And There You Are
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Hello Friends, This week, I’m thinking about where we end up. One day, you’re a cheerful turtle, spouting water for kiddos in the summer heat. The next, it's rainy autumn, the kids are older, and you’re left on the sidewalk, hoping some other family picks you up and takes you home. Or, one day, you’re twenty years old, living with four friends, trying to figure out your life, and the next, you’re heading toward seventy and wondering what happened to your knees. Now, I doubt anyone reading this is a turtle water spout, and who knows how old you are and what your life condition is, but we all have to face change, don’t we? Including this changing world, as we reel from the realities of climate change, war, economic uncertainty, and all the rest. There is a lot that feels out of our control, as if we were the toy turtle left on the sidewalk. But other things? We have still have choices we can make on the daily. Every day, we can choose to show up to our varied conditions and find ways to help, ways to create, ways to care for ourselves and others. We don’t have to mourn the way things were, and we don’t have to settle for the way things are. We don’t have to just end up somewhere, as if we have no will or choice. What helps me remember my power to choose? As usual, that's the small actions: Each day, I choose to write something new. Every day, I take a walk and notice something interesting or beautiful. Every week, I find a way to offer help. Sure, I get angry at the way the world is, but I also revel in the beauty of it. Both of those are choices as well. How about you? Have you just ended up somewhere? What are you choosing right now? What helps you remember to choose? What is getting you through these times? Best wishes — Thorn News:There's a new installment of Magic, Creativity, and Life up on your favorite podcast outlet or my YouTube channel. It's with Tarot reader Rashunda Tramble. For the month of October, 50% of proceeds from ThornCoyleBooks will go to hurricane relief. That includes my oracle deck and ebooks.
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T. Thorn Coyle
Hello friends, Well, it was another stressful week here in the US and some other parts of the globe. When things feel overwhelming, what is important to me is to connect with what is in my physical environment. I make my bed in the morning. I wipe the kitchen counters. I set things in order. What else do I do? I make sure I go for a walk, even when I have a pile of work to do that feels endless. It is on these walks that, not only do I notice my environment, but I also catch sight of how...
Hello friends, On an old garage somewhere in Southeast Portland, someone hand lettered a large message. The bulk of it reads “Matter would not have become us if it doubted our ability to change…” Now, on one hand it reads as the start of a philosophical discussion I would’ve engaged in during my teens or early twenties. On the other hand, though? Well, it made me pause and snap a photo, didn’t it? Photo: Garage wall message: “Matter would not have become us if it doubted our ability to...
Hello friends, While walking out of an ice cream shop yesterday, I saw a faded scrap of fabric stapled to a utility pole. People had stuck their old wood ice cream spoons into holes in the pole around the fabric, creating a mini art and sculpture installation. I recognized the fabric, of course, as being an old piece from local artist Shanalee Hampton. I have several of her embroidery pieces hanging in our home, having been introduced to her work by outdoor installations just like this one....