Friday chickenWhere I cover the good and the hard in my week, visiting the non-preachy side of ritual and self-reflection.

And you get to join in if you feel like it.

I am exhausted.

But it’s the happy kind of exhausted.

What worked?

Silent retreat.

Seriously. It solves all the things.

Keeping the phone in airplane mode.

It’s like silent retreat for your phone!

Except I don’t like that phrase, so I will have to rename it.

Ship mode?

The point is, less interference. This was good.

Asking for reminders.

And then finding that they were already there.

Next time I might…

Pre-birthday planning.

It sneaks up on me.

Even when I plan to not let it sneak up on me!

So maybe planning isn’t the right word. Hmm.

Anyway, here I am a week before it happens, and I haven’t made space for my chrysalis.

Putting a little green bead here as a reminder.

And also whispering: Havi Bell. My love. All timing is right timing. And this — especially this — is right timing. This is going to turn out to be exactly right. And all you have to do is breathe and remember: Nothing Is Wrong.

Conduct even more!

I conducted like crazy this week. But you know what?

More conducting, please.

Things I found challenging.

  • Deadlines.
  • Missing a nap.
  • Everyone is in town! I want to see everyone!
  • Disappearing stone.
  • On Sunday I walked all the way to my favorite place to lay with a project and take a nap, only to be driven away by the loudest car alarm ever.
  • On Toozday, I took a cab all the way across town to go to a workshop, only to find that I couldn’t get into the building.
  • Running into someone else’s scarcity monsters, reflecting back at me.
  • Someone else’s Ludicrous Fear Popcorn triggering my Ludicrous Fear Popcorn. Having to remember that all fear is both legitimate and also slightly ridiculous.
  • Two weeks in a row of no Fake Beach Day. Saddest face ever.
  • Oh dear lord the amount of time and effort it took to get the Floop ready to go, even though we had prepped everything months ago. Unbelievable.
  • Achy head
  • Boundaries.
  • Working on boundaries.

Things I delighted in.

  • I’m finding all the systems holes and this is good!
  • Thanks for the redirection! Both times that I went to the place that was not the right place, I ended up at an even better place. So it all worked out. Of course.
  • Sweet joyful time with my playmate. Especially a long lazy Saturday morning.
  • All the flowers.
  • Mystery bagels with Taylor on Monday and Thursday.
  • The stone returned.
  • The best kind of surprises.
  • (Thank you, Rudi, for planting the superpower of Good Surprises at Rally last week, I had nothing but good surprises this week!)
  • A very calm, very quiet slightly-adventurous adventure with Galen, a good person to have a very calm adventure with.
  • Successfully training beloved housemate to add the word soccer to the phrase “I have some bad news”. Yes. Some bad SOCCER news. Thank god. This has reduced the anxiety in my life by oh, let’s see, one hundred percent.
  • New verb for standing watch at Stompopolis! Watering the watch.
  • Stompopolis! Everything about Stompopolis! My dream of all Rally all the time: it is a reality at Stompopolis.
  • Flirting outrageously without speaking.
  • Remembering the two most important things in life: Shit Is Not About Me. And also, the corollary to that: Shit Is Also Not About Them.
  • Awesome bout Friday where my Guns N Rollers kicked ass and also I got to sit with people I love watching other people I love do the thing I love. Wow.
  • Fun people to play with.
  • Marisa
  • Foxy Jess! And the amazing tiniest-schmoo-schmoo-schmoo books she found for Stompopolis.
  • Being Bond Girl.
  • Oh, man. I got so much done this week!
  • Dancing my ass off..
  • Bond Girl solved my birthday conundrum.
  • Tiniest-schmoo neighbor is now totally talking all the time and actually said, “Good morning, Havi! How are you?”. Admittedly at the prompting of his mama, but still. Neato.
  • The 2013 Floop set sail away yesterday. EMBARKING.
  • The Year of Emptying and Replenishing also set sail yesterday. I am so thrilled about both of these marvelous adventures!
  • Boundaries. Are the best. Glowing radiant boundaries.
  • I feel happy and peaceful.

WHAM BOOM! Operations completed this week:

The phrase Whoosh Ha Mastodon Boom is secret agent code that means: this op is done, baby! It is often shortened to WHAM boom.

Operation WATCH HEART Wham boom!
Mission Winning At Pants Wham boom!
Operation High Fives And High Tens Wham boom!

And so many other ops. I can’t even remember them all. This was a big week.

Whoosh Ha Mastadon Boom! Wham Boom! Wham Boom!

You may also shout (or whisper) other joyous words if you like.

Superpowers!

A superpower I had this week…

Knowing that whatever I chose, it would be fine.

And a superpower I want next week.

More of the same please.

And also a dose of Smiling The Just Right Smile.

Playing live at the meme beach house — the Fake Band of the Week!

Background. Ez and I make up bands. Stu (retired Bolshevik-fearing voice-to-text software) once invented hanging out at the Meme Beach House“. It’s just one guy.

This week’s band:

Triple Bork Diamond

Thank you, Mr. Von Wink. Aka Kyle.

Though, of course, it’s really just one guy.

Hallo Hallo! I am saying Hallo Hallo. Announcement time.

Picture me wearing that crazy hat

If you have already been to a Rally, I have a lovely surprise for you coming up.

If you’re in Portland The Younger (the one in Oregon), come to Stompopolis and do some pop-ins!

Other than that, I recommend the class on TIME.

That’s it for me …

Join my Friday ritual in the comments if you feel like it. Or call silent retreat!

We let people have their own experience. We’re supportive and welcoming. And we don’t give advice (unless people specifically ask for it).

Wishing you a glorrrrrrrrrrrrious day, a restful weekend and a happy week to come.

Shabbat shalom.

p.s. It’s fine if it’s not Friday anymore. There’s complete chicken amnesty — join in whenever (or not) and it’s no big deal.

The Fluent Self