Harmonious Coexistence~ November 2024

Happy first Monday of November, you beautiful humans!!!

I'm so happy to be typing this! I got to meet a few new friends after a wonderful experience being a part of an instructor's panel at UNCW. I'm ecstatic some of you wanted to be in on this newsletter/community! Woohoo! Thank you for being here! All of you... I see you (:

I can't speak too much on it yet, but I have some big news to share. It involves upcoming travel plans, but I'm going to wait until December's email to announce it with you all. I know- I'm sorry! But with that being said, I hope to see you all in as many classes as possible in these upcoming weeks and also to continue these emails into the new year! My hope has always been that these emails offer inspiration and connection- and I have full intentions of offering even more of these things in the future. Speaking of intentions- the 2025 Intention Setting Ceremony sign up has officially launched and I'd be STOKED to have you all join this virtual workshop and close out the year!

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Most of you know, but I currently work full-time at a retirement community here in Wilmington as a Health & Wellness Coordinator. I did an activity with my residents a few weeks ago called "Take some love & leave some love". The exercise is really simple and only involves writing positive words, phrases, quotes, or whatever else people want, on a mirror or canvas, and then reading what everyone else has shared. Before I let them have at it and go to town with all of their positivity (...lol), I asked them if they have heard the new saying about things being "cringe". I always love asking them if they keep up with what the young people are saying. For the record, a lot of them do (the favs are "gaslight" and "rizz" hahah).

Anyways, I invited each of them to lean into the cringe. The moment I said this, I could see the discomfort just oozing from their skin. I wanted each of them to simply acknowledge if they felt uncomfortable writing something positive and inspiring on the mirror and to then ask why that might be. "Be cringey" I told them. I'm always asking them to lean into the things that make us feel just a little awkward or uncomfortable. That challenges us and allows us to grow- and growth is important at every age and stage. By the end of the first day, almost the entire mirror in the studio was filled with such unique and beautiful words. This exercises forces everyone to go a bit inward to decide what to share and then got a chance to absorb what was on everyone else's mind and heart. It was truly beautiful. It reminded us that we're all struggling, celebrating, growing, mourning, healing, blooming.

I'm not really supposed to write on the mirrors, even in dry erase, but I kept it up for the whole week because it was so lovely. Before erasing it, I shared with the residents why I really wanted to do this.

In a world (& truly a world) that can feel so divided at times, especially this time of year in an election year, I try to focus on things like compassion, empathy and mutual respect. When we lose those things, we lose connection. And connection to self and others is everything. Coexistence can feel hard, let's be honest, sometimes it can feel impossible, but it takes an open mind and an open heart. Here are some of my favorite reasons why coexistence matters:

Diversity- Different cultures, ideas, and perspectives enrich our lives and foster creativity, and also allows us to learn from one another. 

Peace: Coexistence promotes understanding and tolerance, helping to reduce conflict and violence. When people coexist peacefully, communities are stronger and more resilient.

Collaboration: Working together across differences can lead to innovative solutions to shared challenges. And we're talking big things like poverty, health crises, education and climate issues.

Social Harmony: Coexistence encourages empathy and respect, which are essential for building strong, cohesive societies and close communities. 

And finally, personal growth: When we interact with diverse groups our horizons are broadened, our assumptions are challenged, and we connect more intimately with our own thoughts, beliefs and morals!

In a similar way, recognizing that opposing emotions can coexist within us is comforting and healing. It reminds us that we're allowed to feel excited about something upcoming, but also be mourning that fact that something else is coming to an end. Our many different emotions can coexist- acknowledging them and feeling them is crucial.

Those are my words, that's it- ya'll know I am not about to get political on you. We have enoughhhh of that. Formulate your own thoughts and see how they feel within your own body and mind. I am so grateful for the ability to connect with each of you. I mean it, thank you so much for being here and for being a part of this harmonious, coexisting space open to any and everything you believe in. I cannot wait to see what November has in store for us!