Rhythm - Montalut

What keeps you walking?

Picking up my rhythm posts after a month-long whirlwind in Istanbul for @leadiafestivals. Here’s a photo from the last days of calm before the storm, when @korayerimez and I took our 5yo exploring the Galata Bridge.

Thankful for everything that Istanbul gave us , still so much to unpack from the first #LeadiaFest, and already we’re prepping for #Leadiafestlisbon2024 in February. To say I’m tired is an understatement, but it’s a filling kind of tired, much like the #teamnosleep vibe when a new baby comes.

After over a decade of dreaming up a space of possibility, we’ve finally given birth to it (with A LOT of help from unexpected places!) and it now has a life of its own.

Sending lots of cheers to anyone who is on ️ the path of creating, building and honoring your dream–it’s all going to be so worth it!

On Blue Day, take that much needed rest, so you can keep on walking tomorrow. ️

#LeadiaFestivals
#dreambig #istanbul #possibility #rest #recovery #blue #Bluejays #rhythm #leadiafest2023 #leadiafestlisbon2024

Who are your ducks?

RhythmOrange Day

Ducks in a row spotted at the Ihlamur Palace, one of Istanbul’s summer pavilions used to entertain guests and hold special banquets.

It was such a spontaneous thing to happen for these ducks to form a row and start walking together. From loitering around the pond, then in a row to the gardens and away they went.

Makes me think about all the effort we put into getting “our ducks in a row” when in fact it happens very naturally, with lots of quacking and waddling.

On Orange Day, take a look at what gets your ducks in a row. Maybe the right question to ask is who: Who are the people who align you and keep you in flow?

What memories are you creating?

RhythmYellow Day

As a parent we take it upon ourselves to create memories for our children. Here’s our 5yo on her first bump car ride , celebrating our last weekend in her dad’s hometown before we moved to İstanbul. She loved it. And it was particularly more special because she did it with one of her favorite people, her Hala (aunt).

Birthing something new doesn’t always move us into the future. When we create an experience that lives on as a memory, we also birth into the past. Very interesting way to frame new memories.

On Yellow Day, imagine one memory you want to have, and work your way forward from it. Begin with the past in mind, and live out that memory today.

What’s the lay of your land?

RhythmRed Day

We moved to İstanbul yesterday, and as @korayerimez says, started the next leg of our life adventure

I’ve been here twice before and remember two striking things about its geography: lots of water, and lots of hills (the walled city is built on 7 hills).

Istanbul has been the capital of empires, religions and trade for over 2,700 years. Filipina me with our short-term cultural memory can’t process that deep history just yet, and I’m really excited to feel it through everyday life here. Our stay this time is for a little over a month leading up to @leadiafestivals in October, after which we move on to the next land we shall explore as a family.

Life on the road is also still a landscape I’m getting to know, especially in my 40s with a family of my own. Wanderer me 20 years ago would’ve embraced this life without second thought–and the same goes for Koray who has lived in 10 countries. There’s something in us that seeks the road: the unknown is exciting and full of opportunities. With a 5yo though, life needs a rhythm, and we build it first and foremost by building a home. And so I’m framing it as such: our adventure now, our family’s lay of the land, is homebuilding.

On Red Day, look at the land where you are: What’s unique to it? What are its gifts (and burdens)? Then look at your own inner landscape: what are your own hills and waters?

Who recharges you?

RhythmConnect, Purple Day

These two are my superpower–they’re my secret weapon to living a life of joy and meaning.

We tap into energies 24-7. Energy is in our daily environment: our living and workspace, the food and information we consume, the people we surround ourselves with, the conversations we have. When we’re deliberate about the kind of energies we send out and let in, we get to supercharge more effectively.

On Purple Day, turn to your human energy centers. Who are they who renew you and keep you charged? Are you connected to them? How often do you plug in and recharge?

What little things make up the big things?

RhythmWhite Day

And the singing goes on…this time with our halam, effortlessly beautiful and kind, our family’s big sister.

We spent the weekend just enjoying family time and letting the summer go by. These are the last few weeks that we can wear our summer dresses, so our little one wears her new favorite on repeat (it changes every few days).

When we make time to slow down, the little things take their place and the big picture becomes richer and more balanced.

On White Day, slow down. Let your hair down and let the pieces fall where they may. Everything’s going to be all right.

Do you hear your heart sing?

RhythmBlue Day

Never a dull bus ride with this one! We get a live show complete with hands in the air and hips swinging to her own songs as free in-ride entertainment everyday.

We’re raising our daughter to feel at home with who she is, and it starts with feeling at home in her body. No over-the-top praises, just matter-of-fact affirmations to listen to her body, sing her heart out, and dance to the beat of her own drum .

On Blue Day, let’s listen to our inner beat and turn up the volume. Let’s feel our body and enjoy it, honor it, be thankful for it.

What feast surrounds you every three months?

RhythmGreen Day

Sunflowers are blooming in Turkey now. They’re such happy flowers, we just had to stop by the road to get closer to them.️

Fun fact: the Turkish word for sunflower is ayçiçeği which means “moonflower”.

I’ve seen the fields around us transform throughout the four seasons now, and I’m endlessly drawn to their changing colors. So many times I’ve asked Koray to stop the car so we can “smell the roses” in their changing forms: the whites of cotton, the colors of spring’s white daisies and red-pink-purple wildflowers, the browns and oranges of wheat and saz (tall reeds common in wetlands). It’s amazing how nature shows off without even trying.

On Green Day, step back and observe nature around you. What sensory feast do you see? What awaits you next season, and three months after that?

What do you get to do like a boss?

RhythmOrange Day

Here’s our 5yo shopping like a boss. She also gets to eat ice cream like a boss and climb a tree like a boss. Actually she feels like she can do anything like a boss, because deep down she has an unshakeable belief that she’s a boss: to Mom and Dad, she’s more important than anything.

On Orange Day, find that unshakeable belief that lets you feel like a boss. Then go strut your stuff: Dance in the street, run on the sand, sing your heart out…or just go shopping and give yourself a great time.

What do you make with your hands?

RhythmYellow Day

We live in bread country, where the assortment of daily bread is astounding. That’s why it amazes me that @korayerimez still labors over homemade bread which takes at least 4 hours from start to finish.

I’m guessing the satisfaction is similar to painting with real paints, swooshing that brush and knife and getting messy (plus cleaning up)–they’re all a big part of it.

On Yellow Day, do something that gets your hands dirty and remember again what it’s like to create something handmade.

Who is on your calendar?

RhythmRed Day

I book my personal catch up calls on Zoom now. There’s something about putting a conversation on my calendar that makes it happen: it’s important, it’s not just chitchat, and it deserves its own timeslot.

Old me would frown upon this and say it kills spontaneity to schedule heartfelt conversations. Unguarded moments cannot be planned.

And yet the alternative has not been effective either. I didn’t realize how withered my friendships were, some going as far back as a year since our last catch up.

On Red Day, go through your friend lists and qualify each relationship: is it flourishing, healthy, status quo, wilting, maybe even dying? Who gets to be on your calendar?

How tech-dependent are you?

RhythmPurple Day

We’re now in a double whammy of Mercury in Retrograde and Ghost Month. Communication and gadgets are extra prone to mistakes and malfunction. What took me 5 minutes to do with AI last week is now taking over 2 hours (and counting!).

I’m a big fan of automation, and am always on the lookout for the best productivity tools out there. Today was a reality-check on how much dependent on tech I’ve become, and on the other hand, how much I appreciate the help it provides.

On Purple Day, imagine life before the tools and helpers in your life. Do you think you can still get into flow without them? How do you find the balance between being tool-thankful and tech-independent?