The past week was punctuated with several losses.
A bright, soulful woman from my online community, my mom’s sister’s husband (aka my uncle), and two of my friend’s beloved doggie companions all left this earthly realm in a flash.
With each loss, my heart ached, tears flowed, and I was left with a potent mixture of sadness, reverence, and gratitude.
I believe sharing my first public speech about losing my own beloved mama at the Brave Girl Symposium just two weeks ago cracked me open and allowed me to access my emotions around these losses in a more immediate and authentic way. And for that, I am truly thankful.
For as much as these moments hurt, they also invite a deep sense of connection to my own aliveness and compassion, and I can’t help but see that as a divine gift.
So this week, I find myself turning inward, asking the bigger questions like:
What am I prioritizing? How am I showing up for my people? How am I showing up for myself? What am I taking for granted? What am I ready to let go of? What am I inviting in?
And as Mary Oliver so famously asks: “What is it I plan to do with my one wild and precious life?”
Questions like these shine so much light on my daily habits, and while I certainly don’t have it all figured out (far from it!), I do know this:
The more moments I carve out to do the things that make me feel the most alive, the better I feel – AND the easier it is to access my creativity.
For me, this means: Less time on technology, and more time with my hands in paint or in the dirt. Less time worrying about what I should be doing, and more time breathing deeply, seeing, touching, hearing, feeling, and simply being. Less time holding back on saying what needs to be said, and more time talking about the things that really matter. Less anxiety, more gratitude. Less judgement, more play. Less comparing, more creating.
In other words, more wakeful living.
On that note, I’ve been listening to a podcast recently, and I’d really love to share it with you. It’s appropriately called Living Awake, and it’s really touched my soul – especially this week. I hope you’ll find some solace there too.
Here’s to embracing the full spectrum of our wild, precious, creative lives.
xo Flora
