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, I took the train yesterday, from northern Oregon to the middle of Washington State, heading for a big reader conference called Lore and Luster, where I'll be selling books and meeting readers for two days. We crossed the Columbia River, and beheld the snow capped beauty of Mount Hood. We passed small old towns and countryside, brick buildings, and stands of trees. Four astronauts just made a broad circuit around the moon, sending home photos of astonishing beauty, and pictures...
Hello friends, Whenever times feel overwhelming, and I’m not sure what to do about it, I return to the basics: prioritizing creativity, going for walks, and local mutual aid. Why? The world always needs more creativity, the healthier I am the better able I am to help, and mutual aid or community service offer tangible, immediate help. The other thing I think about is the importance of building networks, which is a simple thing we all do, every day, whether we realize it or not. Some of us...
Hello friends, When was the last time you paused because something was so beautiful, you needed a moment? When was the last time you were emotionally moved by nature, a painting, a song, a film, a dance? And how often do you make space to welcome beauty in your life? “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” wrote Margaret Wolfe Hungerford. She was speaking of subjectivity. That each of us finds different things—objects, people, places—beautiful. But there’s more to it than simple taste or...