Hello, dear ones. I thought I might write a heartfelt, vulnerable, well laid out piece on living through the aftermath of a national hate crime that directly impacts me and my community. I was going to work on some journal entries and share them here. I tried. I looked lovingly at my “free write” journal, but didn’t open it. I typed and deleted. My nervous system jangled. My mind went blank. My heart swelled and then fell.
I taught a workshop on healthy relationships (and how a journaling practice can support us here) on Sunday, just hours after I found out about the shooting in Colorado Springs. I teared up at the beginning, as I fumbled my way through making space for the grief and trauma of it all. Then on Monday, Marlee Grace shared on their Monday, Monday newsletter (which I love and recommend) about crying while teaching. I felt instant community, witnessing, realness. We all get to be human, together. I think that’s the only way through.
So, this is my offering today. It’s for me and for us. It’s brief, and it’s what I need. My hope is that we find connection here, in this quiet place. All of us, across experiences and identities.
I’ll be back with tools for your practice. I’ll be down shifting a bit, content wise, as the 4 part series on when journaling doesn’t feel good or easy was on the heavier side (and the 4th in the series was a bit of a heavy lift for me, personally). I’m glad I put my heart in to that series. I wanted to; I needed to. And now I need some lighter fare for a bit. So get ready for stationery deep dives, lists of favorites, Journal As Altar new releases, journaling videos, more jokes, a peek inside my childhood sticker book. We contain multitudes. Thanks for being here.
Let’s dream together.
Dream with me?