Gratitude and Wonder
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Hello friends, This past week, I attended an online class from author business coach Becca Syme. She's super insightful, and spoke to us about emotional regulation when world events or business disasters have us spinning. Each morning, she goes through these four phrases, and fills in the blanks:
Becca lives in Minnesota and almost canceled our talk because things in her immigrant-filled neighborhood feel so dangerous and fraught. Instead, she walked us through these phrases that she uses as touchstones every morning. I'm grateful she did, because now I get to pass them along to you. What might our work, family, political, or creative lives look like if every time we started to spin out—because of the news, or work stress, or illness, or family emergency—we took a breath, and filled in the blanks to all of these? Every day, no matter what is going on, I invoke gratitude, wonder, and a sense of magic. I also appreciate the reminder to invoke hope. Hope can be easy to dismiss when we feel activated or stressed. But, if we can take a breath, and enter into the qualities of gratitude and hope, we increase our sense of security. Today, right now, what do you feel secure in? Your spiritual practice? Your family ties? Your creative process? Your physical well-being? The greater our inner sense of security, the more we have to offer others who may feel less secure. As my friend and colleague Katrina Messenger reminds us, We give from our excess, not our lack. Community organizer Mariame Kaba reminds us that "Hope is a discipline." It takes effort to remain hopeful when times are tough. What helps? Gratitude is a good entry point. Gratitude for what is, helps me have hope for what might be. How are you this week? What gives you hope? Best wishes — Thorn
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T. Thorn Coyle
Hello friends, There’s a question we likely hear all the time: “How are you?” Or “How you doing?” Or “You good?” Sometimes the question has meaning, but other times is just a series of polite noises, asked in public by someone we barely know. The intention behind the question depends on the tone in which it is spoken. Sometimes the question needs the conjugation of the verb “to be.” Other times, the verb gets dropped altogether, in a more casual rush. And here we are, back to tone, because...
Hello friends, The world is often filled with noise. What helps you listen? It took me many years to learn to listen deeply, instead of trying to anticipate. Trying to anticipate was my child-self’s way of keeping safe. Not that it always helped. Not when violent outbursts were random. But I tried anyway, baking that pattern into my body and mind. Eventually, I realized I wasn’t giving others a chance to really express themselves. I didn’t give myself a chance to express myself on a deeper...
Hello friends, This week, I am at the Between the Worlds/Sacred Space joint conference, gathered with hundreds of people who believe that magic is possible in a troubled world. It’s an important reminder, especially when so many of us feel stuck just providing for our basic needs, or the needs of our families. It is also an important reminder for those of us engaged in community service, protection, and care. Magic helps me pay attention to what is important to me. It helps me manifest what I...