In a time of drastic change one can be too preoccupied with what is ending or too obsessed with what seems to be beginning. In either case one loses touch with the present and with its obscure but dynamic possibilities. … Continue reading Present | May 2022.
Present is choosing to believe that your own life is worth investing deeply in, instead of waiting for some rare miracle or fairytale. Present Over Perfect, by Shauna Niequist (via @emilypfreeman) Except for this past weekend, April has been a quiet month for me. a month where I spent a lot of time on my own, reading, knitting, studying, listening to music and birdsong, walking. I let go a few commitments to make more room for solitude and my new church leadership roles. I tried to be disciplined about bedtime since the dark early hours are my favorite reading and … Continue reading Present | April 2022.
Noted in my journal on Monday, March 14: “getting clarity about my OLW – 1) living here. now. AND 2) feeling good about it. The connection of these two ideas seems like the point. the AHA!! moment.” When I (re) … Continue reading Present | March 2022.
Reflecting back on this second month of living this year’s word, I feel like I’m learning a lot from simply paying attention. practicing stillness. resisting the urge to live for future plans (or ruminate over regrets). celebrating what’s good about … Continue reading Present | February 2022.
My One Little Word for 2022 is Present. Like many of y’all (I’m sure), I’ve spent a lot of time these past nearly two years coming to terms with cancelled plans and disappointments. Tomorrow, it seems, is not a dependable … Continue reading Present | January 2022.
I’ve been looking forward to putting this post together for a few weeks (honestly since November, when I chatted with Carolyn about the series she was putting together to celebrate this OLW practice). Last year’s wrap up is one of my favorite posts to revisit … I love how the review tells a story about the year and about me and my OLW. The monthly check-ins here continue to be one of the most useful practices for me around OLW – they force me to reflect and connect. Some months it makes magic, and some months it barely holds together. … Continue reading Choose 2021 | Wrapping Up.
Hello friends! It’s the last Tuesday of November and time for another check-in with my OLW – Choose. If you’ve been reading along with me this month, you know that I’ve focused on Choosing Gratitude. I’ve shared a deep dive into four aspects of my life that regularly inspire gratitude (Dark Early Quiet Time, a Morning Walk, Fiction Matters, and Family). You might also recall that this year’s OLW and the “Choose Gratitude” idea was inspired by Diana Butler Bass’s book Grateful and the Thanksgiving Prayer she shared last year. She shared another thought-provoking post this Thanksgiving suggesting we broaden our … Continue reading Choose | November 2021.
Hello friends! The calendar tells me October is nearly over and it’s time for another OLW update. Way back on October 4, I chose to focus on hope this month. One of my favorite Instagram follows @sharonsaysso posted a series of slides about hope that resonated. Hope was my OLW back in 2019. 2021 me is proud of the work I did back then and it felt good to revisit some of those lessons (2021 me is also really in awe of the frequency with which 2019 me posted!) One of the biggest was that Hope is a muscle – it needs to … Continue reading Choose | October 2021.
Hello friends! Thank you for all the lovely comments on my last post; it does seem like Autumn is a favorite and most-welcome season for many of us. This past week has been full of delightful blue skies and cooler temperatures. The photos spread throughout this post were captured on various morning walks (and yes, leaves have started changing, even this far south!) My week away (from this space … I still haven’t spent a night away from home in over a year!) was definitely much-needed. I’ve been looking forward to writing this post since yesterday, and that’s the surest … Continue reading Choose | September 2021.
It’s the last Tuesday of August and time for this month’s OLW update. The month started off on a high note when Holly visited the groomer and the vet on the 5th and the vet joked with me that he hoped he wouldn’t see us again this year. My knee was feeling better (it still is), and I started playing a little tennis and walking in the mornings with Marc. and then things just stopped being ok. Maybe it’s an August thing for me because it felt a lot like last year (except for questioning my Enneagram type 😉 ) Thankfully, … Continue reading Choose | August 2021.
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