I am a recovering perfectionist, productivity chaser, and people pleaser, coaching women to disrupt old thought patterns, let go of behaviors that keep them stuck, and make their joy an everyday priority.
🦩 packing bags 🦩
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Guten Tag, Reader, I am glad it all has to fit into a 3.8 cu. ft. drybag: Sleeping bag, down pillow, hiking shoes, camp shoes, river pants, camp pants, long underwear, tank tops, wool hat, sun hat, journal, pens, book, pajamas, chargers, battery packs, toiletries, meds, fleece jacket, rain jacket, rain pants, cotton comfort clothes, costume for the last-night-on-the-river celebration. Oh, and the little stuffed ant eater that has travelled across many oceans, mountain ranges, and emotional landscapes. Currently, I am staging everything in my office, along with the other necessary items to facilitate a river retreat, including books, pens, maps for the river library, stickers, and other swag, schedules, feedback forms, and oracle cards. I have until Thursday to whittle it down. Take only what I really need. Plus a few items I really want. For comfort. Physical, emotional, or spiritual comfort. Right now, I wonder if there is a difference. I listened to a podcast earlier today where people talked about the mind-body connection without mentioning the spiritual aspect. I wonder if I should start a podcast. But first, I need to finish this letter. Then I have to finish packing. For wildHER, of course. Angie and I are meeting in Medford, Oregon, on Saturday. The participants will arrive at the lodge by the Rogue River on Sunday. We’ll push off the ramp on Monday. I can’t wait for that moment. One of the questions we will ask the participants at the end of the trip is, “What are you ready to leave behind with the river?” A friend and I were sitting by the creek last week, talking about the aftermath of an emotional hurricane. “It feels like I am rebuilding my emotions’ home from the ground up, and I get to be very intentional about what goes inside.” Social media? Nope. News? Maybe later. People? Some. Resentments? Well, some of them might sneak back in, but they will get a place in the pantry, where I will have to seek them out if I choose to. They won’t be displayed on the mantlepiece. Tell me🎒 If you had to reduce your emotional, mental, and spiritual load to a 3.8 cu. ft. drybag, or let’s say a fanny pack that you can carry on your strong hips rather than your back—what would you bring? 🎒 What do you wish you could leave behind? 🎒 What if you can? Now? Before the hurricane forces you to surrender it all and start from the ground up? If you don’t know where to start or how even to answer the question, respond to this email. I’d love to hear from you. I will see you back here in two weeks. If you liked this letter, please forward it to a friend. Always on your side, truly, p.s. If you found something valuable in today's letter, why not buy me a coffee? I am keeping my writing AI-free, which means a lot of creativity goes into it. You can leave a tip for me here. |
Welcome to my Joy Letters
I am a recovering perfectionist, productivity chaser, and people pleaser, coaching women to disrupt old thought patterns, let go of behaviors that keep them stuck, and make their joy an everyday priority.
Guten Tag, Reader, “Alright, you know what’s coming…” I say to my client, and a big grin appears on her face. She wasn’t always this keen on answering the question I ask at the beginning of every coaching session: “What are you celebrating about yourself? What have you been proud of since we last spoke?”* “My intuition and the fact that I followed it,” she says I won’t tell you what she intuited, but I will tell you that her intuition was right on point, and the results are positively...
Guten Tag, Reader, It’s an afternoon in August, and I just brought my writing outside. The unseasonable temperateness of the temperatures makes it possible. (Did you know that temperature used to be a synonym for mild weather?) There is a lot of unseasonable going on right now. I might even say an unreasonable amount of unseasonableness: The Halloween Decorations are coming out in the temples of capitalism and today (August 6!) I even saw a Thanksgiving display. Apparently, it's time to plan...
Guten Tag, Reader, The German word Vorfreude roughly translates into pre-joy, and I just felt it tingling through my body, walking through downtown Missoula on a Saturday morning and anticipating the pastry case at Morningbirds Bakery. In my mind, I could taste the cinnamon roll; I felt the spongy texture in my mouth, and I imagined licking the sticky icing off my fingers. In that moment, I wasn't thinking about my to-do list or worrying about my local public radio station. My thoughts had...