I seem to only be able to reply to your posts with poetry lately. Thank you, as always, for your words and sharing your beautiful finds. Something about this topic reminds me of how trying hard to meditate "correctly" generally does not end well...so the idea that perhaps trying hard to always force healing may not be in the best interest of healing makes a lot of sense to me.
This is so beautiful and I'm so grateful you shared it. And I so agree with trying to meditate correctly completely defying the nourishing impact it can have -- yes yes yes.
More and more I am meeting people who have never been in love. I thought I had been in love many times. I'm 80. And yet, as I consider my long past, I wonder, "Have I ever really been in love?" "Is there such a thing?" "Is it a fiction crafted by the vivid imagination of word smiths?"
Yes, I too "have been in love with the way words spill from mouths." "The magic of dancing through existence" when it hasn't become tormented trudging waiting for that existence to cease.
I hear so much about being in love with oneself. Is that what being 'in love' is? I cannot believe it. Love must have an object, as you've so eloquently murmured above.
Can love embrace a subject and object at the same time as the same thing?
And "so it goes tiddley pum and so it goes on snowing", opines Winnie the Poo.
Everything you wrote in your poetry simply pronounces existence, BEING.
Maybe love is existence, BEING. Being. Plain and simple. Being...Love. Being in love.
Yes yes yes. Yes to being in my own life and giving in to it's flow. Yes to lots of pauses, to moving very slowly. I loved your title for the newsletter, it made my shoulders relax. And yes to gardening! I started gardening more a few years ago. It is its own artistic expression. I hope you do find joy in it in a way that works best for you. I'm so passionate about it now. A beautiful inspiring book that first got me excited to garden was The Bold and Brilliant Garden by Sarah Raven. She's UK based, but it was so handy for thinking about the possibilities of color, shape and form. 💖
Ohh thank you for that recommendation! We have so much space in our yard and figuring how where to start has been intimidating, but the thought of putting love and intention into creating something beautiful feels really igniting for me right now. Thank you for sharing this reflection -- "giving in to it's flow" feels so freeing. <3
The more and more I become aware, the world feels too much to analyze, think, be conscious of, make better decision ,be there for myself and others and ultimately be perfect. Sometimes I think what it is like to be living without constantly moving forward, achieving and becoming better. Where do I find the simplicity when world around is running, where do I find the stillness and where do I find the beauty that life has already has to offer. Even the world of healing has to offer a lot and it becomes too much to handle . Hope we all find life of little happy and peaceful moments.
Every week I am touched by your words and I feel a great sense of peace and joy that there is a kindred spirit out there. It seems like you always find a way to articulate my experience and I'm glad I've found your work.
Thank you so much for writing this, I felt a weight lifting from my shoulders as I read it. I seem to spend most of my time thinking I should do this or I shouldn't do that that I don't enjoy anything. Will try to spend my time living in the now, as I am, while also acknowledging that there is some work to do.
I hope you enjoy your gardening, I love it. It can be intimidating to start but just start small. I find that when I'm gardening I really am in the moment and it's wonderful.
I don’t think I have anything too insightful to add, but wanted to say that so much of what you share about just being versus doing has helped me open up more space in my life. I’m finding that those moments of real joy, gratitude, and clarity almost sneak up on me without the conscious effort I thought was needed. They happen when I’m present with the smallest things and not so much when I’ve finished reading an article or doing a thought exercise. Which maybe isn’t to say that those things don’t have a time or purpose, but just as you said that living is how we really embody our healing. Thank you for that ❤️
This walk through is craaazy full of Hilma's art if you haven't done it, even the rare watercolor stuff all the way to the back. I was mostly in awe of the giant paintings tho
Thank you for this beautiful reflection! I took screen shots so I could return to it again and again. Too often I am consuming information and accounts in search of “the thing” that will make me “better” rather than inhabiting my life and my body. The NASA pictures did offer a much needed sense of perspective. It felt freeing to see how small I am, how small we all are. And yet the people we love are our everything.
I see many have offered gardening support and I want to add : I’m more of a “planter” than a gardener, lol, because I don’t have the time to tend to things like I’d like to. But there is nothing like digging in the dirt, feeling the sun on my back, listening to the birds, and feeling the pollinators fly around me. When I see one land on the flowers I’ve planted it’s a satisfying feeling. Like I’m helping.
I don’t know about your particular climate, but zinnias are easy and cheerful, and pollinators like them. Also sunflowers. Also mint - when it blooms the insects go crazy! But, it’s invasive, so maybe put that in large pots. Gardening gets me excited so I’ll stop there. Good luck! It’s all trial and error.
Thank you so much for sharing all of this, it is so appreciated. Searching for "the thing" is so easy to do and it makes sense why so many of us do it... it's not our fault. And it's such a beautiful thing to notice it and be willing to step into inhabiting your life and body in a new way, with practice over time. And thank you so much for sharing your gardening perspectives -- I love zinnias and sunflowers! The reminder about trial and error is so helpful to keep in mind with most things. Thank you for being here!
Once again, I’m grateful for your words. I may even quote from the beginning part in italics in one of my newsletter articles. I definitely struggle to find the right balance between avoiding/escaping my issues (letting myself do something fun) and spending time intensely working on the heavy emotional baggage that still weighs me down and makes me miserable.
This makes SO much sense and resonated so so much with me. Gosh I hyperfocus and overanalyze and am in my thinking brain way too much, I fall into being in "fix" mode all too often; how can I be better? What more can I be doing? I constantly feel "behind" even when I logically know I'm not actually behind in anything.
Thanks for sharing. To practicing stepping out of the swamp of thoughts and observing them from afar.
This week’s letter reminded me of a quote I read the other day. I can’t remember it word for word but it was something along the lines of how we miss moments of joy chasing the extraordinary. I don't want to be so caught up in bigger goals that it takes away from moments of peace and joy throughout my days or weeks. Healing can make us feel like we have to reach a certain point to embrace happiness or love but shifting out of this feels so freeing💜
Your words, your words, your words! They are always affirming and fueled by love. I appreciate them so. I want to say that yes, following the crumbs that bring joy and delight to the moments of our days has been ( I suppose ) my spiritual path. Life & beauty exists in the smallest moments....a cup of herbal tea, a beautiful passage from a book, cosmos flowers swaying in a breeze, birdsong, or the sound of creek water flowing. And on and on.
Also, gardening has saved me. And I’m not a great gardener. I like to grow very easy veggies, herbs, and flowers. Every year there are problems but also, abundance. And I just keep at it. Just do it. Grow easy things for your area. It will up the joy in your life immensely.
Lastly, I know this is a turning out to be a long comment but I have a book recommendation for you...Still Life by Sarah Winman. It’s a beautiful work of fiction set in Florence and London. It’s mostly about everyday life and the grief and beauty that exist simultaneously to our ordinary moments. I listened to the audiobook a few weeks back and am now reading it because I needed to see the words strung together on paper. Happy gorgeous Sunday in July to you.
Thank you so much for this nourishing comment. I am so inspired by your share here -- it really embodies exactly what I've been wanting to cultivate and notice more of these days. And it truly feels like a spiritual path -- it certainly is mine. I am so eager to continue growing into gardening and have felt so ignited hearing about how it has supported folks. Something about connecting to the earth and land in that way feels truly meaningful. And thank you so much for the book recommendation -- adding it to my list and I'm always so happy to receive fiction recs! May you find more ease and beauty today. Thank you so much for being here. xx
Good morning dear one! I’m sitting in the quiet of the birds singing and the wind pulling on the leaves, in the shadow of my garden and reading the sub stack. It feels as if you are sitting next to me and speaking these words directly into my heart. Thank you for acknowledging that just living is a large part of our ongoing existence and healing in this world. With love and gratitude 💛Christine 
I love this image of your current space so much -- I'm going to spend some time in the garden today, too. It's such a perfect place for remembering what is true and necessary, and what is not necessary at all. Always so grateful for nature's teachings (and especially for when I turn back toward them after forgetting). Thank you for sharing this and for being here. <3
I've never been in love.
(At least not the kind you mean.)
I've been in love with the wilting curl of a flower petal
soft
candy-pink
nudged by a passing wind.
I've been in love with the quirky tilt of a floor tile
cold
smooth
a shifted curiosity.
I've been in love with the way words spill from mouths
and the graceful fold of an arm
and the surprise swish of an equine tail
and the reflections of the day in dew
and the sparkling shatter of light across water
and the shadow creep of dusk
and the laugh, full of whimsy
the magic of dancing through existence
the simplicity
the complexity
and the aching,
beautiful,
breaking and billowing wonders.
I've never been in love.
I seem to only be able to reply to your posts with poetry lately. Thank you, as always, for your words and sharing your beautiful finds. Something about this topic reminds me of how trying hard to meditate "correctly" generally does not end well...so the idea that perhaps trying hard to always force healing may not be in the best interest of healing makes a lot of sense to me.
This is so beautiful and I'm so grateful you shared it. And I so agree with trying to meditate correctly completely defying the nourishing impact it can have -- yes yes yes.
Your poem resonates with me. Thank you.
More and more I am meeting people who have never been in love. I thought I had been in love many times. I'm 80. And yet, as I consider my long past, I wonder, "Have I ever really been in love?" "Is there such a thing?" "Is it a fiction crafted by the vivid imagination of word smiths?"
Yes, I too "have been in love with the way words spill from mouths." "The magic of dancing through existence" when it hasn't become tormented trudging waiting for that existence to cease.
I hear so much about being in love with oneself. Is that what being 'in love' is? I cannot believe it. Love must have an object, as you've so eloquently murmured above.
Can love embrace a subject and object at the same time as the same thing?
And "so it goes tiddley pum and so it goes on snowing", opines Winnie the Poo.
Everything you wrote in your poetry simply pronounces existence, BEING.
Maybe love is existence, BEING. Being. Plain and simple. Being...Love. Being in love.
Love your poem.
Neil
Yes yes yes. Yes to being in my own life and giving in to it's flow. Yes to lots of pauses, to moving very slowly. I loved your title for the newsletter, it made my shoulders relax. And yes to gardening! I started gardening more a few years ago. It is its own artistic expression. I hope you do find joy in it in a way that works best for you. I'm so passionate about it now. A beautiful inspiring book that first got me excited to garden was The Bold and Brilliant Garden by Sarah Raven. She's UK based, but it was so handy for thinking about the possibilities of color, shape and form. 💖
Ohh thank you for that recommendation! We have so much space in our yard and figuring how where to start has been intimidating, but the thought of putting love and intention into creating something beautiful feels really igniting for me right now. Thank you for sharing this reflection -- "giving in to it's flow" feels so freeing. <3
The more and more I become aware, the world feels too much to analyze, think, be conscious of, make better decision ,be there for myself and others and ultimately be perfect. Sometimes I think what it is like to be living without constantly moving forward, achieving and becoming better. Where do I find the simplicity when world around is running, where do I find the stillness and where do I find the beauty that life has already has to offer. Even the world of healing has to offer a lot and it becomes too much to handle . Hope we all find life of little happy and peaceful moments.
Yes yes yes. Thank you for sharing <3
Every week I am touched by your words and I feel a great sense of peace and joy that there is a kindred spirit out there. It seems like you always find a way to articulate my experience and I'm glad I've found your work.
So grateful to get to share -- thank you for being here.
I very much needed to read this, especially now. Going through some huge personal changes over the next year and always healing as I go.
So glad it found you in the right time <3
Thank you so much for writing this, I felt a weight lifting from my shoulders as I read it. I seem to spend most of my time thinking I should do this or I shouldn't do that that I don't enjoy anything. Will try to spend my time living in the now, as I am, while also acknowledging that there is some work to do.
I hope you enjoy your gardening, I love it. It can be intimidating to start but just start small. I find that when I'm gardening I really am in the moment and it's wonderful.
Sue
Thank you so much -- starting small seems to be the best advice for so many things, doesn't it?
I don’t think I have anything too insightful to add, but wanted to say that so much of what you share about just being versus doing has helped me open up more space in my life. I’m finding that those moments of real joy, gratitude, and clarity almost sneak up on me without the conscious effort I thought was needed. They happen when I’m present with the smallest things and not so much when I’ve finished reading an article or doing a thought exercise. Which maybe isn’t to say that those things don’t have a time or purpose, but just as you said that living is how we really embody our healing. Thank you for that ❤️
This truly warms my heart to read -- so grateful. I resonate so much with your experience. Thank you for sharing and being here <3
This walk through is craaazy full of Hilma's art if you haven't done it, even the rare watercolor stuff all the way to the back. I was mostly in awe of the giant paintings tho
https://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/art/watch-listen-read/virtual-visit/hilma-af-klint/
takes a minute to get through but it's worth it!
Ohh thank you so much for sharing this!
Thank you for this beautiful reflection! I took screen shots so I could return to it again and again. Too often I am consuming information and accounts in search of “the thing” that will make me “better” rather than inhabiting my life and my body. The NASA pictures did offer a much needed sense of perspective. It felt freeing to see how small I am, how small we all are. And yet the people we love are our everything.
I see many have offered gardening support and I want to add : I’m more of a “planter” than a gardener, lol, because I don’t have the time to tend to things like I’d like to. But there is nothing like digging in the dirt, feeling the sun on my back, listening to the birds, and feeling the pollinators fly around me. When I see one land on the flowers I’ve planted it’s a satisfying feeling. Like I’m helping.
I don’t know about your particular climate, but zinnias are easy and cheerful, and pollinators like them. Also sunflowers. Also mint - when it blooms the insects go crazy! But, it’s invasive, so maybe put that in large pots. Gardening gets me excited so I’ll stop there. Good luck! It’s all trial and error.
Thanks again for this beautiful post.
Thank you so much for sharing all of this, it is so appreciated. Searching for "the thing" is so easy to do and it makes sense why so many of us do it... it's not our fault. And it's such a beautiful thing to notice it and be willing to step into inhabiting your life and body in a new way, with practice over time. And thank you so much for sharing your gardening perspectives -- I love zinnias and sunflowers! The reminder about trial and error is so helpful to keep in mind with most things. Thank you for being here!
Thanks Lisa. Love your newsletter.
Neil
Thanks so much for reading, Neil!
Once again, I’m grateful for your words. I may even quote from the beginning part in italics in one of my newsletter articles. I definitely struggle to find the right balance between avoiding/escaping my issues (letting myself do something fun) and spending time intensely working on the heavy emotional baggage that still weighs me down and makes me miserable.
Thank you Wendi -- so glad it resonated. Finding that balance can be a challenge, I hear you. Thanks for being here.
This makes SO much sense and resonated so so much with me. Gosh I hyperfocus and overanalyze and am in my thinking brain way too much, I fall into being in "fix" mode all too often; how can I be better? What more can I be doing? I constantly feel "behind" even when I logically know I'm not actually behind in anything.
Thanks for sharing. To practicing stepping out of the swamp of thoughts and observing them from afar.
You are not alone!! Thank you for being here.
This week’s letter reminded me of a quote I read the other day. I can’t remember it word for word but it was something along the lines of how we miss moments of joy chasing the extraordinary. I don't want to be so caught up in bigger goals that it takes away from moments of peace and joy throughout my days or weeks. Healing can make us feel like we have to reach a certain point to embrace happiness or love but shifting out of this feels so freeing💜
I love this so much -- thank you for sharing <3
Dear Lisa,
Your words, your words, your words! They are always affirming and fueled by love. I appreciate them so. I want to say that yes, following the crumbs that bring joy and delight to the moments of our days has been ( I suppose ) my spiritual path. Life & beauty exists in the smallest moments....a cup of herbal tea, a beautiful passage from a book, cosmos flowers swaying in a breeze, birdsong, or the sound of creek water flowing. And on and on.
Also, gardening has saved me. And I’m not a great gardener. I like to grow very easy veggies, herbs, and flowers. Every year there are problems but also, abundance. And I just keep at it. Just do it. Grow easy things for your area. It will up the joy in your life immensely.
Lastly, I know this is a turning out to be a long comment but I have a book recommendation for you...Still Life by Sarah Winman. It’s a beautiful work of fiction set in Florence and London. It’s mostly about everyday life and the grief and beauty that exist simultaneously to our ordinary moments. I listened to the audiobook a few weeks back and am now reading it because I needed to see the words strung together on paper. Happy gorgeous Sunday in July to you.
All of my love,
Nichole
Thank you so much for this nourishing comment. I am so inspired by your share here -- it really embodies exactly what I've been wanting to cultivate and notice more of these days. And it truly feels like a spiritual path -- it certainly is mine. I am so eager to continue growing into gardening and have felt so ignited hearing about how it has supported folks. Something about connecting to the earth and land in that way feels truly meaningful. And thank you so much for the book recommendation -- adding it to my list and I'm always so happy to receive fiction recs! May you find more ease and beauty today. Thank you so much for being here. xx
Good morning dear one! I’m sitting in the quiet of the birds singing and the wind pulling on the leaves, in the shadow of my garden and reading the sub stack. It feels as if you are sitting next to me and speaking these words directly into my heart. Thank you for acknowledging that just living is a large part of our ongoing existence and healing in this world. With love and gratitude 💛Christine 
I love this image of your current space so much -- I'm going to spend some time in the garden today, too. It's such a perfect place for remembering what is true and necessary, and what is not necessary at all. Always so grateful for nature's teachings (and especially for when I turn back toward them after forgetting). Thank you for sharing this and for being here. <3
I absolutely cried reading this because it put everything I’ve been thinking in words that I can hold on to. So thank you!