On Lasting Joy
Hello dear reader, thanks for coming by. I found myself wondering this morning how many people out there stop to read when there is so much quick-at-your-fingertips-song-and-dance content out there. I get pulled in too, don’t worry. It can get the best of us. This is actually one of the reasons I’m writing this for you today.
Thoughts of the scroll reminded me of why I’m creating my Women’s Circle and I wanted to give you a peak behind the curtain. I’ve been curious about joy recently, where it’s coming from, what can make it feel so fleeting at times, where in other moments more sustaining. That LASTING JOY feels a world of difference when compared to those little dopamine dumps my social media scroll provides (But have you seen the people hugging cows? Fantastic). Have you had that experience of looking up from your phone and wanting less to be in your life and more to be in anothers (again the lady hugging the cow on the farm, that’s where I’ve wanted to go recently, so no judgment over here).
I’ve been noticing, really paying attention to, moments of fulfillment; studying like a researcher because I want to figure this life stuff out for all of us. While constant happiness is not the goal, finding ways to live that bring more mental, physical and emotional ease, that leave us feeling more ALIVE and values aligned is my intention. I want to see more of us abandon perfect to find our own unique way of being. In this Circle, you don’t have to be like anyone else, you just come as you are. This isn’t going to come with a prescriptive set of steps for ways of being, rather a wide variety of “try it and see if it fits” strategies and perspectives for you to explore. I want to help you begin to feel more like YOU, to feel good about yourself, who you are and how you are showing up in the world. It’s a big deal (you are a big deal).
My social media scroll reminds me that there are things in life that we all want and need that might feel amiss. What are we seeking? For most of us: To feel better, about ourselves and in our lives. While what each of us needs to get there might look different, we tend to have more in common than we’d think.
We need spaces that give us more than the short term joy of the scroll and give us real connection. The real lasting joy of connection. HEAL was created with this in mind. Our healing isn’t all about trauma and our past pains. Healing is multifaceted. Healing requires that we feel resourced. What’s that? Our resources are our outlets, people, practices and things that help us shift our state mentally, physically and emotionally so that we can face challenges knowing that our foundation is strong enough to weather them.
HEAL is a way to gather around and explore life together, to build the resources and face the challenges TOGETHER. This Circle is a space to do it together with COMMUNITY. When we circle up there will be space to share without judgment, without processing, just to share. There will be intentional CONNECTION, to get to know new people on a real level. In our practice space (separate calls) I’ll be teaching and guiding in new practices (I’m a therapist remember, I’ve got you), together we’ll try new things, we’ll fail, we’ll laugh, we’ll do it again, we’ll build new skills, strategies, resources. I’ll offer you everything from yoga and breathing, to writing workshops and crafty expressive practices: Talent not required. In our SLACK space we’ll check-in, chat, share, support each other, offer accountability and take challenges together. For 6 weeks we’ll gather, and then we’ll do it again. Maybe we’ll do it forever.
I hope to see you there. We’d love to have you.