On Spending Time
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Hello friends, I've spent the week with friends on the opposite side of the continent from where I live. These are people I've known for decades. It is always good to see them. We challenge and support each other, and together, deepen our work and expand our minds. One thing you may not know about me is that I used to travel. A lot. While I appreciate the gift of the amazing places I've seen while speaking and teaching, and am some grateful for the people I've met... travel was never my thing. And then I burned out. So it takes a lot for me to travel outside my time zone these days. But it is also good for me to do on occasion. It shifts me out of my comfort zone, challenging my status quo. What does that for you? Is it getting up at a different time? Shifting your exercise routine? Getting in touch with someone you haven't seen for a long time? Taking a class? Starting a new and challenging project? Reading something you would not normally read? Visiting a place you've never been, even locally? Standing on your head? This calendar year, I'm engaged in an experiment to reset my inertia toward something that feeds my life more thoroughly and offers a chance to commit to different disciplines. I'm spending time with that, just as I spent time with these old friends. When we commit to making time for something new, we don't know what might happen. And for me? That is the true gift, and the deeper challenge. Because we're all facing the great unknown. We may as well get in some practice. Best wishes - Thorn I had a wonderful conversation with hip hop emcee and educator Davin Thompson, aka Do D.A.T. We discuss freestyle hip hop, spiritual practice, and showing up for life. I hope you enjoy it. You can listen on YouTube or your favorite podcast channel: Magic, Creativity, and Life
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T. Thorn Coyle
Hello friends, Are you struggling? Are you happy? Anxious? Overwhelmed? Courageous? Frantic? Disengaged? Do you have enough food to eat? A safe place to sleep? Friends? Connections? Work? Books? Music? Hobbies? Do you have enough to share? It’s that last one I return to, whenever times feel hard. Do I have enough to share? The answer, thankfully, is always yes. Now, I don’t have everything to share. I don’t always have the time and energy random people may want from me. And I only have so...
Hello friends, While vending at Punk Rock Pride last month, something on the pebble dash sidewalk caught my attention. It was a safety pin. I smiled, because safety pins are a hallmark of old school punk. They were a way to keep clothing together even if you didn’t know how to sew. Safety pins were handy for attaching patches and badges to jackets. Best of all? They lacked the respectability of neatly mended clothes. Safety pins could also be seen to represent the fierce way community holds...
Hello friends, There are a wide variety of humans, but today I’m thinking about two basic types. There are the people who take themselves out of the picture. Write themselves out of the story. Slink to the edges of the frame. Others take center stage at all times. They fill the image, crowding out or overshadowing those around them. These people are the stars of the show, and the only Main Characters. But here’s the thing: no matter what our tendencies or training, we would all do well to...