trust

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like major...

There are so many things I want to tell you but I went from re-entry after the Feast Retreat (more on that luscious retreat this week) to a visit from my mom (we are putting up art + photos everywhere and brainstorming some business things and tomorrow she's making my favorite marinara sauce to go in the freezer) and my writing brain is not quite ready for this space, so today, I really just want to tell you that I love my new haircut. Like major.

And the number one piece of advice I have is to create a haircut board on Pinterest and then show it to your stylist every single time. (This is the cut we aimed for this time and I'm hoping to add the longer front pieces from this one this summer.)

Tell me something about your corner of the world. How are things over there?

PS Jen, Kelly, and I are totally working on the final details of the Fall Retreat. Registration will be next week. Stay tuned!

circling with women :: a giveaway

Circle of Women . print available here

As I continue to reintegrate into daily life after the Feast Retreat and sift through the stories I want to share, I'm delighted to share this gorgeous print filled with the words of wisdom from Jeanette LeBlanc.

These words capture reasons why I created the Be Present Retreats, why I feel called to circle with women, and why I feel called to circle even more this year, and why I hope you will create your own circles in your corner of the world.

wisdom lit up by twinkle lights and candles at Feast . photo by Jessica DeFeo

During our closing ceremony, one of the ladies at Feast shared that she hoped we would open our hearts to the women in our communities who aren't able to circle like we did.

As she was talking, I kept thinking, "Yes, this."

A Giveaway

The "Circle of Women" print shown above was hanging near our circle during Feast, and I am so excited to share that Jeanette is giving one away today.

To enter the giveaway :: Please leave a comment sharing a piece of your story today. This giveaway has ended. The winner (Leah) has been notified. Thank you!

Feel free to share anything from how the weather is to a secret dream. You might even want to share how you already circle with women or how you long to. And yes, this giveaway is open to men! I imagine the men out there have women in their lives who they would love to see supported by other women in the beautiful ways this print invites. The giveaway will remain open through Sunday evening at 8PM PST.

One More Good Thing

AND I am also happy to share that Jeanette is having a sale in her shop. Both the Circle of Women print + Go Now and Live (shown below) are both on sale for the next few days.

Go Now and Live print . available here

Go Now and Live was also hanging in our cabin in the woods. The story behind this print is so beautiful. An excerpt from Jeanette's story about this print, "I thought about what I would tell my 21 year old self if I had a chance to go back in time and whisper in her ear as she slept.  What knowledge would I want to impart to that idealistic young woman with the whole world at her feet?  As I thought, these words flowed from me and something inside me was healed."

Yes, this.

Read the rest of the story and buy the print (on sale!) here.

***

Jeanette LeBlanc is a writer, photographer poet and dreamer. She regularly consumes ridiculous amounts of dark chocolate, craves the sound of crashing waves and wishes people would stop putting olives on pizza. She has a love affair with words (all of them, especially the bad ones) and is inspired by the intersection of shadows and light. Hopelessly idealistic and impossibly pragmatic, Jeanette fully believes that she will one day earn a very good living with her camera and her writing. In the event that Plan A doesn’t work out, she is willing to settle for a huge lottery win, or the generosity of a very rich benefactor. Either way, she has no intention of being a starving artist. Jeanette lives in Phoenix, Arizona with her delightfully unruly children. Jeanette writes about life, love and beauty and creates inspired design at Peace.Love.Free. Her fine art prints are available for purchase here. 

holding compassion

I'm thinking about you in your corner of the world.

I'm thinking about how things unfold in the ways we least expect.

I'm thinking about all that we cannot control.

I'm thinking about people circling with love.

I'm thinking about how we can lift one another up in simple, real ways.

I'm thinking about you.

And I'm sending you love, compassion, hope, and peace today.

***

Over here, I'm turning to a compassion meditation today as I think about so many around the world who need love right now. 

If you'd like to join me, click here to download a guided meditation that talks you through creating space for compassion and love for another (and yourself).

Sending light and love across the miles,

Liz

capturing this moment: where i stand

april 2013

A few months ago, I remember seeing a question float across Twitter that said something like, "Why this obessession with taking photos of our feet everywhere?"

I don't recall if I responded, but I know I wanted to say, "Because it helps me to really notice this moment and where I stand in my life."

This could be literal:

april 2010

Standing barefoot in the backyard for the first time in the spring while peeking over my 8-month pregnant belly.

Or much more abstract:

June 2012

Standing in the backyard after my two-year-old daughter handed me flowers she found in the midst of a really difficult day. Words I paired with this photo:

i am leaning into this life

(choose trust)

It helps me capture the feelings underneath:

taken in april 2009 in the front yard of my grandparents'
home after my grandfather died

petals
121 gerow avenue
just before leaving for the last time

It is another form of self-portraiture that helps me to find myself in the midst of all the roles I play, it creates space for me to connect with the ground beneath me, reminds me of where I am and where I've been and where I want to go.

In her book The Wisdom of No Escape, Pema Chodron talks about how we are "the ground" of our practice. These photos remind me of this too. 

Who I am, with all my beautiful, wacky, gorgeous, silly, realness, is where my practice begins. And pausing to notice where I stand, where I am right now in this moment, helps me to unearth that truth again and again.

An invitation

Over the next few days, find your feet beneath you and snap a self-portrait. Maybe put your bare feet in the grass for the first time this Spring. Take a walk and find flowers blooming or the snow that still insists on arriving or a feather and stand right next to it and capture that moment in your lens. Write the words you most need to remember on a sticky note, put it right down by your toes, and snap it. 

Find where you stand in this moment. 

And then come back here and tell me all about it. Leave a link in the comments to your photo or just let us know how the experience was for you. 

***

You can find more about this prompt and other juicy self-portrait prompts in my book Inner Excavation: Explore Your Self Through Photography, Poetry, and Mixed Media. I'm delighted to share that I'm selling copies again, this time at a special discounted price of $18. Read more about the book and order it from me right here. (I'll even sign it for you and include one of my poem note postcards.)

here: retreat prep

it's to-do lists next to to-do lists

and grocery shopping

and laying out several possible outfits for EJ in case her daddy has trouble getting her dressed

it's freshly laundered stacked vintage quilts

next to super secret good stuff + my favorite pens

next to art supplies, a new instax, and starry lights

next to spices, a food processor, and pepitas

it's picking up my partner in crime at the airport

one last run to Target

and squeezing in a haircut

it's a basket of poetry

two suitcases full of books

and one vintage typewriter

it's slowing down to soak it up

it's counting down the minutes until they arrive

it's creating space to feel the expectations

and deciding again and again to just show up as me

it's opening my heart to this

yes, this.

here

little girl me

Just thinking about this little girl today. Feeling so grateful for the ways she teaches me when I am quiet enough to listen to her wisdom.

Sending love and light to you in your corner of the world...

teach.now.

Love LOVE this quote from Jennifer Louden. One of her signature courses, TeachNow begins next week. I loved it so much that I'm actually taking it again. I don't want to miss the new interviews and calls + I really want to try to create some space to connect with the other teachers in the class this time.

If you've been thinking about teaching ecourses and workshops, need to reconnect with why you love teaching, or just want to spend some time rekindling your mojo around the work you're putting out there, consider coming along. Learn more here.

(And yes, I'm totally an affiliate for Jen's program because I really believe in it. Big time.)