Loving My Actual Life:
An Experiment in Relishing What’s Right in Front of Me
Do you enjoy your life, right now, as it is? Or, like many women, do you find yourself pushing, striving, and climbing to your perceived perfection? Life can be a struggle, for some more than others, but what if we could all be happy with what is, right now, today? That’s what the book, Loving My Actual Life, tries to show readers; how to be content with what is.
Feel Satisfied with Who and Where You Are
In a world of comparison and discontent, it can feel impossible to be happy with life as we know it. Other people seem to have it all together, to be finding success, to be having more fun. But we weren’t meant for a life characterized by dissatisfaction.
In this entertaining and relatable book, Alexandra Kuykendall chronicles her nine-month experiment to rekindle her love of her ordinary “actual” life. After wiping her calendar as clean as a mother of four can, Kuykendall focuses on one aspect of her life each month, searching for ways to more fully enjoy her current season. By intentionally adding one thing each month that will make her jump for joy, she provides a practical challenge women can easily replicate. With humor, poignancy, and plenty of personal stories, Kuykendall weaves together spiritual themes and practical application into a holy self-awareness, showing women how a few small changes in their routines can improve their enjoyment of this crazy-busy life.
In this book, the author explains how a lot of us picture our lives: well behaved children, a clean home, an exciting marriage, etc. But in reality, we end up with cranky kids, a messy house, a boring spouse, and such. So do you drop everything and get a do over?
Well…sort of.
Alexandra Kuykendall explains how she decided to wipe the slate clean (as much as she could since she was already married and a mom) so she could focus on what only she could do. Anything else could be a shared responsibility or simply declined. Then, only things that matter find their ways back into her life.
On top of that, she purposefully searched for things to bring her joy, at least one new “thing”, every month. These could be tips like getting up before the rest of your family, writing in a prayer journal, book a hotel (even in your own city), invite your husband for an impromptu date, etc.
Each chapter is a month the author shares with the reader, and it includes successes, failures and ideas for next time. She also sums up how the month went, what she’ll take forward, and questions that the reader can also contemplate if they are following along as well. The month/topics include Quiet Time, Adventure, Passions, Meals, etc.
So you can see that this isn’t a quick fix by any means. And like most fads, things that are wild and claim to work fast usually backfire in the end. But in Loving My Actual Life, we follow along with the author as she finds her joy and contentment with life, as it is, intentionally. You can purchase your copy today on Amazon.
Disclosure: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned in this article in exchange for my honest opinion. Some of the links in the article may be “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I may receive a small compensation. Regardless, I will only recommend products or services I use personally or believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
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