self-compassion and supports women in becoming their fullest selves. She's a recovering achiever and people pleaser who is learning to rest and trust herself. You can follow her on Instagram @iamtiffanybaker.
Jenny: I’m fascinated by how we grow in gratitude and wonder practices over the course of our lives. Throughout your life, is there a moment where choosing gratitude and wonder shifted your story? What made you choose wonder when it could have been easy to go a different way?
I turned 40 last year and discovered I love the woods. I stumbled upon a hidden trail near my house that led through the "woods" (I lived in the suburbs so I don't know if you can call it "woods" but there were trees on both sides of the trail) and I fell in love. I had been a long distance runner for a decade, but I felt a desire to move my body in gentler ways. I traded my long distance runs for long, slow walks. I walked my kids to school each morning and then headed to the woods. It became my favorite hour of the day and I delayed all my work calls until after my walk.
It was during my walks in the woods that I discovered the gift of wonder. I learned to listen to bird calls. I encountered the rare hawk and coyote. I felt the sun on my face. I observed the waxing and waning phases of the moon. I watched the wildflowers bloom. I watched the leaves change color and float to the ground. I walked on newly fallen snow and crunchy ice. I learned the rhythms of the woods and each season felt like a miracle to me.
The woods also grounded and supported me while I grieved the loss of a dear friend to colon cancer. I wrote her homily while walking through those woods. I registered my complaint with the trees about the unfairness of her death and they had no good answer for me. Somehow it helped. I felt her presence in strange and mysterious ways and she always reminded me to, "Look up. Pay attention." I felt the truth of Mary Oliver's words: "The world did not have to be beautiful to work. But it is. What does that mean?"
My husband and I ended up selling our house and moving to a different state where we're building a house in the woods!
What did you learn about gratitude and wonder during your recent move to a new town and context for your family?
One thing I've learned about gratitude and wonder is you can't shame yourself into feeling them. Whenever I have big feelings, I feel tempted to shame myself into gratitude. "I SHOULD feel grateful" instead of feeling sad, disappointed, afraid or whatever uncomfortable feeling I'm feeling. However, shame is never the answer so I've learned to feel my feelings first and then, once those feelings have been seen and heard, I can usually tap into gratitude and wonder. Gratitude and wonder should never be weapons we use to minimize our feelings. Feelings first, gratitude second.
What one thing would you encourage our readers to embody when it comes to gratitude and wonder?
I love social media because it has helped me grow an online business and connect with people I might otherwise never have met. However, if I want to cultivate gratitude & wonder, I need to look up on a regular basis. I experience gratitude and wonder best when I put my phone down and pay attention to the life that's right in front of me. I "winter" once a month (in rhythm with the lunar cycle) and remove myself from social media for an entire week. It's my most restorative and rest-filled practice that invites me to slow down, notice, and practice both gratitude and wonder.
You get to do some incredible work with wonderful people. What’s lighting you up in this season and how can people work with you?
I DO get to work with incredible people and I feel so lucky!! I've been in a very intense grounding season this fall and haven't done any coaching, but I'm preparing to work with individuals and small groups again in 2023!
If people feel curious about "wintering" and how to practice wonder, gratitude, and rest in their daily lives, I invite them to take my "Winter Week Challenge." I'll support you while you slow down and learn to savor the life that's right in front of you.
Reflection Questions
What grounds you when life feels chaotic?
As the days grow short and winter descends, how does your relationship to nature shift?
Are there challenging emotions asking for your attention? Is it easier to tap into gratitude and wonder after tending those emotions?
For the social-media-addicted among us, can you imagine taking a week off every month? Know you have permission to set boundaries around anything in your life that invites you to escape a bit too much from the life in front of you.
Welcome to New Readers
We’re two months in and delighted to welcome lots of new faces! Check out posts on one great question to ask someone grieving a loved one, what it means to show up scared, and a few origin stories about me. We’re planning to keep all content free for as long as we can. Love what you’re finding here and want to enable this community to exist? Upgrade to a monthly or annual subscription as a way to say this work matters in our world.
Current Offerings
Christmas Text List: Let’s journey through the holiday season together as we ground ourselves in rest, love and wonder. Join the list!
The Thread Retreat: A weekend women’s retreat January 6-8 on Camano Island here in Washington state. Let’s take your next step of healing together. Details.
Palms Up Path: Ready to ask some brave and bold questions in your life? Need to take a deep breath? This course gives you a spacious framework that holds you while you journey inward. Details.