Letting go of your old life, how Andre finally started getting a good night's sleep, and some February tunes.

Plus, a bit of This & That.

Letting Go Of Your Old Life

When Andre and I decided to move to Italy, we both seemed to know, either consciously or subconsciously, that to follow through on such a monumental life change and truly give it a shot, we would have to completely let go of the life we had come to know. It would be the only way to fall into and embrace the wild adventure we were embarking on without any way of running back to LA the moment things got challenging, overwhelming, or uncertain. We believed deep down that if we let go of that safety net, we would be forced to persevere even when things felt impossible (and believe me, they have a million times).

At first, it was the shedding of the physical. We sold the house we had lived in for twelve years, our cars, all of our furniture, and so many belongings, from bikes to clothing to appliances, we had accumulated over fourteen years together. At the time, this purge felt massive, letting go of everything we owned, leaving it scattered across Los Angeles, taking root in new places with new people, no longer ours to claim. And then, when our container of belongings arrived in Turin last year, we couldn't believe we still had so much stuff. As we began unpacking, we quickly realized that much of what we'd been holding on to so tightly didn't fit into this new life. And so, we continued to shed and let go of what didn't have a place or purpose, a shift in our mindset from want to need.

And, then, a second move in less than a year from Turin to Rome, where again, we paired things down, reduced the clutter, and had to edit. At first, it was simply out of necessity. There was just no room in our apartment for it all. Less space, less storage. Through our physical possessions, we are constantly reminded that the old life does not fit into this one. All our pots and pans are too big for our little induction stove top, there's no room in our kitchen for all our kitchenware and ceramics, and our hampers are too big for our bedrooms. We have to keep letting go.

And now, in this second year abroad, it's becoming clear that we are leaving more than just the physical behind. The people we were before we moved abroad are no longer; in some ways, we have already changed, and in others, we continue to transform. We've worked to release the expectations we brought with us when we first moved, to let go of our deeply ingrained behaviors and patterns of existence, to grieve our previous life so that we can be open to the one that is unfolding, intentionally turning our energy to growth, discovery, and the possibility of what is yet to come. Accepting and embracing what is here now and not yearning for it to be something it's not.

And still, as we release our past to be ready for our future, the feeling of being untethered amplifies. But, as I've often reminded myself, it takes time to make a home. Slowly, it is taking shape, a world that feels like our own, not like we are just on some extended vacation. I'm getting closer to touching the ground once again.

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How I Finally Got A Good Night’s Sleep

By: Andre Vippolis

I'm an extremely sensitive sleeper. A pin drop or the dimmest of light will wake me right up. And being a parent of three young boys has not helped my cause for restful slumber. Spread some Instagram and unavoidable modern dopamine addiction on top of that, and I was clocking an average of about 3.5-4.5 hours per night, often not straight. I would get a bit more every couple of days, which would help, but only slightly. But I've not felt like I was making enough progress with getting the sleep my body needs to show up the way I want to daily. Stress was maximized, concentration was spotty, and energy was often severely low with family, kids, and work. All this contributed further to my anxiety struggles and, in some moments, seemingly was the cause of it. I'd come to the end of my rope with it all. I really needed to make some changes, and despite listening to podcasts, reading articles, and looking to "experts," it all was melding together, sounding like more noise amidst the constant onslaught of information that comes at me daily on that damn little device in my pocket.

I was talking to my dear friend Eddie, who I often look to for health and wellness advice, and he shook me out of being lazy about my sleep situation. He told me some protocols to create a healthier sleep environment and approach to getting more rest, many of which I had known but needed to hear from a friend who had done the same things himself. He also suggested a sleep stack of vitamins that he knew could help to get my body and mind into a more restorative sleep. Cut to, I've been sleeping better than I have in years! I don't expect to sleep soundly for 9 hours, but getting a solid 5-7 hours of sleep has been a dramatic shift in my life. And even when I do wake up on my own or by a kid after a few hours and have to get back down, it's been easier to do so keeping these protocols in place.