Sleepwalking No More
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Hello friends, While out running errands the other day, I paused to snap a photo of a sticker on a concrete barrier. The sticker read, in bold print, Realize You’re Alive. It seems like a simple injunction, doesn’t it? Too obvious to say out loud. Of course we realize we’re alive! We’re breathing, aren’t we? We’re thinking. Moving through the world… But do we actually pause long enough to feel this? This thing called us, on this planet, rotating in space, living. How often are we sleepwalking through life, rather than actively living? Is our morning routine rote, or intentional? Do we notice our surroundings as we walk or drive or take the bus to work? How much consciousness is sunken into our internal complaints? Do we pause to notice and breathe? To make a choice about what comes next? We all make choices, every moment of the day, but all too often, they are choices made by default. It’s a powerful thing to consciously choose. If life has become too filled with routine, the start of a new year—no matter how arbitrary a marker—is a great time to make small changes. We can re-set our intentions and strategize on how to follow through. We can commit to a series of small daily choices. What kind of year would you like to have? What facets of that are in your control? What are three small shifts in attitude or habit you can make to bring about what you want, need, or desire? May we all cultivate lives filled with presence and choice. Best wishes - Thorn I'll be launching a revised, expanded edition of Resistance Matters on Kickstarter, January 21st. To be notified upon launch, please click the link!
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T. Thorn Coyle
Hello friends, We’re in the midst of a glorious false spring here in Portland, Oregon. Crocuses are blooming, and plum trees and daffodils are showing small buds. The air is cool and fresh, the sun shines, and yesterday, a small red finch scoped out the front porch of our 108 year old home, seeing if there’s a good spot to nest. Finches nested on our porch a couple of years in a row a few years back. Seeing that finch lifted my heart. Seeking a place to nest is a sign of hope. There is a...
Hello friends, While on a walking break from the writer’s conference I taught at last weekend, I paused to snap a picture of a wall mural. It was advertising something—toasted English Muffins, I believe—and showed a mountain scene, with trees, lake, and sky, and people entertaining each other with song around a campfire. But besides the incongruity of such a beautiful scene marketing a breakfast bread, it was the message that stopped me: “Wake up to what’s possible.” What's Possible mural by...
Hello friends, We had one of our rare snow days here in Portland, Oregon. When snow arrives here, it stays for a week at the most. This week’s storm lasted for all of twenty-four hours. That sort of snow is a pleasure to walk in, and a pleasure to watch from the warmth and comfort of our 108 year old home. Others are not so fortunate, I know. Before the storm hit, our household contributed to a hotel fund for some folks who live on the street. And, as the temperatures reached freezing in the...