NEW LIFE EMERGING
Reconnection and Resurrection, Practices For Letting Go, 3 Things Worth Sharing, and Ron's World ...
Heart’s Content is my free weekly newsletter.
Every Tuesday, I send out a bit of writing, a short list of things I found worth sharing that week, and now and again I’ll share something my husband said that made me laugh. Mostly, I love to explore the intersection of creativity, spirituality and the healing power of our shared stories.
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Hey, Y’all!
It’s been another transitional week around my house. Our eldest daughter Megan has officially arrived from Dallas and has moved in with us for awhile until she decides where she wants to land in Colorado permanently. It’s already been so sweet hearing her putter around the house again.
Our pups are happy, too. Meg’s dog Regina is their favorite girl. Java is absolutely heartsick in love with her.
We’ve spent the week dividing our time between helping Meg begin to settle in and taking her fabulous friend Jose around to see some Colorado sites. He flew in from California to Texas to accompany her on the long trek up to Colorado. Jose is not only the easiest human to have around with his cheerful, relaxed, and sweet spirit, but he is also a talented photographer and coach. Check out his work. I’ve already purchased one of his prints. We had a lot of fun escorting Meg and Jose around Boulder, Estes Park and also some local sites like Devil’s Backbone and Mariana Butte ( in our neighborhood) and Bobcat Ridge Natural Area. Jose has fallen hard for Colorado. Who can blame him?
In other news, Spring is finally beginning to ease her way into the landscape. Sprouts of green leaves and buds on trees and warmer breezes are lifting my spirits, as well as the laughter and love that is filling up every room of my house right now. After a difficult few weeks in a row, what a gift to have lightness of spirit and newness emerging.
Even so, complicated beings that we are, other emotions have been moving through me as well. Old stories arising, news ones evolving and taking shape. Letting go and surrendering appears to be the primary practice my life is asking of me right now. (Always?) I’ve been journaling a bit about this and I’ve been surprised by how much I still want to cling to a sense of control.
One way I practice letting go Is by the simple act of intentionally opening my hands, softening my palms, and turning them upward. This relinquishing gesture, repeated over time, is not only a reminder to soften the grip I instinctively have on my life, but also sends this signal out to the rest of my body and to my heart to soften and surrender to the moment.
I am practicing noticing when I am either feeling anxious or withholding (imagine a closed fist), or trying to force solutions ( imagine a shaking fist); and then I make the choice to let go and open my palms. It is such a beautiful little practice that you can use anytime.
That… and looking up and out and into the blue sky, remembering that every day can be resurrection day. We are continually being resurrected and renewed. New life isn’t just for Easter Sunday.
Speaking of Easter, it was our first Easter celebration in Loveland and the second anniversary of reconnecting with my long-lost sister, Shari. We met for the first time last year on Easter at her home. This year, Meg got to meet her Aunt Shari for the first time! They were both instantly smitten and were laughing like besties immediately. We shared a lovely day watching little ones hunt for eggs, eating way too much of Shari's wonderful Easter spread, making crafts, and just enjoying being together. Counting my abundant blessings. Happy Easter, everyone.
I hope your weekend was meaningful, however you chose to spend it. Ours was an abundance of blessings.
Three things worth sharing this week:
Dear Self Gratitude meditation (from my friend, Gina)
Star Walk app - a new discovery! You can hold your devise up to the night sky and it will identify and teach you about what you are seeing! I used it last night and loved it.
A practice from Brian J. Plachta:
Take a few moments to pause and enter the quiet.
Place your fingers alongside your head.
Trace them down your face.
Let them come to rest upon your heart.
Open your hand on your chest.
Feel the warm glow.
Savor the beating of your heart.
Let your mind sink into your heart.
Rest there.
This is the place where God and you dwell as One.
Listen to the stillness.
Everything you need is there in your heart.
Ron’s World
Situation: Ron is reading me The Post menu online and telling me about all the dipping sauce options. “ Listen to this… they have Curry Ketchup,
Beer Mustard, Blue Cheese, Black Pepper BBQ, Hot Honey Chili,
Ranch, and Herb Alloy.”
Me: “They offer mixed metals as a dipping sauce option?”
Ron: “It’s not… alloy?”
Me: “I think you might mean aioli.”
Have a great week, everyone!
xoxo Mary