Joy Letters
I am a recovering perfectionist, productivity chaser, and people pleaser, coaching women to disrupt old thought patterns, let go of behaviors that keep them stuck, and make their joy an everyday priority.
🦩 slow currents 🦩
Guten Tag, Reader, Even if the surface appears completely still, the river is always in motion. Things have been slow ever since I returned from the river. And with “things” I am referring to my thoughts (and their slowing is a relief), my body (its slowness a variable in my daily movement patterns), and my work rhythms (which really requires me to filter out all the non-essential stuff). But if rivers have taught me anything, it’s that the current is always moving. It may not appear to be...
🦩 packing bags 🦩
Guten Tag, Reader, Packing for the wildHER Rogue River Adventure. I am glad it all has to fit into a 3.8 cu. ft. drybag: Sleeping bag, down pillow, hiking shoes, camp shoes, river pants, camp pants, long underwear, tank tops, wool hat, sun hat, journal, pens, book, pajamas, chargers, battery packs, toiletries, meds, fleece jacket, rain jacket, rain pants, cotton comfort clothes, costume for the last-night-on-the-river celebration. Oh, and the little stuffed ant eater that has travelled across...
🦩 intuition 🦩
Guten Tag, Reader, “Alright, you know what’s coming…” I say to my client, and a big grin appears on her face. She wasn’t always this keen on answering the question I ask at the beginning of every coaching session: “What are you celebrating about yourself? What have you been proud of since we last spoke?”* “My intuition and the fact that I followed it,” she says I won’t tell you what she intuited, but I will tell you that her intuition was right on point, and the results are positively...
🦩 reasonably unseasonal 🦩
Guten Tag, Reader, It’s an afternoon in August, and I just brought my writing outside. The unseasonable temperateness of the temperatures makes it possible. (Did you know that temperature used to be a synonym for mild weather?) There is a lot of unseasonable going on right now. I might even say an unreasonable amount of unseasonableness: The Halloween Decorations are coming out in the temples of capitalism and today (August 6!) I even saw a Thanksgiving display. Apparently, it's time to plan...
🦩 vorfreude 🦩
Guten Tag, Reader, The German word Vorfreude roughly translates into pre-joy, and I just felt it tingling through my body, walking through downtown Missoula on a Saturday morning and anticipating the pastry case at Morningbirds Bakery. In my mind, I could taste the cinnamon roll; I felt the spongy texture in my mouth, and I imagined licking the sticky icing off my fingers. In that moment, I wasn't thinking about my to-do list or worrying about my local public radio station. My thoughts had...
🦩 chasing hawks 🦩
Guten Tag, Reader, My thoughts were lulled into a rare state of quietude by the sounds of crickets and my steps on the gravel trail. The scent of summer pine. The heat of the afternoon on my face. Until a shriek unlulled me—pulled my eyes to the sky. One of my favorite shows to watch had come on: “Chasing Hawks,” played out by two chickadees harassing a red-tailed hawk. It never looks strategic (or smart) on the little birds’ part, diving, circling, fluttering, darting. Maybe that’s what...
🦩 choosing choices 🦩
Guten Tag, Reader, A few things before we get into the thrill of making life-impacting decisions: 🌿 July Moss Hour is coming up on July 7th. Join me on Zoom for a grounding gathering to start the month. 🛶 When was the last time you felt truly wild? Untamed? Fully You? If you have trouble answering (these or any of the questions down the letter), join us on the wildHER Rogue River Adventure. And now on to this week's letter: “I am not going to use this,” I mumbled to myself. “It is too banal,”...
🦩 Re-Joy: Another Case for Un-Goaling Your Life 🦩
Guten Tag, Reader, I am just getting off the river as this hits your inbox, so I am sharing a letter from two years ago that has not lost any of its relevance. Two things before you get to read that gem, though: Moss Hour, my virtual Forest Bathing Gathering formerly known as "Backyard Baths," is happening on July 7. I'd love it if you dropped in. The Solstice is nearing, and if you are in Missoula, please join me at Waterworks Hill for a Mindful Saunter on June 20, 6-7:30 p.m. The details...
🦩 wildHER: wilder You 🦩
Guten Tag, Reader, It was still dark. Still cool. The rising sun threw only the slightest glimmer onto the very tops of the canyon walls. Soon, it would be bright. Warm. Hot probably. But not yet. Right then, all movement on the beach was guided by headlamps. The women were still wearing that extra layer as they broke down camp for the last time on this adventure. They moved with skill, strength, and grit. Unexperienced strangers just a week ago, they had bonded into a tight team of confident...
🦩 crossed clouds 🦩
Guten Tag, Reader, “I did not know clouds could do that,” I thought, lying on my back, staring at the surprisingly warm May morning as it dramatically unfolded across the sky. Clouds in a higher layer, shaped like a Hogwarts staircase, moved one way, while their relatives in a lower layer, shaped like a bowl of apples, moved another. Had I stuck with studying physics, I might have been able to name and explain this phenomenon. Luckily, I didn’t, so I could fully experience it instead. These...
I am a recovering perfectionist, productivity chaser, and people pleaser, coaching women to disrupt old thought patterns, let go of behaviors that keep them stuck, and make their joy an everyday priority.