When the ache rises and
Nothing makes sense
The brain, scrambled,
Claws at reason with desperate fingers.

Breathe
And with a soft smile whisper
Welcome and
Thank you
To this wise teacher, pain.
Resistance is pointless.

Close your eyes,
Turn within
And repeat gently
Until your heart pulses
With the belief,
I trust life. I trust life. I trust life.

**********

P.S. Shine starts February 21st.  Join us for 28 days of exploring practices that will support you in listening to your inner wisdom and claiming your truth.
Embrace where you are. Become who you want to be.

“I entered parenthood confident in my ability to play with my child. Earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts in theater from a contemporary arts school, I spent many hours as a young adult following impulses, living in imaginary worlds and rolling around on the floor.  While studying for my Master’s Degree in clinical and community psychology, I learned that play was a child’s most important way of making sense of the world until the age of seven. I wasn’t going to make the mistake of getting too serious too soon. I even planned to home school  (unschool actually) to keep her childhood playful as long as possible.

Then life happened…“

I’m thrilled to be today’s guest on the wonderful 28 Days of Play series over at You Plus 2 Parenting. Hosted by parenting expert and mama Rachel Cedar, the series asks 28 parent/writers to talk about the ups and downs of playing with their kids from a very personal point of view. No advice. No how-to’s. Just the rawness of how it really is, even when it’s not pretty.

You can read the rest of my post here.

Be sure to check out the first four fantastic posts by Dana Talusani (The Kitchen Witch), Pamela Hunt Cloyd (Walking On My Hands), Aidan Donnelly Rowley (Ivy League Insecurities), and Jason Good (author of This is Ridiculous. This is Amazing).

There’s also a link on the site to sign up for the 28 Days of Play mailing list if you want to make sure you don’t miss a post!

This time last year I was struggling. My head and heart were doing battle and my inner landscape was littered with the carcasses of discarded ideas, abandoned dreams and bloodied hopes.

My intuition kept telling me to turn inward, to get quiet, to give myself time and space to rest and regroup after the rough road of the previous three years. My head, steeped in our western culture of constantly doing, was shouting, “Launch projects! Make money! Figure it out soldier!”

A half hour on the phone with a woman named Limitless Megan changed my life.

She told me about my elemental make up and the year I was moving into. I cried as everything she said validated my intuitive knowing.

I’ve spent the last year studying with her and learning this system known as the 9 Star Ki. It has given me insight into my own nature and that of everyone else in my life. Arguably the most powerful piece for me is knowing what elemental year I’m moving into this month. The energetic tide change begins in the fall but tomorrow is officially the new year. Having a month of buffer time between January 1st and February 4th has allowed me to see the new year (and myself) with kinder, gentler eyes.

I’m coming out of a year of rest, renewal and dreaming into a year of building foundations and strong connections. Knowing this (and feeling it in my bones) is keeping me grounded when my mind wants to run wild with should’s and must’s and have to’s.

I’m going to be integrating the 9 Star Ki into a new offering that will be beta-testing in the next few months. If you’re curious about what’s coming, make sure you’re on my newsletter list – they’re always the first to know.

With a deep bow to where ever you find yourself today, I wish you a happy elemental new year. May you meet yourself and this new year with kindness.

P.S. Registration for Shine is now open! Join me February 21-March 20: Embrace where you are. Become who you want to be.

I spent three days this week at a retreat run by a very successful business coach I know. The first evening I taught a class and led a group meditation. The rest of the time I was part of the group, visioning and planning for the new year. As wonderful as it was, my head hasn’t stopped spinning since I left.

As I lay with Ada tonight, listening to her breathing deepen and slow, I caught myself in a thought loop that wasn’t particularly helpful.

I softened. I dropped into my heart.

In the space of two breaths, life felt better, easier, more relaxed.

Sometimes it really is that simple. One foot in front of the other. Breathing. Trusting. Softening. Watching for the play of light and shadow. Staying open to moments of joy.