LIFE | LOVE | LOSS
“It’s never too late to become who you want to be. I hope you live a life that you’re proud of, and if you find that you’re not, I hope you have the strength to start over.”
– F. Scott Fitzgerald
RENEWAL
“We don’t even know how strong we are until we are forced to bring that hidden strength forward. In times of tragedy, of war, of necessity, people do amazing things. The human capacity for survival and renewal is awesome.”
– Isabel Allende
This month we have moments where nature is awakening, breaking free from the slumber of winter. Trees are getting their buds and blossoms. The earth reminds us its time to renew, new growth, new awakenings, a new season in our lives.
I love the reminders and lessons in nature. What is it in your life right now that is worth celebrating? What is going so well, it fills you with joy and excitement? Or what is weighing your heart down, making you sad or mad? Both those states of emotion are great places to reflect and renew from.
We want more good if we already have some of it in our lives, work, family, finances, or relationships. What actions are needed to maintain or grow the good? What small things, a few minutes or more a day, could make a difference? Would expressing gratitude create more good? Would saving money by eating out less make a difference? Would complaining less? What actions could you add or remove to have MORE good things in your day-to-day routine?
If we are in a place of struggle what edits are needed? What do we need to let go of, or outsource to another for relief? What can we forgive in ourselves or another to impact the situation? Where do we need to set boundaries even if it feels difficult?
These things can help us renew our peace of mind, strength our personal respect for ourselves by cultivating more love and satisfaction for life as it is.
I invite you to begin a quest of renewal in your life this month. Make some edits, plant seeds of change. Let’s see what we can grow with a little effort and attention to MORE good things.
JUST BRING YOURSELF
Every third Saturday I have a gathering at my house with a group of women. Over the holidays I changed the day as it was super close to Christmas. One of these women said she ALWAYS kept the third Saturday open to never miss this time together. My switch made her unable to come and that was a disappointment to her.
Last month I moved into a new house. We slept in our new home for the first night, the Friday before the third Saturday! I knew from my previous experience that I was not willing to upset the dates on this saved time. I have disappointed people in my life. I will not do it willing or knowingly. So, I hosted as usual in my less than 24 hours occupied home!
I was feeling super emotional about my late son Joey not ever seeing our new home. He would have loved it. He would have been here to help us move, help us get settled, tell me where he thought my rocks and crystals should go. He could have helped his dad in the yard or climbed in the loft of the big shed. So many things made my heart ache for him to be here. I cried for what could have been, for the loss that still exists with him being gone. He SHOULD be here. No matter how much time has passed (7 ½ years) I still want him back. My heart always wants him back. My grief and longing are the shadow of the love unspent for him.
So, when my friends ask me what they can bring each month I usually say, “Just bring yourself.” Recently I found a poem titled this by Becky Hemsley that so beautifully captures how I feel about anyone who comes to my home. It is part of a new collection of hers called ‘Words to Remember’.
“When I invite you over you always ask, “What should I bring” and I always say “just bring yourself”
But what I really mean is…
Bring your woes and your worries. Let us talk them out if you want to.
Bring your sadness and your sorrows and let me hold you whilst you cry, if you need to.
Bring your heaviness and heartache and let me lighten your load a little if I am able to.
Bring your achievements and accomplishments and let me celebrate your successes with you.
Bring your happiness and hope and let me share your joy and listen to your dreams.
Bring your flaws and your failures and let me accept you regardless.
Yes, when I say, ‘just bring yourself”, what I really mean is that I want you to feel so comfortably yourself with me that you can bring your smiles and frowns, laughter and tears, joy, and grief, highs and lows.
So just bring yourself, your whole self. And be yourself.
Because your whole self is welcome here.” – Becky Hemsley
Mental Health Moment:
“Every blade in the field, every leaf in the forest, lays down its life in its season as beautifully as it was taken up.”
– Henry David Thoreau
This month I invite you to plant something physically or metaphorically.
Put something in the earth, in a pot, or plant a seed of change in your mind or heart.
Give it real water and sunlight. Or give it the light and attention it needs to grow and flourish so you can ‘see’ the growth of the change you have planted.
Tell someone, set a thirty-day goal for your mental or emotional growth if you are planting metaphorically. Check in with someone, let them be your partner in this discovery!
If you are planting real plants, take a before picture so at the beginning of fall you can look back at what you grew!
All my best,
Genna
RESOURCES
988 – National Mental Health Hotline – Talk or Text 24/7
National Alliance on Mental Illness – NAMI www.mani.org/Home
https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/988
Crisis Hotlines: Common Hotline Phone Numbers | Eluna Network
Mental Health App’s
Talkspace – Best Overall Therapy App
Calm – Best Mindfulness App
My3 – Three People / Three Distractions / Safety Plan App
Chopra App – Great mindfulness and free meditations
Pride Counseling – Best Queer Mental Health App
Youper – Best Self-Guided Therapy App
Headspace – Best Anxiety App
The Next Adventure 