inner excavate-along (a few more details)

I am so excited to share more details about the Inner Excavation read-along that will begin in just about two weeks on June 11! I decided to create a video answering some questions and explaining how the read-along will work. You can find most of this information over on the Inner Excavate-along page. In the video, I clarify what I mean by a read-along and share some journal ideas + the journal I will be using this summer.

  

A few notes from the video:

• Posts will be on Mondays and Thursdays (with additional guest posts some weeks). Monday will include a video from me with some thoughts about the chapter theme. This post will be an opportunity for you to ask questions and share observations and thoughts about the chapter etc. (This means you might want to consider reading or at least looking through that week's chapter prior to Monday.) I will also share the prompt I am going to work with that week. On Thursdays I will share my new response to the prompt I chose and you will be able to link up with your responses to that week's chapter. (Again, this info is explained in more detail over here.)
• In the video, I show examples of a few possible journal choices including the regular sized SMASH journals and the large purple one (as I mention in the video, I'm going to use the large purple Smash in a new online workshop that will be coming out later this summer/early fall) and these kraft Moleskines.
• The journal I'll be using is one I found at Barnes and Noble last year I think, and they have them online here. I am really feeling pulled to have a journal full of blank white pages, but you should use whatever you feel comfortable using/have on hand. I think I might just decorate the cover with some happy washi tape and a photo. And Jon's going to play along and use a watercolor journal. 
• As I continue to gather supplies and use them in my prompt responses, I'll be sharing more about them in the posts throughout the read-along. In the video I share a glimpse at the envelopes + tags + a few of the other fun things I'll be using. 
• Be sure to join the Inner Excavation Flickr group. Consider sharing a photo of yourself in the group pool to introduce yourself as we gather.
• And if you are playing along this summer, please feel free to grab the button above to use on your site and in your posts.

Please feel free to ask any questions in the comments today! I deeply appreciate you coming along this summer (or winter if that is the season your find yourself entering). I am so excited!

through the lens

 

 

 

 

 

 

in the midst of the grumps and the oh my gosh please use your words and the what do you mean the internet is out all over the city and the grumps again and the other things that make up pieces of any given day, there was a remembering that getting out of the house gets us back into our hearts.

every. single. time.

(jonny turned one year older this weekend and i got him an iphone [i kind of want the photos he's going to take with it so i had a bit of an agenda]. you can follow him on instagram @joncharles.)

may 24

sometimes movies (and television and books) pull us out of our real lives in a way that can distract us from living deeply.

but other times, they give us just the tools we need in a moment to help us open up and feel and move through and be right here.

each time i watch the last movie (or read the seventh book) as harry potter walks through the forest with his parents + sirius + lupin believing he is walking to his death, and sirius points to his chest and says, "we're here you see" (in the book he says, "we're part of you"), each time my heart heals a bit more because i choose to believe he is right...

*** 

(as the tears began to fall as they always do when i watch this scene, i was inspired to pick up my camera in this moment by this week's prompt in Meredith and Kristin's Now You workshop.)

a family self-care (smash) journal

 

Yesterday, I was talking with a friend about the idea I have that so often we are triggered by another's blog or Facebook post etc. because we fill in the blanks of what someone doesn't share in these posts with our assumptions. (I talked about this idea in this February post.) We were talking about how we can think that someone's life is a certain way because she doesn't ever talk negatively about this or that or that someone's life must be so perfect because she is doing so much or "makes it look easy." 

A simple example: Sharing photos of your happy smiling family doesn't mean that everyone is always happy and smiling. But, it would be a bit odd to begin taking photos "for your blog" during an argument, wouldn't it? Yet somehow when we see these smiling happy photos on a day when our own family might not be smiling or happy, we might find ourselves triggered and thinking "well, my life isn't like hers because she has it so easy + a book deal + cuter clothes + a better camera [or fill in some other similar thought here.]"

My point in sharing this today is that over here, we are navigating the experience that is a marriage in the midst of toddler world + a growing business (and not enough childcare) + other things that are real life things and too personal to share here. In some ways, I touch on these things in my posts, but really, this is a story that involves more than just me and many pieces of it feel too personal for this space.

That said, I really want to begin to share (as an accounting of myself of sorts) some of the ideas we are implementing to support one another a bit more over here. Ideas that are about leaning into living and figuring out how to let in more light + love in the harder moments. 

A few weeks ago, I gently pushed Jon on the idea that he doesn't have many self-care moves. And you know me, I am all about the self-care. But, I do know from experience that it isn't easy to implement simple self-care practices if you don't know where to begin.

So we've started a family Smash journal.

 We are beginning to fill it with sections on adventures we want to take, go-to meals + recipes we want to try, solo adventure ideas for both Jon and me, and self-care ideas for Jon. There is a section called "home" that will include lists of things we need to do but also a few lists of what we wish and dream for our little home. We are making lists of things to do with EJ when it rains and when we are exhausted but she isn't (for real - this will be a good one). And this weekend I hope to make a list of dates we would like to go on.

I've also started a "Summer Manifesto" inspired by Ali and Andrea, and I'll share it soon.

I want this journal to be a resource for Jon and me because the truth is that sometimes it is easier to focus on "getting through" instead of living deeply. For example, on the days when I don't eat before Ellie gets up and then her needs (and business stuff) takes over and then suddenly she is napping and I find myself still in pajamas and nauseated from hunger...yeah...those days are more intense than they would be if I just spent a few moments bringing more awareness into the day and into what I need. And I see Jon adopting similar patterns when he is on break from work. Sometimes we need pajama days, but we've noticed that life is softer when we bring in more awareness and, well, fun.

I will share more about this journal as we keep using it, but today, I just wanted to share the idea in case you want to create a space to hold your "go-to" family self-care moves. (We are using the orange Smash journal because it seems to have more blank pages than the other colors, which makes it nice for lists.)

May your weekend be full of lightness and good things and rest,

Liz 

why retreat (with melissa mcannally)

Today, I am sharing the second post in a new series of guest posts from a few of the ladies who have attended my retreats over the last few years. My hope is that these posts will not only give you a glimpse into the Be Present Retreats, but also invite you to realize the importance of taking time away from your daily life to recharge, connect with your kindreds, and rekindle your creativity.

And today, I am over the moon excited to welcome Melissa McAnnally as my guest today. The following is her poem (a poem!) response to the question "why retreat?" (Thank you dear girl!)

*****

Why Retreat?

To fall in love

with the sound of laughter and the taste of wine

To meet new sisters

and feel that you are home

To walk through tall trees

and embrace the texture of moss and the comfort of damp air

To cover your hands in paint

and glue and paper and joy

To rest in the healing power of

the camera lens

To let poetry caress your ears

and flow deliciously across your tongue

To gobble spoonfuls of the

earth’s healing provision

To rediscover yourself

and your place in this beautiful world 

*****

Melissa McAnnally lives along the Texas Gulf Coast, crunching numbers by day and exploring the world of art any chance she gets.

She is grateful to Liz and the Be Present Retreats for introducing her to the joy of messy, imperfect art and the healing power of the written word. 

Read other guest posts in the Why Retreat series here.

Announcing: Chickadee Road

Today, I am so excited to announce Chickadee Road: A collaboration between Kelly Barton and me!

The simple truth is that we wish we were neighbors, but we actually live 1832 miles apart. But if we were neighbors, we would have a place tucked in the woods nestled right by the sea. And here:

Women would circle.
Artists would paint and play and sketch.
Writers would sit under shady trees and spin stories.
Poets would poem it out on vintage typewriters.
Photographers would go on treasure hunts for beauty.
And each day we would gather and share our stories.
And there would be food + laughter + light surrounding all of us. 

And this magical place, this soul party for kindred spirits, would be called Chickadee Road.

One day we hope to physically manifest this place (and we are blessed to do this a few times a year at retreats). But until the day comes where we live much closer to one another, we are delighted to create this space over here.

We hope that you will visit our new shop! We think of it like the gift shop of treasures we would have during open studio evenings at Chickadee Road. 

This summer, we will continue to nurture and tend to Chickadee Road. A blog will begin. We will have a few fun projects for you to come along and participate in. To stay informed as we grow and create new things, please sign up for our newsletter.

the view from here

writing notes to myself filled with the words i most need to here and hiding them in my journal so i will find them again just when i need them.

working hard on several project launches and giving myself permission to just experience it all as it unfolds.

celebrating the joy that is true collaboration.

dancing with ellie to donna summer on repeat.

sitting on the backporch and watching the rain rain rain come down down down.

anticipating next month's your story retreat and the goodness that awaits.

cleaning up after millie and ellie. a lot.

catching up on the last few weeks of project life (and still loving it).

delighting in the "helping" ellie has been doing lately as she takes one piece of laundry at a time from the laundry room to our bed or her chair in her bedroom.

feeling deep gratitude for our kind babysitter.

noticing the little ways jon is helping in the evenings.

trusting a little more with each breath.

witnessing the story (the gift of this moment)

overlooking puget sound . may 17

Life around here feels like a daily journey of holding the beauty in one hand and the intensity that is life...that is parenting and marriage and health stuff and running my own business in limited hours and product launches and collaborations...that is navigating the energy of the Internet...that is remembering self-care and kindness in the midst of it all...that is doing the best I can...in the other.

As I thought about what to post here today, I headed over to Flickr to see if there was a photo that would inspire me to write something in this space. As I looked through the Instagram photos I posted last week, I realized that almost every day, I used what I call my "In This Moment" practice to keep myself grounded through it all.

This practice is about taking a photo to capture a moment + writing down a few words to pair with the photo. But it really is about using your camera and a few words as a meditation to be more present to the simple (and sometimes profound) moments that make up your daily life. It's about letting the camera get you out of your head and into your awareness of the beauty and realness and joy and sometimes even sadness that punctuates your life. It's about writing down field notes that tell the stories so you will remember. It's about being your own witness.

The words I wrote down a couple of days after taking the photo of Puget Sound at the top of this post:

I sat in the car with the windows rolled down while she softly snored in the backseat. The birds were chattering, the waves were lapping far below me as two boats sailed by. This moment was so excruciatingly simple + beautiful that my only option was to take out my notebook and write a poem. Poetry + getting out of my head saves me every time.

Sometimes I write a little paragraph like this, but most of the time, I write simple thoughts and short sentences.

What I know: This bringing me flowers stage is awesome.

I am 100% as tired as I look, yet here I am soaking up the sun and doing my best.
(hairstyle by EJ)

In this moment, I am soaking up the rich deep real beauty that is a handwritten letter.

truth = long day. just being right here. leaning into trust.

today was a softer day because the iPhone stayed in my purse.

Looking through these photos today, this is what I know: This practice isn't about the perfect photo. It's about taking a moment to capture your world (yourself) and then writing down a piece of the story. The photo above of Ellie and me isn't the best photo ever, but I love it for lots of reasons. Of course, it looks very sweet...this mother and daughter with flowers in their hair cuddled up together. And the moment was very sweet. But the moments surrounding it were full of the intensity of Ellie wearing a heart monitor for 24 hours and the reality of her heart issues right in my face every time I looked at it paired with the awesome yet exhausting always on the move insistent teething toddler that she is right now. I wanted to capture pieces of all of this realness in the short words I paired with this photo.

Before I decided to write this post, when I was looking through these photos + words, I began to feel the space inside me expand with each breath. Honestly, I began to feel gentler with myself, which is why I decided to write this post today. I was experiencing a shift from listing the ways I am not enough (which was what I was beginning to do this morning) to seeing myself and knowing I am...I am...I am...

*****

In "The Gift of This Moment," I dive deeper into this practice. I share stories and prompts and other good things to guide you into developing your own "In This Moment" practice so that you will begin to integrate it into your daily creative self-care. 

One reason I do this practice is because I want to remember. Because I would love to look through an album of photos from the everyday moments of my own childhood and read my mother's words about the beautiful, real, hard, joyful days we experienced as a family. I would love to spend an evening with a friend and be given the gift of sitting together sifting through pages of her photos + words to get to know her even more. These days, so many of our photos stay on our computers, and I want to hold them in my hands and read pieces of the stories that make up this crazy life.

This leads me to one of my favorite parts of this kit: You will print out your photos and put them into the In This Moment: Field Journal and Photo Album and pair them with your field notes so that you can hold in your hands the evidence of the ways you tell story. I imagine you out there in your corner of the world carrying your Field Journal with you and capturing a photo and then jotting down a few lines in your journal because you don't want to forget how you found the space to be a witness to your own story.

The Gift of This Moment Home Retreat Kit is available for pre-order and will ship in June. Each week leading up to its release, I will be sharing a bit more about the pieces you will find inside; you can read all the posts about it here.