no 38

Have you accidentally looked into the sun or bright light and then looked away, the image burned into your eyelids? That’s an afterimage.

I've been giving myself permission to spend time differently than before. I (literally) ask my body (as I would a friend) and listen to what it says. I've learned to enjoy making more decisions with my body.

It's giving me a whole new perspective on how to spend time and how to spend it in ways that are in my favor rather than against myself.

Here's what I saw, heard, or sensed that’s stayed with me in the past week. Let’s begin.

Message from your Future: Visiting Elders

How are your Granps, Grandmas, and Grands doing?

Last week, I invited you to visit your Inner Grand to ask for some wisdom (since they know you better than others) and see whether they wanted any help with calibration or course-correcting anything in their past- or your present.

What parts of them were brilliant and evolved future versions of you today? Did you catch any glimpses of shadows from your present?

Nurturing, celebrating, forgiving yourself, or taking action to bring some light into any shadow you have today will change who shows up on your next visit.

Who do you want to greet you when you visit your Grand next?

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Message from my Body: Time and Schedule

Maybe you’ve experienced this, working from home during the pandemic: for years after leaving a corporate working environment, starting my business, and working from home, I felt like I wasn’t really working. On a bad day, I felt like I was slacking off, even if I got a lot of work done. On a good day, I felt like I was getting away with something.

Feeling like I was “pretend-working” would regularly force me into making my calendar look like it did when I was in corporate: filled in, with very little white space for self-care, breaks, reflection, or pauses. Maybe for the better, my body wasn’t having it: it would rebel in the form of procrastination or shut down, getting sick.

Since then, I consult with my body regularly, upfront. What does it need? Is this the right time? Right people? Right place? Right focus?

:::

In the weeks after turning fifty, I’ve asked myself a lot of questions. It started with, “how do I want to celebrate my birthday? How do I want to share time with others?” Those questions made me wonder what makes me happy and what makes things fun without feeling like a drag.

It eventually led me to reflect on how I want to spend my time. If I have about 25 years in my time account, I want to be intentional about how I use that time.

​Here is a short essay on how I'm learning to spend it: time, energy, and money.