from 6.20.22 newsletter
Friends,
I was going to do a part 2 to last weeks newsletter on loss around Father’s Day, but honestly, I had my fill of musing about grief. I spent yesterday frustrated and anxious, trying to center myself in simple joys and rest.
For those of us living in central Ohio, intermittent power, cell service, and internet outages have made it difficult to go about business as usual. On my end, computer issues have also made it impossible to continue on with my work on a predictable schedule. (This newsletter was brought to you by the Mailchimp app on my phone and the frustration that comes with most mobile versions of web browser things)
The ups and downs of grief and the weird barriers to work right now have left me feeling exhausted at the prospect of emotionally excavating my Father’s Day feelings for newsletter content. I’m sure you understand.
Instead, I am thinking about purpose. My book comes out tomorrow and the presence of joy amongst grief is a reminder that I love writing. Joy is a heat signal pointing to purpose. While I don’t believe we are born with the mission to do anything but live, our joy directs us to the activities that will bring us the most happiness in our lives. For me, that’s creating stories and worlds that allow myself and others to access imagination, ease, and escape.
I also find purpose in teaching yoga, listening intently to deep conversation, and being with animals and nature. It occurs to me that the current pressures of our collective lived reality can greatly stifle our ability to sense those joy signals. Deadlines, bills and financial stress, loss, and/or major life upheavals can sit in our bodies and fill us with dread and anxiety, overpowering any sense of joy we might have otherwise felt.
Today, I seek purpose in a tiny, pulsing beacon of joy fighting to be noticed amongst the heaviness of grief. (Perhaps this is a part 2 to last week). The purpose comes from following that joy.
I’d love to hear from you all this week on what brings you joy and how/when you practice it.
xoxo,
Lashonda
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