Friday chicken

Reflecting on both the hard and the good in the week that was…

Hello, week: we are here.

It is good to be here.

{a breath for being here when we get here}

Thank you, week!

This is the 410th week in a row we are chickening here together!

Or “checking in”, if you prefer to enunciate.

What’s been working?

Being near water. Trusting my gut. Listening.

I might try…

Headphones in sooner. And/or change location sooner.

Naming the days.

I name each day the night before and I love how names change things and also how they become incantations.

This week was the week of wild into wonder, and these were the days.

Permisison to hide. I am safe and free. Learning about sanctuary. Wild and free. Full of awe and wonder. Magnificence. What do I really want.

Upcoming biopic if it were based on this week…

My way makes less sense but it’s also more fun.

If you feel drawn to comment 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 always welcome

8 breaths for the hard, challenging and mysterious.

  1. Now is reminding me so much of Then, in ways that are downright eerie. A breath for remembering that really and truly now is not then.
  2. Oh everything takes longer than I think and is more expensive than budgeted for. A breath for spaciousness and plenty.
  3. Too many balls in the air. A breath for doing less, choosing ease, and a new metaphor.
  4. The thing where people try to work through their stuff using me, instead of turning inward and figuring it out. It is so exhausting and unnecessary and it gives me migraines. A breath for peacefulness.
  5. Going my own way is important, and sometimes it is also lonely. A breath.
  6. I said this last week, still true. Craving sanctuary, ease, a place for me to write and take care of myself. A breath of steadiness.
  7. I just want a home that is my home. A breath of trust and safe passage.
  8. Inhale, exhale. May all misunderstandings and distortions, internal and external, dissolve in love if not in laughter. May peacefulness prevail. Trust-more love-more release-more receive-more. Goodbye (and thank you), mysteries and hard moments of this week.

8 breaths for the good, reassuring, delight-filled.

  1. Magnificence. A breath of expansiveness.
  2. A fun night of dancing in Astoria, and three private lessons with my teacher. A breath for grace and play.
  3. I trusted my instincts and extended my holiday on the coast for four more days. A breath for certainty.
  4. It is supposed to be 102 degrees (39 celsius) this weekend in Portland, and I am not there. A breath for escape.
  5. I know what I want and I know what I don’t want. A breath of quiet trust.
  6. It used to take me a very long time to remember that Shit Is Not About Me when other people are in their shit and trying to make it about me. Now it is so clear and so easy. This is their stuff, I can wish them love and luck and ease with their stuff, and I don’t have to take it on because it has nothing to do with me. A breath of presence.
  7. Feeling awake, inspired, excited about adventure and possibility. A breath for the open road.
  8. Thankfulness. Treasure in the form of the softest drizzling rain, the best view, surprise ease, surprise playmates, surprise staircases, surprise surprises. So much treasure. Everything is okay and so much is good. Nothing is wrong, even when I want to believe it is. Now is not then. All Timing Is Right Timing. Thank you for this grand adventure. A full breath of deep appreciation in my thank-you heart.

Superpowers I had this week…

Last week I asked for the power of knowing how great I am, shining a light, taking space for myself, combining wildness and wonder. And this ended up being the theme of my dance lessons with my teacher, so I got to experience this both on the dance floor and beyond. More please!

Powers I want.

The superpowers of deep rest, I want to be so well-rested and peaceful that I do not miss any internal intel about how I feel, what I need and what needs to change in my environment. And I want beautiful sweet surprises.

The Salve of The Deepest Rest and Replenishing.

These invisible salves are distributed here by way of internet magic. Help yourself! Take it in a bath, as tea, a cocktail, whatever works for you. Not only is there enough salve, there are also enough ways to receive it.

When I was seventeen and eighteen, I worked in the orchards on the kibbutz, rising at 4:45am, stumbling my way to coffee and tractor, climbing trees all day. My afternoon naps were the best naps I have ever experienced, quite possibly the best naps in the world, but the Friday afternoon naps at the end of the work week surpassed them all. The most indescribably blissful healing sleep, sinking into a state of softness beyond dreaming, waking up feeling gloriously restored, vibrantly alive.

This salve is the distilled feeling of both the nap and the waking. It is made of flowering, cat-like stretching, joyful aliveness, spreading roots, drawing power from the earth.

Side effects include feeling a rush of love towards yourself and deep trust in the healing power of not-doing.

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.

just-one-guy

This week’s band is:

Claw Foot Rub

Their latest album is Always Water, and this band is just one guy.

Photo taken just for us in Lubbock, TX by Jesse — thank you!

Announcement time….

More to come soon, but I left the monster manual in the place that used to be the the shop. So if you missed the closing of the shop, there is still something beautiful for you!

How was your week?

Come play in the comments. Share something from your week, take a breath, or just say hi! No rules, my format doesn’t have to be yours, we’ve been doing this every week for years now and there still isn’t a right way.

Everyone belongs. We let people have their own experience. We’re supportive and welcoming. We lovingly refrain from giving advice.

And of course it’s always okay to comment under a made-up name, whether for play and delight, or in the interest of Safety First.

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

Shabbat shalom.

It’s fine if it’s not Friday anymore. There’s complete chicken amnesty — jump in whenever you like. Blowing kisses to the Beloved Lurkers too!

The Fluent Self