“Happiness depends on circumstances going right. Joy is something sturdier. It is the recognition that life is still worth loving—even when it is fragile, unfinished, and full of sorrow.” -Kate Bowler
I am currently being intentional about small shifts that contribute to my ability to f-o-c-u-s (redirecting as often as necessary) and journaling to explore what Steven Pressfield refers to as “the gap between our lived lives and our unlived lives.”
Today is day 63/100 of exploring this prompt: What if it all works out? ❤️ And I have been journaling my thoughts to the prompt ⬆️ above as I pull cards from The Remarkable Life Deck by Debbie Millman.
“All this want, and yet such determination: Don’t worry, don’t worry, it’s enough.” -Kate Bowler
I am becoming convinced of the countless ways that two things can be true. As a mother of adult children (all of them serving their communities in specific ways; two of them serving in the U.S. military; one of them caring for her special needs child and a teenager)—I routinely (as in, daily) 🙃 struggle with being okay with my own joy and happiness.
- And of course, add all of that into the toil of current world realities, and countless details of injustice and despair of our neighbors (Braveheart, we are all neighbors …) 💔❤️🩹❤️
One of the March guide words was [disconnect]. A word that can make us cringe because we equate that word with indifference and a lack of empathy.
But that is not what healthy-disconnect actually is (and certainly not the way it was intended to be used as a guide word).
Detachment is to acknowledge (and celebrate) our limited agency: We are simply not equipped for “doing it all”—and also, we simply must take care of ourselves first before we can take care of anyone or anything else.
Detachment is teaching me how joy is still possible even when there is so much injustice and people who seem to get away with their lies and cruelty.
I am learning to take “responsibility holidays” (ala Kate Bowler). I have been prioritizing naps and play and fun (!) and trying new things. And exploring how uncertainty is also possibility; noticing goodness and embracing “What if it all works out?” over worst-case-scenarios. ❤️
“Eventually I will notice the ridiculous wastefulness of all my efforts to be smarter, thinner, kinder, and entirely up to date on international affairs…” -Kate Bowler
“Most of us have two lives. The life we live and the unlived life within us. Between the two stands Resistance.” -Steven Pressfield
Braveheart, resistance has become my dance partner. Some days that sux, it is confusing and challenging—but most days it is an incredible and empowering experience. And I am delighted to be living what was unlived for most of my life here on Earth.
Detachment (as a positive means to cope with anxiety and mean people) can be a sturdier way of living when we are in recovery from hard things (and mean people).
Thank you kindly for your presence here, Braveheart. 💗
I appreciate your interest and support.
~love & good wishes~
⭐️ I am an artist and curator; I am one who communicates with color, found words and collage, inky marks and doodles as I cycle like the moon (as my calendar), chronicling oracles and abiding with the sky as a meditation.
⭐️ I host creative communities, safe spaces for gathering and sharing. I choose love and creativity for coping with the ongoing challenges of this world and I go to work—not because everything is fine but because I believe art heals.
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