Happy Friday Reader

Welcome back to The 5 Things Friday Coffee Break! This is my weekly roundup of fun, creative, and personal growth-inspired finds that I think you’ll love.

In Each Issue:

☕ The Weekly Brew: A more personal note from me each week
​📝 Journaling prompts inspired by my weekly brew
🎨 Five creative, thought-provoking, or just fun things I’m loving
🖼️ A spotlight on one of my artworks (often with a special discount!)
📅 Upcoming events and offerings
✨ And who knows—maybe some surprises!

Philip and I have dated for almost 5 years and it took this time away from work to finally do a road ride together!

It's odd, but I baked a ton of sourdough on my prolonged water fast. My creativity had to go somewhere, and my neighbors got to eat it!

Happy Friday Reader

If you’ve been following along, you know I stepped away for a bit to do something that felt a little radical, extremely intuitive, and 100% necessary: a 17-day water fast.

I did it because something deep within me said: you need to stop and listen.
And the only way I could truly hear was to step out of my life as I knew it—stop the work, stop the busy—and get quiet enough that even digestion had to take a back seat.

During my 17-day prolonged water fast, I’m not sure I’ve ever felt so connected to my own energy, so in tune with my ancestors, or so grounded in what actually matters to me. It wasn’t easy. It stripped away every distraction, every crutch, every bit of noise.

And when you remove everything, what’s left is just you.

Here’s what I let go of (and intend to keep out)—and what I’m bringing with me now that I’ve stepped back into “regular” life:

Letting Go Of:

• Workaholism: No more working 7 days a week and every evening.
• Facebook and email on my phone: No doom scrolling at night before bed.
• Being accessible 24/7: I will stop rushing to respond to texts and emails. It’s okay to wait a day or two. I don’t need to be available all the time.
• Drinking unfiltered tap water
• Watching high-drama, nervous-system-disrupting TV

To read the full list of what I'm integrating back into my life after the fast you can the full list on my Substack here.

I’ll be honest: reintegrating after the fast has been harder than the fast itself.
Eating again meant returning to the world of distractions, decisions, and noise.

This week, I tried to resume scheduling appointments and meetups with people—but I completely dropped the ball on a few things. I missed an appointment. I stood up a friend (by accident, but still—not fun to own either of those things).

I’m realizing how slowly and intentionally I really need to go—and it’s slower than you think.

Every day, I ask myself:
​What do I actually need? What is most healing right now?

Sometimes the answer is a nap.
Sometimes it’s a walk.
Sometimes it’s paint and silence.

But whatever the answer is—I’m listening now.

And maybe that’s what I most want to share with you this week:

You don’t have to earn your worth through busyness.
Healing doesn’t have to be seen to be valid.
Your body has wisdom.
And sometimes the most radical thing you can do is unplug, stop, and listen.

For more updates about the prolonged water fast I just completed you can watch this two part update I just posted. Part One and Part Two​
​
Together We Float,

• What are you currently carrying out of habit that your body or spirit is asking you to set down? Is there something you keep doing out of obligation, fear, or routine that no longer feels aligned? What would it look like to release it—even temporarily—and trust that the world won’t fall apart?
• What does slow look like for you right now?​
  Not your ideal version, but the real, grounded, sustainable kind of slow. How can you soften into that pace this week, even if just for one moment each day?
• What’s one sacred practice or ritual that helps you hear yourself more clearly?​
  Whether it’s journaling, walking, painting, or simply sitting in silence—what helps you return to yourself? How can you make more space for that in your daily life?

1) I read a number of books while I was out on my fast the last month but I think you might like the book Mutual Interest by Olivia Wolfgang-Smith. It was so good! This year, I’m keeping a running list of every book I read and what I thought — You can access it here, there are already lots of goodies on it and all of the books I read while I was away are listed!
​
2) When I was baking like a crazy person during my prolonged fast I made these Easy Sourdough Discard Chocolate Chip Cookies. Everyone who got them said they enjoyed them.

3) I was on the hunt during my fast for a series that wouldn't spike my adrenaline or nervous system, and I fell in love with all of the characters on this show from the Netherlands Pernille. It was so sweet and so good! I did listen to it with the voice over, they did a great god with the voice overs for this.

4) During my fast, I was only putting water into my body, so filtration and water structure mattered a lot! I learned so much about water! It's truly amazing. You might enjoy listening to this podcast episode, and here is how I now filter and structure my water: Berkey Filtration System, Analema Wand, and Echo Flask.​
​
5) I've been very intentionally putting whole foods, locally raised foods, and fermented foods in my body since the fast, and I was grateful to find this Fermenting Farm Her. I love her krauts and Kimchi, and the beef is amazing. They have spots for pick up in many parts of NC and I think parts of VA.

Together We Rise,
-Alisha

Semi-Private In-Person Watercolor Class 5 spots available for the upcoming July/August watercolor class. Learn More and Claim Your Spot!