Friday chicken

A look at the good and the hard in my week, a ritual of reflecting.

It is Friday and we are here.

{a breath for Friday.}

What worked this week?

Asking for what I needed.

It is generally not nearly as scary as I think it is going to be.

Next time I might…

Pause and breathe.

And ask sooner.

Also I would like to remember that the amount I panic before a trip is directly proportional to how great the trip is! Operation Tranquility Recovery has been seriously magical and even the parts I thought would be a pain have turned out to hold pleasure for me.

So. Yes. I want to remember this, because I did a lot of pre-trip panicking on this one.

If you feel drawn to leave comments on aspects of my week, I will take love, hearts, breaths, pebbles, I do not need advice or cheering up, though presence and sweetness are appreciated. Hearts or pebbles work great if you don’t know what to say, often I don’t know what to say either so we’re in the same boat.

Eight breaths for the hard, challenging and mysterious.

  1. Grief. I am sad about my mom. Pain. A breath for permission.
  2. Worry. A breath for comfort.
  3. Things are changing. So much change. I have been asking for answers and now I am getting some and they are kind of scaring me. A breath for ease.
  4. Doubt. A breath for patience, sweetness and courage.
  5. Things that are unknown. A breath for trust-more love-more release-more receive-more.
  6. Forgetting truth-love, forgetting to take care of myself, forgetting that this is my job. A breath for remembering.
  7. And in the ongoing theme, the continued encounters with all the ways I relinquish my sovereignty, compromise my desires, neglect to state my preferences, avoid opportunities to treasure myself. Sovereignty challenges everywhere. Yet again, a breath for trust and more trust and even more trust after that. And for practicing.
  8. Inhale, exhale. May all misunderstandings and distortions, internal and external, dissolve in love if not in laughter. Goodbye (and thank you), mysteries and hard moments of this week.

Eight breaths of good, reassuring, delight-filled.

  1. Operation Tranquility Recovery Magic: I LOVE IT! A breath for needing something very specific but not knowing what that is and then getting the exact right thing.
  2. Embarking, departing, sailing away. A breath for a Grand Adventure and new horizons.
  3. Beauty is healing. My adventuring-companion and I spent four days in spectacularly beautiful places in Oregon, Nevada and California. A breath for majesty and for transformative moments of quiet knowing.
  4. Sparks and sweetness. , and this is A breath of thank you.
  5. Water makes everything better. Thank you, Lucky Lola, who provided a shower after four days of being on the road. Thank you, beautiful Pacific ocean. Thank you, all the varied superpowers of releasing. A breath for releasing.
  6. Incoming me is brilliant and full of the best advice. A breath for knowing that I am never alone, because slightly future me is always looking out for me.
  7. Everything is okay. Traveling with The Boy I Like turned out to be fun, sweet and easy. Lots of things have been turning out fun, sweet and easy. And even when they aren’t, Nothing Is Wrong, and I can make new choices, and there are still people who love me and care about me. A breath for everything being okay, and for remembering.
  8. Thankfulness. Heart full of love. Tiny miracles everywhere. So much sweetness in my life, so much kindness, so much generosity and permission. So many things are beautiful. Nothing is wrong. Now is not then. All Timing Is Right Timing. A full breath of deep appreciation in my thank-you heart.

WHAM BOOM! Operations completed.

The phrase Whoosh Ha Mastodon Boom is secret agent code that means: this thing is done! It is often shortened to wham-boom. You may also shout (or whisper) other joyous words if you like.

I am away on Operation Tranquility Recovery Magic, which means that I’m writing, writing and writing, while trusting the fractal flowers. Wham Boom.

Revisiting some wise important words of truth from past-me.

This practice called a set of four questions.

Superpowers…

Powers I had this week…

I had the power of Trusting The Voyage, and the power of sweet sleep.

Superpowers I want.

The superpower of Joyful Full-Hearted Adventuring While Treasuring Myself.

Other favorite superpowers: Permission slips everywhere. Calm Steady Trust Is Mine At All Times. I Take Care Of Myself Easily and Unapologetically. Acting on guidance in addition to listening it. Trusting That the Loving No Is The Door To True Yes! Delighting in Plenty. I am allowed to enjoy being adored. As much sweetness as I want. I see how beautiful everything is and I say thank you.Theatrical Spectaculars! I get a parade! Self-Ripening Wisdom. Everything…in style! And in grand fashion, because that’s how I do things, baby, like a fairground stripper! I Boldly Glow. Ablaze With Fearless Intentional Choice-Making. I Have Everything I Need. Wildly Confident, Outrageously Beautiful, Wonderfully Tranquil. I Do Not Dim My Spark For Anyone.

The Salve of Joyful Full-Hearted Adventuring!

This salve contains many qualities, including:

Courage. Amnesty. Wonder. Delight. Presence. Spaciousness. Vitality. Readiness.

It is a warming salve, the tiniest bit spicy.

It makes you want to try things, without attachment to possible results. This salve makes the act of experimenting seem like its own bold sexy reward.

These salves can’t be seen, but the production factory delivers enough for distribution by way of the magic of the internet, so help yourself. There is enough.

If salve does not appeal, you can have this in tea form, as a bath, cocktail, whatever works for you. Not only is there enough salve, there are also enough ways to receive it.

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

My brother and I make up bands, which are all just one guy. The Meme Beach House is the venue.

This week’s band is called Reserve Your Bird, they play klezmer versions of Guns N Roses songs, and it’s actually just one guy.

Attenzione! Attention, AGENTS.

I am still recommending the Emergency Get Calm, Quiet And Steady techniques, since they are keeping things good around here for me.

So I want to seed a reminder that this is a thing, and it helps, a lot. Not just with calming down in the moment but with building the kind of habits that allow you to change your relationship with whatever is scary or uncomfortable.

I hardly ever recommend these because the page is already many years old and needs rewriting. However, copywriting aside, this is still one of the best things I have ever made, by a lot. I have two boxes in my office full of the sweetest thank you notes from people, and so many of them are for this.

Come play if you like…

Join me in the comments. Some of us share hard and good, some of us say hi, or maybe we’re feeling quiet. My ritual doesn’t have to be your ritual. Whatever works for you. We’ve been doing this every week for years now and there still isn’t a right way. Feel free to leave pebbles (or petals!), hearts, warmth, sweetness. Those always work.

Everyone belongs. We let people have their own experience. We’re supportive and welcoming. We don’t give advice.

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 you like, it’s no big deal. And I am blowing kisses to the Beloved Lurkers. I love that you are here too.

The Fluent Self