Reyou

04/10/2026

How are you actually doing this second week of April?

Often, we mistake misalignment for burnout. We think we’ve lost our spark when really, we’ve just lost our rhythm. The work is still important to you, but the way you’re doing it might be wearing you thin.

How about a structured pause?

On April 29, we're hosting The Spring Check-In—a 90-minute strategy and wellness reset. We’ll help you find that alignment again so you can move forward with clarity instead of just "pressure."

We’d love to have you in the room.

April 29 • 6:00–7:30 PM CDT via Zoom. Secure your spot: https://wix.to/FjcJLWv

04/07/2026

So…. I’m at the doctor’s office, just took a seat after checking in. The person I sat next to was very happy to have me sit next to them. We talked — I was very happy to have sat beside them — and then they were called in to their appointment. After their appointment and on their way out of the office they gave me these two rocks. ❤️ More blessings for an already beautiful day. Now I have two more items for my talking piece bowl. I made a single serve friend and I am reminded that there is beauty and abundance in Winnipeg… if we are open to letting it find us. .

04/05/2026

Strategy doesn't live in a spreadsheet; it lives in your nervous system. If you are a high-functioning leader feeling the friction of the hustle, it’s time to move beyond fragmented planning. Read our latest blog on building an Integrated Strategy. Read the full piece: https://wix.to/Pp82ABA

Short read (3 min) — practical insights to align your inner experience with professional vision.

04/03/2026

Shhhh, don’t tell anyone…
but I love Easter and what it represents in the human life cycle. PS. I also love these humans.

04/03/2026

What if your Saturday night felt like... a bridge? 🌉

On June 6, 2026, "We Are All Stories" returns to Winnipeg.

This isn't a lecture or a typical performance. It’s an immersive evening designed to prove that the things that make us unique are exactly what bring us together. In a world that can feel increasingly divided, we are creating a space to listen, to be heard, and to see the "we" in everyone’s story.

✨ Early bird tickets are officially live. > Join us for an evening of connection that directly supports our community storytelling programs for seniors and youth.

🎟️ Secure your seat in the circle:
https://www.thestorybridge.ca/events-and-conferences/we-are-all-stories

04/03/2026

So happy to see this!

Can storytelling actually change how we work?

At The StoryBridge, we’ve seen it happen. From corporate boardrooms to community centers, the way we share our lived experiences dictates how we connect and grow.

Our Storytelling & Community Engagement Facilitator Certification launches this May. This series of workshops isn't just a training—it's a deep dive into culturally competent, trauma-informed, high-impact facilitation.

Limited spots available for the Spring Cohort. Learn more and register at https://www.thestorybridge.ca/upcoming-storytelling-workshops

04/03/2026

The reality check:

Once every year—usually in April—I commit to a 5-day silent meditation retreat.

I have been doing this for years now with thanks to Mindful Leader and their online retreats, which they host at various times of the year.

But my sweet spot for a 5-day retreat is April.

Each spring, I would leave my house and go to another space—always one with views of trees and easy access to walking trails. From there, I connect virtually with my meditation instructor and other folks attending the retreat. And we engage in guided silent meditation practice and group learning for 5 days.

This April I noticed that the retreat dates conflicted with an important work commitment. This is not new—there is always something else that needs my presence and attention. Every decision to step away for silence is intentional and deeply mindful of what I choose to not do in favour of turning my presence and attention inward.

Yet, it is also that intentionality and mindfulness that prompted me to defer my retreat in order to be present at work this time around.

So the reality check: My time, attention, and presence are a gift. Everyday I make many choices about who I will share or give this gift to. Stepping away is an opportunity to give myself the gift of my own time and presence. Showing up at work or any other occasion is a choice to share the gift of my time and presence with others.

My mindfulness learning and practice teaches me that I always have room to make choices and that all my choices can lead to the same outcome: A deeper awareness of the decisions I make about taking time for myself or pouring myself into purposeful work. My mindfulness learning and practice teaches me that my choices can be win-win.

Once you have awareness, it easier to follow through with meaningful actions that support one’s mental health and wellbeing.

What choices are you facing this month that seem like a win-lose but, if reframed through a mindfulness lens are ultimately a win-win?

PS: here’s a recent article from the Reyou Mindfulness Collective Blog that explains why I value silent meditation retreats. Spoiler—it’s all about repairing the container.

Discover the transformative power of a silent meditation retreat in building resilience. Learn how silent meditation retreats and other services from Reyou help to repair your inner container.

03/27/2026

Sharing this PSA about rest from one of our recent articles.

2. Waste time wisely.

Instead of seeing downtime as an opportunity to do nothing or get more sleep, consider the value of rest.

Rest is most valuable and beneficial when it allows you to unwind (i.e. unplug from your usual patterns of mental activity), nourish (i.e. build your body up with food and non-food sources of nourishment like time in nature, movement, and connections with others), and rebuild (i.e. change the state of your cognitive or behavioural patterns).

Read more at https://www.reyoumindfulness.com/post/quick-look-busy-the-mental-health-benefits-of-rest-idleness-and-mindful-downtime

Do you agree?

Stefan Sagmeister’s TedTalk, The power of time off, blew my mind back in 2009. In the seventeen-and-a-half-minute talk, Sagmeister explained why he takes a sabbatical from work every seven years. His goal is to intersperse five of his retirement years into his work and career lifetime so he can ke...

03/25/2026

I am excited to announce that today I begin my rest!

Here’s what you need to know about :
1. The work ALWAYS continues - even when you are out of office
2. When you develop the SYSTEMS, the actions demand less effort
3. Taking time for intentional REST boosts creativity, increases productivity, and improves problem solving capacity

So I practice rest. Intentional rest that moves me from the mode of ‘doing’ into the mode of ‘being’.

In my business and nonprofit work: Rest is where I get to integrate all the meaning making moments of this first quarter of 2026. Rest is where I get to revise the strategies and action plans for the 3rd and 4th quarter of the year. Rest is where I get to catch up on a few things that required my slow and deliberate presence.

In my self/family/home life: Rest is where I get to reconnect with my spiritual, physical and mental health. Rest is where I make more time for intentional listening. Rest is where I make time for serving others or doing nothing at all 😉.

I’ve integrated rest into the Reyou Mindfulness Collective Rooted & Rising Black Entrepreneur Mental Wealth and Business Wellness Initiative.

The program includes a 2 week Integration Break.

Its purpose is to make room for digesting and processing what has been discovered over the last three weeks, so participants can apply the discoveries and draw insights from the application of the tools and practices done in real life.

So when they return for Module 4, which covers Integrative Strategy, they can be open to the next layer of discovery, insight, and practice.

Rest keeps us open to what might be possible. That’s why I believe we should always value and validate rest.

How are you validating and valuing rest for yourself and the people you care about?

Patlee Creary

03/17/2026

The gratitude post:

Three really great things happed to me yesterday.

1. A new friend texted me to ask how my weekend was and wish me a good week (I appreciated that because I had a very hard weekend)

2. I spoke with a human who helped me find another human to connect me to the human that I wanted to get a message to (six degrees of separation!)

3. I came across a video on Instagram that highlighted Kumina drumming in St. Thomas, Jamaica 🇯🇲 and I was reminded that I have deep cultural roots and connections to ancestors that go far beyond the story I was told when I was growing up in Jamaica (I’ve been contemplating a pilgrimage to find and reconnect with those roots).

I’m remembering these three things and the other pockets of peace that I found yesterday because my Monday was hard. And when you have hard days it’s challenging to remember that there are positives within it and, that more often than not, the positives outweigh the hardships.

So today I am feeling extremely grateful for tiny things that lift me up. I am grateful for the tiny things that people do and say that lift others up without even knowing or intending to do it.

I’m supremely grateful that I can also do this for others.

I’m grateful to be reminded that my professionalism is, at its core, kindness and compassion.

What tiny things or moments are you grateful for today?