The Roots of Conscious Living

by Laurie Richardone

If you’ve ever found yourself in a season of change — slowing down, listening more closely to what’s stirring within, you’re not alone. In fact, you may be exactly where you’re meant to be.

For some time now, I’ve been quietly nurturing something close to my heart: a book on conscious living. It’s not just another project.

It’s a deeply personal reflection of the journey I’ve walked, and continue to walk, through uncertainty, and the often quiet call to live more intentionally. I want to share with you the roots of how it all began.

Conscious living, for me, isn’t a trend or a buzzword. It’s a choice, one that took root in my life during a time I wasn’t prepared for. A time of loss, the ending of a twenty-five-year marriage.

I was living in Santa Fe, wrapped in solitude in the blue winter desert sky, when writing unexpectedly found me. Not with an agenda or outcome, but as a lifeline, a way to make sense of what was falling away… and what might just be beginning.

I didn’t set out to write a book. I wrote to gather the pieces of myself that felt scattered in the wake of grief.

In those early morning pages, a quiet pattern began to emerge — one that mirrored nature itself. The seasons, it turned out, had something to teach me.

And as I paid closer attention, I realized these weren’t just personal reflections. They were universal Seasonal rhythms.

Over time, the writing evolved into something more. It wove itself into the conversations I was having on my podcast, A Taste for All Seasons — now entering its fourth year.

Although the podcast began with seasonal cooking and intimate conversations with farmers, it grew into something deeper: a living inquiry into how we connect to ourselves, our communities, and the cycles of nature through the smallest, most intentional choices we make.

Those themes of slowing down, tuning in, and letting go began to shape the foundation of my book, Living with the Seasons: Seasonal Reflections for a Conscious Life.

This book didn’t come together in a straight line. It unfolded the way the seasons do — with pauses, quiet clarity, and sometimes, long stretches of waiting. It has been a nonlinear path, much like the one many of us walk when we’re called to begin again, or let go.

Maybe that’s why I feel compelled to share my process, because perhaps you, too, are in a season of becoming. Or beginning. Or un-becoming. And if so, I want you to know: you’re not behind. You’re right on time.

I’ve come to believe that conscious living isn’t about striving or perfection. It’s about showing up every day, even when the path isn’t clear. It’s about honoring the natural rhythm of things. Rest has a season. Growth takes time. Letting go is a kind of grace.

Whether you’re blooming, shedding, resting, or returning to the soil, your season matters. This book serves as a gathering place, not just for my reflections, but for yours as well. For the stories, questions, and quiet wisdom that live within us all when we begin to slow down and listen.

So as you move through your own season, whatever it may be, I invite you to walk with me. To reflect, to share, and to honor the unseen roots growing beneath the surface of your life. Sometimes, the most profound transformations don’t announce themselves loudly.

They begin in silence. In stillness. In the spaces in-between. And that, perhaps, is where conscious living truly begins.

Laurie Richardone is a seasonal chef, health coach, and host of the podcast ~ A Taste for All Seasons.

To learn more or work with Laurie, visit LaurieRichardone.com