This is such a good reminder for all of us that we need that peaceful space for ourselves. It’s to easy to become overwhelmed and depressed by today’s events and constantly watching the news only makes it worse. Thank you for sharing this with us!
I try to keep myself busy and focused on things that I know I can control and have a positive impact with. I do a lot of master naturalist volunteer work, leading nature hikes, teaching nature journaling, working in pollinator gardens and working with kids at our local nature center. When I’m not doing that I’m creating in my art studio. I have an art show coming up in July, a nature journaling show with one of my master naturalist/artist friends. It helps me to see the beauty in spite of the ugly and stay focused on the positive.
Rebecca, I have such a tender spot in my heart for Naturalists. My dad was park naturalist at Carlsbad Caverns and then later in Glacier National Park. My love and relationship with the land is because of him. He was a geologist who could read the stories of us in the rocks. That still brings amazement! A daily dose of Vitamin N, is needed to live a balanced life.
Congratulations on your upcoming show. Thank you for being here. Big hugs.
Thank you Stephanie. I’v always had a special love for nature. My father helped foster it! I have fond memories of our walks through the woods, my dad pointing out different plants and trees, what was edible or medicinal and what was toxic or poisonous. I didn’t know at the time the scope of what he was actually teaching me!
That's so wonderful, and look us -- strangers that are really kindred spirits. We are not strangers anymore. I love these serendipities in life! Thank you.
That sounds so wise and lovely, Rebecca. I toyed with the idea of doing the master naturalist program. It's always a challenge to sort out what is mine to do in a world that offers a plethora of options daily. I do teach about wild plants in my area and I write, create, and share. Thank you for the work you do on behalf of the Earth and for all of us.
Hi Leenie! Thank you so much! You sound like a lovely “fit” for the Master Naturalist program, not pushing you on it, mind you! It’s an ongoing learning process. I feel that if I can encourage people to get out in nature and give them a better understanding, it might help foster love for nature and give a practice that they can carry into their daily life. People naturally want to protect what they’ve come to love. Of course you can do this with or without the program! I love that you are teaching people about wild plants! I have an upcoming power point presentation to give on native medicinal plants for a local ladies club. It’s a spin off from teaching nature journaling. I think of what I do is a sort of environmental activism, only in a more subtle way. It’s so encouraging to see that others are stepping up and stepping out to do the same. Please don’t stop doing what you’re doing! You never really know who you have touched or what difference you have made in the world! Thank you for doing what you do!💚
Thank you for that reminder and nudge. I've taught Nature journaling, too! And basic home apothecary skills using common wild plants right outside our doors. Nothing enchants me like stepping outside my door and finding medicine and food offered freely as a gift that required neither planting nor tending. Joy incarnate and my heart overflows with gratitude.
I've recently published my first historical herbal mystery and have "author events" lined up with local libraries and indie bookstores. When they each approached me about doing a "signing" I explained that I would love to share with their patrons but I really don't want to sit behind a table with a product for sale. I think that's uncomfortable for everyone. I've suggested a free offering so I'm doing things like plant walks along a city street (LOVE those!), an Elderberry syrup making demonstration and tasting, and a chilled Elderberry Chai topped with Elderberry foam roundtable chat. My book is titled Elder Legacies and the featured herb is Elder, so these activities are relevant. A vineyard a couple of hours away just contacted me about doing an author/wine pairing for their patrons and say they have a suitable Elderberry laced wine to suit. I plan to visit the vineyard and see if there is a good place to stroll and appreciate the green bounty as well. 🌿💚
That is just so awesome! I’m smiling here! Please let me know how to order a copy of your book. It sounds like one that I would truly enjoy reading! One of the trees I’m doing for the nature journal show is the Elderberry! A beautiful tree at a local nature preserve here is blooming. The flowers are so delicate and lovely. I just had to include it! Lol!
Others, like Barnes & Noble or Amazon, also carry the title and you can find it by typing in Elder Legacies by Leenie Hobbie. Thanks so much for your support. Also, "my" Elders are blooming here now, too! 🌿💚
@Stephanie Raffelock - I appreciate you naming something I’ve been sitting with lately: the importance of spending time with myself in sacred spaces, especially the internal ones. I’ve been working to resist external pressures that pull me out of alignment, reclaiming my day, mind, body and spirit from forces that don’t serve me.
This piece offers a kind of validation I'm glad I found, that others, too, are tending to what’s sacred in their lives. For me, a good book or piece of solid writing can stir something meaningful, even stress me in a way that feels productive. I often reach for that kind of nourishment at day’s end, when I’m trying to avoid the pull of scrolling or watching content I know won’t give anything back.
Lately, I’ve come to think of that effort as a kind of sacred practice.
Bronce, I think you named it -- it is sacred practice. May we continue to validate the process of finding meaning, of living self-compassion and compassion for others. May we walk the world with kind and grateful hearts. Thank you for your thoughtful comment. Big hugs. (I'm giving virtual hugs to everyone today, because we can all use hugs during these times.)
Beautiful, beautiful essay. I'm smitten by your prose!
Your approach to the MAGA regime (I love that you used that term, so fitting) and the news coverage is so wonderful. I love that you have beautiful, peaceful rituals in the morning, and that you put your art first. Because that's where it needs to be: first. The news can consume us 24/7 and take over our very peace if we allow it. Creating art is most important; it feeds our souls.
Your putting your writing practice first is so crucial to self-care and self-love. I am so glad you make creating art your priority.
I choose to stay informed, but limit the news, so it doesn't overtake my day. I've had horrible moments, and I really don't want to focus my life solely on the news and the latest MAGA regime action.
Like you, I am putting my art first. That is what is important to me; this is what feeds my soul and gives me life. I am refusing to be consumed by the news, as it takes my focus away from my art. For me, art is a form of self-care; if I'm not creating art, then my world is upside down and off-kilter.
I also end my days with laughter. These days it's hard to smile, let alone laugh. I've been on YouTube watching Robin Williams' stand-up routines. I laugh out loud. And that's the way for me to end the day these days.
Sending hugs as you continue to honor yourself and your craft.
Beth, Robin Williams is a classic. I love that we have access to him through YouTube. May we continue to be informed by our art; may we walk in kindness; and may we continue to link arms as we walk this craggy path. Biggest hugs my dear artist friend. You are in my heart.
Robin Williams - what a great idea to end a day that includes both creative work and one act of resistance, hopefully a call or letter to those who need to use their power for good or a donation to those who have reoriented their work toward ending this nightmare in America.
Julia, it is such a sweet experience when a poet responds to one of my posts in poetry. It always fills me. Thank you for this. I love my tree-kin and my fellow poets. Thank you for being here. Big hugs.
Thanks, Linda. Creatives can each take a small step and that leads to a much larger collective steps. There is "better work" to be done. Thank you for being here. Big hugs.
Your words confirm my feelings and help keep me steady. This needs to be plastered somewhere in my home and my brain: "Staying informed without losing your soul is an act of quiet rebellion. A way of saying: I see, I care, and I will not be consumed. I will find ways to answer the call to preserve and persevere with truth. Remember, information should be fuel, to think, and to do our part in preserving truth. It need not be the fire that consumes." Here's a loving Amen to your wise and thoughtful words.
Thank you, Jeanne. We help and support each other; I believe it's what we can do to create forward motion toward goodness. You are in my heart. Big hugs.
Stephanie, what a lovely invitation. Information *is* fuel for me, especially in this important time. I read read read (thank you for mentioning our Guerrilla Reads group!). I journal, I write (via Substack). Butt most of all, I'm hugely blessed to live beyond the city, beyond even suburbia, and I'm out as much as I can be: beside the creek, in the woods, out with the dog. And just before I go to sleep, I spend 10 or 15 minutes on X/Twitter, catching up on my "animals" list. Their posts always make me smile.
Nature is the great balm for me right now, as well. And living a life of writing and reading is pretty wonderful too. Thank you for always inspiring, Susan. I think the Guerrilla Book Group is one of the all time great ideas for community building, and that's something we all need to pay attention to these days. Building not destroying. Big hugs, my friend.
The theme of your post is timely as several other Substack writers Robert Hubbell have written about the same thing today.
Many people seem to be at their limit for news intake. Balancing our engagement with the issues of the day with a walk, gardening, music and art is important.
Thanks for the reminder.
Also thanks for the link to the Guerrilla Readers book group. I’ve read several of these others are in my list. I shared the link with a friend who likes listening to books while she works around her farm.
Thanks for sharing the link to Guerrilla Readers, Amelia. And thank you for your thoughtful post. We need each other to navigate the choppy waters of the trump regime and all the cruelty coming out of Washington. May we all walk in balance and continue to pay homage to the Great Creation with our own creations. Big hugs.
Thank you so much for your beautiful words. I have just finished reading The Hidden Life of Trees and now understand more fully why my walks in the forest touch my soul.
Carol, that's a beautiful book, isn't it. I learned a lot about connection from that book. Here's to forest trails and the whisperings of the trees. Big hugs.
Dear Stephanie, I love how you honour presence and resilience in your post, encouraging us to create space (above and below) for breath, gratitude and creativity, before we even contemplate wading through the treacle of the world’s news programmes.
In answer to your questions, at the top of my daily to do (or sanity list as I like to call it!) is to immerse myself in nature ever day, by walking, cycling, listening to birdsong, looking out for Mother Moon and of course, by creating. Daily, I also like to put time aside to connect with others. Sometimes that’s online, sometimes that’s offline. I try to keep it all balanced. Oh, and there’s work too, but that’s only two days a week now as I inch closer to retirement at the end of next year.
Sprinkling a little wisdom here and there, for self and others, alongside my more solitary work of dreams, active imagination and journaling, keeps me engaged too. Tarot too keeps me focussed, especially in the here and now, so sometimes I’ll pull a daily card to meditate upon. These sacred rituals are so important to me, so thanks so much for asking. While reading this back I'm thinking to myself, gosh that's a lot to do in one day and I haven't even mentioned all the reading I do!
Thank you so much for sharing your words and wisdom. I love how you stay informed without becoming consumed. For wisdom, I’m learning, arrives not in the noise of life, but always in those beautiful, quiet pauses of our lives, those breaths between tides and the choices we take to create.
In words, in light and in quiet rebellion, your poet friend, Deborah. 🙏💜✨
Deborah, thank you for such a thoughtful reply. I love that you mention making time to connect with others. I feel a great need to exercise the kindness muscle, and we interaction with each other to bolster our strength.
Looking for Mother moon makes me smile. I like to look for her too. Sending you love, appreciation and big hugs.
Thank you.. you capture what many of us feel now, and have felt before..🩷🩷💚❤️I am thankful for those who have the stamina to take the action needed… the energy of youth and health..Your words are comforting ..thank you again..
I sent you a direct message, but I'll say it here too. You share a name with my beloved niece, and that all by itself sparked a sweet affection. Thank you for being here. stephanie
Beautiful articulation of tools we can all use to navigate these trying times and keep our hearts healthy. Thank you!
I started a Crisis Journal at the beginning of the year. I imagine I originally thought it would be a place to honestly grieve and rage, and I suppose there is a bit of that in those pages. What has happened much more abundantly and regularly has been the celebration of the goodness I encounter most days. The pages are stuffed with flaps and envelopes where I store encouraging letters and art from friends sharing their journeys. My writing desk is home to a variety of three dimensional gifts (soothing herbal dream pillows stuffed with Lavender, Hops, Mugwort, handmade incense and candles, a sacred vessel for slowly steeping lunar infusions, felt and embroidery art that came via letters and exchanges with other writers, artists, and makers.) There are also memorials and celebrations of life representing some of the losses from our circle in the past 6 months. Sometimes I go to this journal at the end of the day with a heavy heart, but somehow I always end up meandering around to noticing the joy that remains, the kindness of a friend or neighbor, or even a stranger. In the midst of gathering all the facts and information about what is happening, it's important that we not neglect noticing what is still true about ourselves and each other and what is worth preserving from our days in this world.
What a timely story about your 'crisis journal' transforming itself into a reminder of kindness and beauty. Your comment comes at such a good time for all of us -- keep something that you make, close by -- journals, art, gifts of love, letters. You inspire us all to look at the abundance of humanity in our lives and nourish it, share it with the world.
Leenie, I have an imagining of your desk and it feels joyful -- as though your desk has become an altar, lifting up what is good, kind, and essential to the heart.
And this: "...it's important that we not neglect noticing what is still true about ourselves and each other and what is worth preserving..." This is something I want to hold close and remember each day. Thank you for sharing your wise words and your beautiful story. Biggest of hugs and all goodwill. ~stephanie xo
Thank you for mixing your poetry with your personal inquiry. 🙏🏽 It’s beautiful, and it creates beauty as it goes. I do get a little frisson of solace from taking in your rituals, like a transitive property. And thanks for asking me to look at my own.
My news pattern is a combination of sources. I start with ones I like, and move onto ones I don’t, finishing with ones I hate. I’m religious about trying to take in an “overview.” I try not to trust the person I identify with more than the person I don’t. (That’s hard.)
My rituals of centering and self protection are similar. I know how to be good to myself. I definitely know how to criticize myself, too. These furies have to be balanced with an alchemy of self love and humor. Letting in my negative thoughts for a productive session is like riding a shark. Both myself and the shark have to be in the right mood. I do this because fully denying my negative feelings is a recipe for personal disaster. That shark (insert your chosen monster to ride) and I need to commune and compromise every couple of weeks. If it is too hungry, it will consume me. If I ignore, it grows strong in the dark, too strong to ride.
Emotionally, I’m like Karl Wallenda, but on a shark. It’s exciting and fulfilling, occasionally hectic.
The whole thing is served up on bed of shredded gratitude. I might not live long enough to figure out what or whom I’m grateful to, but I am certain that I am.
Eric, I love your emotional honesty. It makes you very trustworthy in my eyes. And THIS: "That shark (insert your chosen monster to ride) and I need to commune and compromise every couple of weeks. If it is too hungry, it will consume me. If I ignore, it grows strong in the dark, too strong to ride." Balance is the key, not denial. Wise words, my friend. Thank you. And big hugs.
Refueling stations,
places of refuge with friends.
Serve as oases.
...
Resetting rituals,
kind restorative routines.
Keep us replenished.
...
Tree temples, bird schools,
sages’ pages, our blank page.
Ready us for next.
Amen, sweet sister, and thank you.
This is such a good reminder for all of us that we need that peaceful space for ourselves. It’s to easy to become overwhelmed and depressed by today’s events and constantly watching the news only makes it worse. Thank you for sharing this with us!
I try to keep myself busy and focused on things that I know I can control and have a positive impact with. I do a lot of master naturalist volunteer work, leading nature hikes, teaching nature journaling, working in pollinator gardens and working with kids at our local nature center. When I’m not doing that I’m creating in my art studio. I have an art show coming up in July, a nature journaling show with one of my master naturalist/artist friends. It helps me to see the beauty in spite of the ugly and stay focused on the positive.
Rebecca, I have such a tender spot in my heart for Naturalists. My dad was park naturalist at Carlsbad Caverns and then later in Glacier National Park. My love and relationship with the land is because of him. He was a geologist who could read the stories of us in the rocks. That still brings amazement! A daily dose of Vitamin N, is needed to live a balanced life.
Congratulations on your upcoming show. Thank you for being here. Big hugs.
Thank you Stephanie. I’v always had a special love for nature. My father helped foster it! I have fond memories of our walks through the woods, my dad pointing out different plants and trees, what was edible or medicinal and what was toxic or poisonous. I didn’t know at the time the scope of what he was actually teaching me!
That's so wonderful, and look us -- strangers that are really kindred spirits. We are not strangers anymore. I love these serendipities in life! Thank you.
Thank you!
That sounds so wise and lovely, Rebecca. I toyed with the idea of doing the master naturalist program. It's always a challenge to sort out what is mine to do in a world that offers a plethora of options daily. I do teach about wild plants in my area and I write, create, and share. Thank you for the work you do on behalf of the Earth and for all of us.
Hi Leenie! Thank you so much! You sound like a lovely “fit” for the Master Naturalist program, not pushing you on it, mind you! It’s an ongoing learning process. I feel that if I can encourage people to get out in nature and give them a better understanding, it might help foster love for nature and give a practice that they can carry into their daily life. People naturally want to protect what they’ve come to love. Of course you can do this with or without the program! I love that you are teaching people about wild plants! I have an upcoming power point presentation to give on native medicinal plants for a local ladies club. It’s a spin off from teaching nature journaling. I think of what I do is a sort of environmental activism, only in a more subtle way. It’s so encouraging to see that others are stepping up and stepping out to do the same. Please don’t stop doing what you’re doing! You never really know who you have touched or what difference you have made in the world! Thank you for doing what you do!💚
Thank you for that reminder and nudge. I've taught Nature journaling, too! And basic home apothecary skills using common wild plants right outside our doors. Nothing enchants me like stepping outside my door and finding medicine and food offered freely as a gift that required neither planting nor tending. Joy incarnate and my heart overflows with gratitude.
I've recently published my first historical herbal mystery and have "author events" lined up with local libraries and indie bookstores. When they each approached me about doing a "signing" I explained that I would love to share with their patrons but I really don't want to sit behind a table with a product for sale. I think that's uncomfortable for everyone. I've suggested a free offering so I'm doing things like plant walks along a city street (LOVE those!), an Elderberry syrup making demonstration and tasting, and a chilled Elderberry Chai topped with Elderberry foam roundtable chat. My book is titled Elder Legacies and the featured herb is Elder, so these activities are relevant. A vineyard a couple of hours away just contacted me about doing an author/wine pairing for their patrons and say they have a suitable Elderberry laced wine to suit. I plan to visit the vineyard and see if there is a good place to stroll and appreciate the green bounty as well. 🌿💚
That is just so awesome! I’m smiling here! Please let me know how to order a copy of your book. It sounds like one that I would truly enjoy reading! One of the trees I’m doing for the nature journal show is the Elderberry! A beautiful tree at a local nature preserve here is blooming. The flowers are so delicate and lovely. I just had to include it! Lol!
Elder Legacies is available from most online retailers. When folks ask I generally encourage using the non-profit Bookshop.org because you can set it up so that a portion of the profit benefits your favorite local indie bookstore. Here's the link if you want to order there: https://bookshop.org/p/books/elder-legacies/6ac47a96580455d7?ean=9798218643126&next=t
Others, like Barnes & Noble or Amazon, also carry the title and you can find it by typing in Elder Legacies by Leenie Hobbie. Thanks so much for your support. Also, "my" Elders are blooming here now, too! 🌿💚
Thank you so much Leenie! I’m looking forward to reading it! 🥰
Beautiful, Leenie!
@Stephanie Raffelock - I appreciate you naming something I’ve been sitting with lately: the importance of spending time with myself in sacred spaces, especially the internal ones. I’ve been working to resist external pressures that pull me out of alignment, reclaiming my day, mind, body and spirit from forces that don’t serve me.
This piece offers a kind of validation I'm glad I found, that others, too, are tending to what’s sacred in their lives. For me, a good book or piece of solid writing can stir something meaningful, even stress me in a way that feels productive. I often reach for that kind of nourishment at day’s end, when I’m trying to avoid the pull of scrolling or watching content I know won’t give anything back.
Lately, I’ve come to think of that effort as a kind of sacred practice.
Bronce, I think you named it -- it is sacred practice. May we continue to validate the process of finding meaning, of living self-compassion and compassion for others. May we walk the world with kind and grateful hearts. Thank you for your thoughtful comment. Big hugs. (I'm giving virtual hugs to everyone today, because we can all use hugs during these times.)
Hi Stephanie,
Beautiful, beautiful essay. I'm smitten by your prose!
Your approach to the MAGA regime (I love that you used that term, so fitting) and the news coverage is so wonderful. I love that you have beautiful, peaceful rituals in the morning, and that you put your art first. Because that's where it needs to be: first. The news can consume us 24/7 and take over our very peace if we allow it. Creating art is most important; it feeds our souls.
Your putting your writing practice first is so crucial to self-care and self-love. I am so glad you make creating art your priority.
I choose to stay informed, but limit the news, so it doesn't overtake my day. I've had horrible moments, and I really don't want to focus my life solely on the news and the latest MAGA regime action.
Like you, I am putting my art first. That is what is important to me; this is what feeds my soul and gives me life. I am refusing to be consumed by the news, as it takes my focus away from my art. For me, art is a form of self-care; if I'm not creating art, then my world is upside down and off-kilter.
I also end my days with laughter. These days it's hard to smile, let alone laugh. I've been on YouTube watching Robin Williams' stand-up routines. I laugh out loud. And that's the way for me to end the day these days.
Sending hugs as you continue to honor yourself and your craft.
Beth, Robin Williams is a classic. I love that we have access to him through YouTube. May we continue to be informed by our art; may we walk in kindness; and may we continue to link arms as we walk this craggy path. Biggest hugs my dear artist friend. You are in my heart.
Robin Williams - what a great idea to end a day that includes both creative work and one act of resistance, hopefully a call or letter to those who need to use their power for good or a donation to those who have reoriented their work toward ending this nightmare in America.
Good stuff, Beverly. Thank you and I love your reorientation piece! Big hugs.
Tree People
Trees do not run in a storm,
Do not hide in the Gail,
They Stand,
In the wind
In the flames
They bow and bend
In the rain.
We, like trees
Are woven together,
Deep in the soil of the Earth,
Holding,
Standing,
Together,
We Tree people.
Julia H McCloskey
Julia, it is such a sweet experience when a poet responds to one of my posts in poetry. It always fills me. Thank you for this. I love my tree-kin and my fellow poets. Thank you for being here. Big hugs.
You are an amazing inspiration Stephanie Raffelock! Thank you.
Love this, Stephanie. Thank you for reminding us to remain true to doing our better work.
Thanks, Linda. Creatives can each take a small step and that leads to a much larger collective steps. There is "better work" to be done. Thank you for being here. Big hugs.
Your words confirm my feelings and help keep me steady. This needs to be plastered somewhere in my home and my brain: "Staying informed without losing your soul is an act of quiet rebellion. A way of saying: I see, I care, and I will not be consumed. I will find ways to answer the call to preserve and persevere with truth. Remember, information should be fuel, to think, and to do our part in preserving truth. It need not be the fire that consumes." Here's a loving Amen to your wise and thoughtful words.
Thank you, Jeanne. We help and support each other; I believe it's what we can do to create forward motion toward goodness. You are in my heart. Big hugs.
Stephanie, what a lovely invitation. Information *is* fuel for me, especially in this important time. I read read read (thank you for mentioning our Guerrilla Reads group!). I journal, I write (via Substack). Butt most of all, I'm hugely blessed to live beyond the city, beyond even suburbia, and I'm out as much as I can be: beside the creek, in the woods, out with the dog. And just before I go to sleep, I spend 10 or 15 minutes on X/Twitter, catching up on my "animals" list. Their posts always make me smile.
Nature is the great balm for me right now, as well. And living a life of writing and reading is pretty wonderful too. Thank you for always inspiring, Susan. I think the Guerrilla Book Group is one of the all time great ideas for community building, and that's something we all need to pay attention to these days. Building not destroying. Big hugs, my friend.
The theme of your post is timely as several other Substack writers Robert Hubbell have written about the same thing today.
Many people seem to be at their limit for news intake. Balancing our engagement with the issues of the day with a walk, gardening, music and art is important.
Thanks for the reminder.
Also thanks for the link to the Guerrilla Readers book group. I’ve read several of these others are in my list. I shared the link with a friend who likes listening to books while she works around her farm.
Thanks for sharing the link to Guerrilla Readers, Amelia. And thank you for your thoughtful post. We need each other to navigate the choppy waters of the trump regime and all the cruelty coming out of Washington. May we all walk in balance and continue to pay homage to the Great Creation with our own creations. Big hugs.
Me too!! Similar rules!! Trying to live in each moment to appreciate here and now!!🙏🙏🙏🙏
Well said! Biggest of hugs.
Thank you so much for your beautiful words. I have just finished reading The Hidden Life of Trees and now understand more fully why my walks in the forest touch my soul.
Fabulous read… mind altering
Big hugs, Lynn.
Carol, that's a beautiful book, isn't it. I learned a lot about connection from that book. Here's to forest trails and the whisperings of the trees. Big hugs.
Dear Stephanie, I love how you honour presence and resilience in your post, encouraging us to create space (above and below) for breath, gratitude and creativity, before we even contemplate wading through the treacle of the world’s news programmes.
In answer to your questions, at the top of my daily to do (or sanity list as I like to call it!) is to immerse myself in nature ever day, by walking, cycling, listening to birdsong, looking out for Mother Moon and of course, by creating. Daily, I also like to put time aside to connect with others. Sometimes that’s online, sometimes that’s offline. I try to keep it all balanced. Oh, and there’s work too, but that’s only two days a week now as I inch closer to retirement at the end of next year.
Sprinkling a little wisdom here and there, for self and others, alongside my more solitary work of dreams, active imagination and journaling, keeps me engaged too. Tarot too keeps me focussed, especially in the here and now, so sometimes I’ll pull a daily card to meditate upon. These sacred rituals are so important to me, so thanks so much for asking. While reading this back I'm thinking to myself, gosh that's a lot to do in one day and I haven't even mentioned all the reading I do!
Thank you so much for sharing your words and wisdom. I love how you stay informed without becoming consumed. For wisdom, I’m learning, arrives not in the noise of life, but always in those beautiful, quiet pauses of our lives, those breaths between tides and the choices we take to create.
In words, in light and in quiet rebellion, your poet friend, Deborah. 🙏💜✨
Deborah, thank you for such a thoughtful reply. I love that you mention making time to connect with others. I feel a great need to exercise the kindness muscle, and we interaction with each other to bolster our strength.
Looking for Mother moon makes me smile. I like to look for her too. Sending you love, appreciation and big hugs.
Thank you.. you capture what many of us feel now, and have felt before..🩷🩷💚❤️I am thankful for those who have the stamina to take the action needed… the energy of youth and health..Your words are comforting ..thank you again..
I sent you a direct message, but I'll say it here too. You share a name with my beloved niece, and that all by itself sparked a sweet affection. Thank you for being here. stephanie
Big hugs.
Beautiful articulation of tools we can all use to navigate these trying times and keep our hearts healthy. Thank you!
I started a Crisis Journal at the beginning of the year. I imagine I originally thought it would be a place to honestly grieve and rage, and I suppose there is a bit of that in those pages. What has happened much more abundantly and regularly has been the celebration of the goodness I encounter most days. The pages are stuffed with flaps and envelopes where I store encouraging letters and art from friends sharing their journeys. My writing desk is home to a variety of three dimensional gifts (soothing herbal dream pillows stuffed with Lavender, Hops, Mugwort, handmade incense and candles, a sacred vessel for slowly steeping lunar infusions, felt and embroidery art that came via letters and exchanges with other writers, artists, and makers.) There are also memorials and celebrations of life representing some of the losses from our circle in the past 6 months. Sometimes I go to this journal at the end of the day with a heavy heart, but somehow I always end up meandering around to noticing the joy that remains, the kindness of a friend or neighbor, or even a stranger. In the midst of gathering all the facts and information about what is happening, it's important that we not neglect noticing what is still true about ourselves and each other and what is worth preserving from our days in this world.
What a timely story about your 'crisis journal' transforming itself into a reminder of kindness and beauty. Your comment comes at such a good time for all of us -- keep something that you make, close by -- journals, art, gifts of love, letters. You inspire us all to look at the abundance of humanity in our lives and nourish it, share it with the world.
Leenie, I have an imagining of your desk and it feels joyful -- as though your desk has become an altar, lifting up what is good, kind, and essential to the heart.
And this: "...it's important that we not neglect noticing what is still true about ourselves and each other and what is worth preserving..." This is something I want to hold close and remember each day. Thank you for sharing your wise words and your beautiful story. Biggest of hugs and all goodwill. ~stephanie xo
Thank you for mixing your poetry with your personal inquiry. 🙏🏽 It’s beautiful, and it creates beauty as it goes. I do get a little frisson of solace from taking in your rituals, like a transitive property. And thanks for asking me to look at my own.
My news pattern is a combination of sources. I start with ones I like, and move onto ones I don’t, finishing with ones I hate. I’m religious about trying to take in an “overview.” I try not to trust the person I identify with more than the person I don’t. (That’s hard.)
My rituals of centering and self protection are similar. I know how to be good to myself. I definitely know how to criticize myself, too. These furies have to be balanced with an alchemy of self love and humor. Letting in my negative thoughts for a productive session is like riding a shark. Both myself and the shark have to be in the right mood. I do this because fully denying my negative feelings is a recipe for personal disaster. That shark (insert your chosen monster to ride) and I need to commune and compromise every couple of weeks. If it is too hungry, it will consume me. If I ignore, it grows strong in the dark, too strong to ride.
Emotionally, I’m like Karl Wallenda, but on a shark. It’s exciting and fulfilling, occasionally hectic.
The whole thing is served up on bed of shredded gratitude. I might not live long enough to figure out what or whom I’m grateful to, but I am certain that I am.
Thank you, Stephanie.
Eric, I love your emotional honesty. It makes you very trustworthy in my eyes. And THIS: "That shark (insert your chosen monster to ride) and I need to commune and compromise every couple of weeks. If it is too hungry, it will consume me. If I ignore, it grows strong in the dark, too strong to ride." Balance is the key, not denial. Wise words, my friend. Thank you. And big hugs.
Such wisdom here, thank you friend xx
Jody, I love being in this orbit with you. Thank you. Sending big hugs across the big pond.