Always Keep Going. Always.
Handling anomaly, asking for signs, and the miracle of the mundane: my January 14th newsletter
Photo by suraj kardile on Unsplash
Friends, fam, mystical creatures of the deep — happy Friday. How are you? I hope you are as good as you can possibly be, because this time ain’t easy.
And WOW am I ready for the flowers of spring to blossom, to wake from this slumber and fucking live again.
Yet while this season has felt like absolute chaos for so many in indescribable ways, I believe it’s preparing us.
Right now we are sowing seeds — we’re being asked to cultivate peace, understanding, patience, and love.
We can’t travel freely; we can’t see our family, our friends, the world as we should be able to.
Things will change with time, and when they do, how will we have changed for the better?
This week I’ve been trying to focus on what I can control — me. It’s been nothing short of miraculous in many ways.
Here are a couple of powerful themes which inspired, lifted, and guided me through the week.
PSA: It should go without saying that I have not mastered any of this!
We’re all just neophytes, learning what it means to be human.
What I share is what I’m aiming towards, and I hope these lessons can help propel you on the way to becoming the best version of you. 🏹
— HANDLING ANOMALY:
How do you react to simple changes of plan?
How do you take unexpected bad news, somebody flaking on you, or something much bigger?
Do these sudden changes ruin your day, or can you stay at peace and adapt?
This thought is inspired by the book I’m listening to, Karma: A Yogi’s Guide to Crafting Your Destiny, by the modern mystic, Sadhguru. More on Karma in the reading section below.👇🏼
— ASK THE UNIVERSE FOR SIGNS:
Ask, and be open to the answers — a bird looking into your eyes; the exact message you needed to receive from a friend who was just reaching out; a gust of wind, a drop of rain, the random thought of a loved one, a moving passage from a book.
Take them as signs, and let them embolden your spirit.
— VUJA DÉ:
The opposite of déjà vu. I think this idea is pretty cool! 😎
Seeing what you’ve seen a million times as something new. We’re so accustomed to our surroundings, the people in our lives, the things, the moments — we’re not really seeing what’s truly there, only what we expect to see.
Wipe the slate clean.
What would it be like if you saw the ocean for the first time, the glowing sand, the dying light, an endless horizon?
What would you do if someone handed you a phone and you’ve never seen a screen before? (Okay don’t chuck it at the wall and douse it with holy water).
Be curious — the mundane is truly miraculous.
Featured Story: Inspiration to Feed the Soul
Fostering community with the Coffee Times inspiration column — A handful of stellar stories from our talented writers💙
Enjoy the stories from this week 🍂
Confused Satellite
Observes the collective heart beating to a new tune…
What Does It Mean to Be Strong
Maybe I’ve had it all wrong…
What I’m Listening To:
Karma: A Yogi’s Guide to Crafting Your Destiny, by the modern mystic, Sadhguru.
I was a big fan of Sadhguru’s Inner Engineering.
Yes it is self help; but Sadhguru’s voice is quite soothing, his lessons are helpful and his stories are fascinating.
Give either of these books a go for an insightful and pleasant experience.🧘🏼
“Karma means that you can change your destiny, not simply be ruled by it… There is a simple way to check if you’re increasing or decreasing the size of your karmic circle. When life situations place you in unfamiliar, or unexpected terrain, what is your reaction?
If the very thought of these situations makes you anxious, you inhabit a very constricted karmic space. These unconscious reactions become the unexamined aspects of your personality. Over time, these patterns grow more rigid and frozen and so you say ‘oh this is the kind of person I am, this is my personality.’ Someone might offer you a better way to live, but you find yourself shrugging it off, and saying, no, but this is the way I am.”
Latest Episode: DTD #55: Thriving in the Unknown, Reinventing Yourself, & Leaning Into Love with Actress and Soap Opera Superstar Eileen Davidson
If the podcast makes your week a little brighter, please rate and review the show on Spotify or Apple Podcasts!
Final Goodz🤟🏻:
You know what I was saying about taking the signs as, well, signs? I stumbled on this video seemingly out of nowhere and it rocked me to my core.
It’s relevant to me personally as I’ve dealt with a back injury, and it applies to where we are right now as a culture, and as a planet.
“Always keep going. Always. I’ve come to find out that no matter what happens, the storm eventually ends. And when the storm does end you want to make sure that you’re ready.
And so I’ve really learned to put one foot in front of the other, good bad and indifferent because eventually that storm passes.” — Kobe Bryant