Well friends, we’re officially halfway through the year! In a way, it’s like wow, how is it already June? But in another way, thinking back on the year so far, I really do feel like we’ve all come a long way. Accomplished a lot. Broken barriers. Raised our consciousness. So take a moment to pause and give gratitude to yourself and everyone who has expanded your heart and soul this year.
A Pause for Reflection
One amazing thing about this blog is how it allows me to pause and reflect on the deeper facets of life. The bigger picture. The connections in between moments and things. It’s almost like writing in a journal, except I’m actually held accountable for doing it (oh, if you could only see the copious amounts of beautiful journals I have with only one page written). I clearly love writing and reflecting, but I almost never make time for it. Gotta love how we resist what we need the most. What the world needs most from us.
Your Soul’s Journey this Year
This message is coming through very clearly to me right now: take a moment to pause and reflect. Think about how your year has shaped up so far. Not in accomplishments or goals met. Not how your business is performing. But take a moment to reflect on how your soul has been nurtured and expressed so far this year. Have you been growing that part of? yourself? So often, we focus on and receive praise for our external accomplishments, and ignore our soul’s transformation.
Take Pride in Your Growth
Be proud of the small moments of peace and growth. Even slight shifts can transform your life. Don’t downplay this. Change is hard, and most people avoid it and choose to just stay the same. But you’re different. You’ve taken the time to nurture and learn about yourself. You’re learning new things and meeting new people and trying new things. That’s badass! So take a moment to celebrate and honor yourself today. You deserve it.
Missing People You Love Deeply
Last month was a deep reflection on how much I miss my loved ones who are far away. Acknowledging the pain and weight of that reality. Remembering how fulfilling it is to be in their physical presence.
Fully surrendering into the joy allowed me to freefall into the pain of leaving.
You can’t fully tap into or express joy unless you’re open to equally accessing your pain. And vice versa.
It’s been eight years since I packed up and left everything I knew behind on the east coast. Parents, sisters, cousins, aunts, uncles, high school friends, college friends, job friends, and everything in between. I’ve never once doubted that moving west was the right decision, but I still wasn’t ready to fully experience the pain of missing what I’d left behind.
Those Sweet, Everyday Moments
I go back for a lot of big moments, but what I miss most is the small, everyday moments. Sunday dinner or Saturday barbecues with family. Grabbing a beer with a cousin. A quick Target run with high school friends. Helping a college friend pick out balloons for her baby shower. Showing up for someone’s wedding or graduation is a lot different than showing up for them every day.
Seeing my parents and college roommate in New York reminded me of this reality. It takes 6 or 7 hours of flying and upwards of a thousand dollars to see the people I love the most. And for eight years, I rejected the gravity of that.
I cried the entire flight home to San Diego. Not sobbing, but an even deeper expression of release and grief. It wasn’t a sharp, stinging pain, but more of a complex, deep mourning.
Missing someone is an acknowledgement of profound joy, melded with the grief of being gone.
This deep grief that I felt wasn’t the overwhelming tidal wave I’d feared for so long. Rather, it was a recognition of how lucky I am to have these beautiful souls to miss. And how lucky I am to share those meaningful everyday moments with my west coast friends and people who have become family. There are souls all over the world whom I love so deeply it hurts. What is more beautiful than that?
Poem of the Month
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