Welcome.

So first, deep breath in through your nose -

fill up allllll the way,

notice your heart space expand and lift, hold here for a moment

and deep breath out, sigh it out,

let your shoulders lighten, and fall away from your ears.

If you felt something shift, do that  a few more times.

See, don’t you already feel a little better?

Instead of scrolling, you’re here and reading through this. Your 10-minute breath of fresh air this morning.

‘The energy of life is a building and breaking down that keeps us more often in the process than in the result.’

Read that over a few times, slowly, and allow it to settle and land with you.

It provides me immense comfort to be reminded that that building up and breaking down that we so often associate with a lack of progress and moving forward is what it's all about.

There was a long time where my understanding of the world was as more of a linear trajectory - that things continuously, albeit slowly, progress. We are taught to work towards goals, to have them as the checkpoints and markers of success. More often than not the benchmarks we have- that we think we've created for ourselves - come from a societal comparison of what we observe others doing. Without going too deep into this because I could talk about it forever (at risk of overcomplicating), we're conditioned to see things relatively and use others as a point of comparison and end up goal-fixated based on what we observe.

As if reaching a certain destination or end point will mean we've made it. It's this constant game we play with ourselves - thinking when we achieve that thing we were working toward for so long we'll then (and only then) feel complete and fulfilled. The catch with this is that once we reach that point, there's always something else we'll tack on and it becomes this constant game of moving goalposts. It becomes unsustainable and rather exhausting. It's great to have aspirations and drive in life, we all need that to keep us going and feel like we're achieving what we hope to. But attaching your self-worth to it is a game you don't want to play.

My life feels like it has been built up and broken down so many times. And it still feels that way. Big moves will do that to you… big shifts in your interpersonal world… big transitions with your career… all those in-between moments. When you're in it, it feels incredibly hard because you're on shaky ground. The lack of secure footing makes us uneasy.

That is when I've found the most depth and commitment to my practice to help me through. And the simplest way of putting it is: if we can create a home for ourselves inside of us that we can nurture and return to, especially when everything outside is shifting and in motion, it stills us, slows us down and grounds us.

It helps to have somewhere else to focus our attention other than looking outside for external validation.

It interrupts the forward-leaning energy of constant striving.

It allows us to be in that building and breaking down without needing to control, or rush and get to the end.

I have found that there is deep love and incredible wisdom in the space between - the space where we can ask and answer soulful questions.

Over some period of time, I'll continue to explore these "in-between" moments, and unpack how my practice has helped guide me through them. Your in-between moments are likely to overlap with mine. We're remarkably similar.

So…let’s try this. This Sunday is a good a time as any to try doing something - anything! - without measurement.

Spend some time (even start with 30 mins) doing something you enjoy - whether you're good at it or not - with zero expectation of improvement. There's a million things you could do - cook, draw, paint, sketch, write, or even go to a bookstore and browse, go to an art supply store, a café with a good book, visit the zoo or the botanical gardens. Do it purely for the experience itself, with no documentation or evaluation. Make it a non-goal oriented experience.

My favorite book of all time, The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron (this will not be the last time I refer to Julia Cameron's book - so now may be a good time to order it and start that magical journey), calls these Artist's Dates.  It's doing something that intrigues or enchants you and hopefully sparks  inspiration. The only ones on this 'date' are you and your creative self, they're ideally things outside of your normal everyday routine. It's more about play than anything else. As adults, we need more play  in our lives - it breaks up the goal-oriented mentality and helps us reframe activities from always being a means to an end into an experience worth having for its own sake.

P.S. In case you need this reminder: it’s going to be a great day, and a great week.

We often get in the way of ourselves. Notice when that happens, and how you can lean into the habits you know serve you, lift you up, and help you see  with more perspective.  
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This Sunday morning put on this wonderfully peaceful, calming playlist made for a slow and easy morning.

Put it on in the background, and if you’re home for your Artist Date maybe play it as you’re doing any of that fun stuff you committed to.
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