
Slowly.
Steadily.
Evolving.
Not striving.
Perhaps leaning.
Allowing.
Unfolding.
Remembering
that being
does not require becoming.

Slowly.
Steadily.
Evolving.
Not striving.
Perhaps leaning.
Allowing.
Unfolding.
Remembering
that being
does not require becoming.

Feeling goodness.
Recognizing capacity for love and joy…
and pain and sorrow…
and confusion and disappointment…
Offering laughter and playfulness…
tears and aching.
Ever grateful.
Still longing.
Inviting.
Learning to receive.
Faith,
not hope,
guides discovery.
Recurring smiles
share space with unsettled emptiness,
offering glimpses of spaciousness.
Trust becomes the compass point,
as surrender calls.
Not giving up,
but diving in.
Relinquishing the tight reins of control
to allow the fullness of life to unfold on its own.
Turning towards the depths of the oceans of stability within,
to exist within it all.
Grateful for this artwork generously created and shared by Matt Buncik.

It begins with a small sliver,
Cresting the horizon.
Barely noticeable at first,
There is a stirring.
Sparks popcorn through the air.
A simultaneous stillness
Accompanied by a deep and profound desire to dance.
Masked by trees, clouds,
And preoccupied vision,
She goes unnoticed at first,
Simply climbing, filling, growing,
Not making any promises
Not asking to be seen.
The wise ones feel her arrival.
And whether attuned or not,
prepared or not,
receptive or not,
She makes her presence known.
Slowly shining more and more brightly,
Occupying more and more space,
Until she cannot be ignored
She ripples through your veins,
She invites wonder and awe.
She offers a compass point through the darkness,
Never imposing a path,
Simply holding the space,
Subtly encouraging your heart
To unlock in ways
Never imagined.
Photo by Jean McDonald

My capacity is larger than my hurt.
The tear rolls down my cheek,
just a fraction of the bigger me.
Full and brimming and yet still quite small.
I feel both at the same time,
my tear
and my breath,
my breath
and my heart,
my heart
and my strength.
I can hold grief and gratitude.
Love and disappointment.
Compassion and boundaries.
Sadness and peace.

Newness and unfamiliarity
fuel curiosity.
Forward momentum guides creativity.
Acceptance reveals the path to joy.
Growth is the gift of change.

Grounded in lightness.
Free to expand.
Confident in choice.
Clear in direction.
Comfort in stillness.
Peace in the quiet.
Steady in heart.
Content in this breath.

Recognizing without conforming.
Allowing without absorbing.
Flowing effortlessly between the inner and outer world.
Uniquely connected.
Discerning without differentiating.
Stepping out of the rigid container of familiar and safe
to freely exercise vulnerability and authenticity.
Curious.
Open to the new and opposing.
Existing within this thin permeable membrane.
Maintaining sense of self.
Living deeply and authentically.

I’m not always going to get my way,
but I’m always going to get what’s right for me.
When I let go of forcing outcomes,
stop relying on others for my happiness,
and see obstacles not as a sign of my worth but of my courage and strength,
even what seems like a paralyzing blockage
can be an invitation to take a different path,
go a different way,
or sit right where I am for a moment
and reflect
on the beauty,
awe,
and opportunity
that exists right here,
right now,
just the way things are.
Much gratitude to Shari Irby for contributing this photo.

Where does it end,
the light from the sun
the light of the moon,
the dark of the shadows
the vastness of the sky,
cold of winter,
unfurling of spring?
Where is the line
that separates joy
from sorrow,
excitement
from fear?
What fills the space between earth and sky?
Is it my heart?
My body?
My breath?
In my mind I struggle
to find a separation,
an either or,
a division,
a moment,
where one exists without the other.
I cannot
and therefore
I cannot regret.
I cannot long.
I cannot judge,
right or wrong.
I cannot reject sorrow
or long for joy.
I cannot suffer in darkness or immerse myself fully in light.
I am made of it all.
It is all in me.
Or is none of it?
I am the space that fills
the space between.
I am the end of light,
the beginning of dark.
I am all of the joy and filled with sorrow.
I am the convergence of earth and sky.
I am the meeting place for it all.
I am the “and.”

Tomorrow is not promised.
Align and open to the greatest gifts of today.
Open to your strengths.
Hold your wounds and weaknesses as reminders.
If you can remember these, you can remember you are something more.
You are something so much more.
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