Your photos are wonderful! Thank you for sharing. I struggle with driving anxiety, so seeing you driving cross country alone is inspiring.
The dank corners of down periods where we lose contact with the dry light expansive nature still exits catches me in its snare too. And it seems to happen slowly without me noticing! But eventually I discover a way out, of course, as your beautiful article points to, with intention.
Congratulations on your upcoming marriage! So exciting!
The fact that you allowed yourself to get MAD (and then tell us strangers about it) is one of the KEY things that can shift energy. I read this post holding my breath, rooting for you, grateful to take it with you on the page. Brava!
I love this post: seeing you and your dog communing with each other, nature, car rides and your audio books, the self-reflections. Seems like you have accomplished a lot in your young life-a lot to be proud of. But I understand how all that does not necessarily correlate with feeling great about yourself and your life. You describe this well- all the different emotions, self-critic and your evolution toward acceptance of wherever you are at the time. No small feat to sit with this stuff- but yet it is really that simple as you remind us. Thanks for sharing your insights, leading these groups ( incl. Artist’s Way) and for giving me a chance to get to know you a bit through your writing. ❤️🌈
I don't practice yoga, but I am 100 percent on board with the practice of accepting reality as it is. It took me a long time to realize that expectation is the source of all disappointment. "Deserve" and "should" are not just words but modes of thinking that sabotage our lives. It's a lesson I must periodically relearn. Thanks for sharing, Ali. Your journey seems to be rich and full of wonder. Enjoy your travels.
Boy, this comment box isn't big enough to describe all the ways this resonated with me and mirrors my own recent past and present. I am also slowly emerging from the longest down cycle of my life.
[ Also drove (halfway) across the country alone (with my dog, Buckwheat) which was one of 8 cross country trips I've driven in the last three years. Also very bad at ebbing (loved the Eckhart quote). Also constantly battling time and wondering why I can't seem to get back to who I used to be and what I used to be capable of. And also finding a greater capacity to hold the 'all of it' at the same time- the joy, the grief, the sadness, the hope.]
And with that, I really appreciated how you wove together all the truths of your experience. The hardships and the joys that co-exist, neither negating the other. I hope this particular season of celebration fills you up and restores some of what has felt lost. I'm really looking forward to what you continue to create from this emerging space.
In the meantime, I will be holding on to this as a reminder when my own self-acceptance isn't articulate or loud enough "It takes time and effort to let go of what does not serve you. It takes time and effort to recreate yourself based on who you truly are, and not who you thought you had to be."
I do love those moments when someone's writing hits home and tells you what you need to hear (read) to keep going. Thank you. You're doing an amazing job!
Love the Eckhart Tolle and Rilke quotes. So good 🙏🏼 and it’s such an important reminder about accepting reality as it is, the good and the bad. I’ve been working on that recently too, and coming out of a bit of a down cycle myself. now it’s more that I’m learning to sit in the uncertainty, the discomfort of not knowing what comes next, but choosing to trust in myself and the timing of my life the best that I can.
Maybe I need a solo road trip in my life also! Yours sounds incredible. Congrats on all the exciting changes you have coming up!
Ooof yes, I feel this. Thank you for sharing! I think it’s important to share the down moments in life and still reminder others you can feel down and lost at times, but there are always beautiful things to appreciate about life.
I devoured this - such a great read; grounding but uplifting at the same time. Your solo road trip sounds amazing!
Lockdown was definitely a brutal reminder about the importance of the down cycle for me too. I was made redundant - my career effectively imploded out of nowhere and I couldn't access my normal coping mechanisms. Patience is key at these points, right?
I find myself screenshotting the quotes you share EVERY TIME, by the way! So helpful.
This struck a chord with me, Ali. I couldn’t agree with you more that acceptance is so, so important. I’ve been in a down cycle of my own for a while, but have finally made peace with where I’m at. Learning to accept less than ideal circumstances is the most freeing thing—if we strive for acceptance, we are no longer at the mercy of the crappy things that happen to us, and no one thing can stand in the way of our happiness for long. All the best ❤️
Your photos are wonderful! Thank you for sharing. I struggle with driving anxiety, so seeing you driving cross country alone is inspiring.
The dank corners of down periods where we lose contact with the dry light expansive nature still exits catches me in its snare too. And it seems to happen slowly without me noticing! But eventually I discover a way out, of course, as your beautiful article points to, with intention.
Congratulations on your upcoming marriage! So exciting!
The fact that you allowed yourself to get MAD (and then tell us strangers about it) is one of the KEY things that can shift energy. I read this post holding my breath, rooting for you, grateful to take it with you on the page. Brava!
I love this post: seeing you and your dog communing with each other, nature, car rides and your audio books, the self-reflections. Seems like you have accomplished a lot in your young life-a lot to be proud of. But I understand how all that does not necessarily correlate with feeling great about yourself and your life. You describe this well- all the different emotions, self-critic and your evolution toward acceptance of wherever you are at the time. No small feat to sit with this stuff- but yet it is really that simple as you remind us. Thanks for sharing your insights, leading these groups ( incl. Artist’s Way) and for giving me a chance to get to know you a bit through your writing. ❤️🌈
I don't practice yoga, but I am 100 percent on board with the practice of accepting reality as it is. It took me a long time to realize that expectation is the source of all disappointment. "Deserve" and "should" are not just words but modes of thinking that sabotage our lives. It's a lesson I must periodically relearn. Thanks for sharing, Ali. Your journey seems to be rich and full of wonder. Enjoy your travels.
Boy, this comment box isn't big enough to describe all the ways this resonated with me and mirrors my own recent past and present. I am also slowly emerging from the longest down cycle of my life.
[ Also drove (halfway) across the country alone (with my dog, Buckwheat) which was one of 8 cross country trips I've driven in the last three years. Also very bad at ebbing (loved the Eckhart quote). Also constantly battling time and wondering why I can't seem to get back to who I used to be and what I used to be capable of. And also finding a greater capacity to hold the 'all of it' at the same time- the joy, the grief, the sadness, the hope.]
And with that, I really appreciated how you wove together all the truths of your experience. The hardships and the joys that co-exist, neither negating the other. I hope this particular season of celebration fills you up and restores some of what has felt lost. I'm really looking forward to what you continue to create from this emerging space.
In the meantime, I will be holding on to this as a reminder when my own self-acceptance isn't articulate or loud enough "It takes time and effort to let go of what does not serve you. It takes time and effort to recreate yourself based on who you truly are, and not who you thought you had to be."
Happy wedding!
I do love those moments when someone's writing hits home and tells you what you need to hear (read) to keep going. Thank you. You're doing an amazing job!
Love the Eckhart Tolle and Rilke quotes. So good 🙏🏼 and it’s such an important reminder about accepting reality as it is, the good and the bad. I’ve been working on that recently too, and coming out of a bit of a down cycle myself. now it’s more that I’m learning to sit in the uncertainty, the discomfort of not knowing what comes next, but choosing to trust in myself and the timing of my life the best that I can.
Maybe I need a solo road trip in my life also! Yours sounds incredible. Congrats on all the exciting changes you have coming up!
Ooof yes, I feel this. Thank you for sharing! I think it’s important to share the down moments in life and still reminder others you can feel down and lost at times, but there are always beautiful things to appreciate about life.
I devoured this - such a great read; grounding but uplifting at the same time. Your solo road trip sounds amazing!
Lockdown was definitely a brutal reminder about the importance of the down cycle for me too. I was made redundant - my career effectively imploded out of nowhere and I couldn't access my normal coping mechanisms. Patience is key at these points, right?
I find myself screenshotting the quotes you share EVERY TIME, by the way! So helpful.
Your newsletter cuts straight to my soul. Thank you for saying what I feel. Thank you for your vulnerability. My favorite Little Things yet!
Can we practice acceptance and compassion indeed! Thank you for this soul share, for making real the true blender of life! I can relate oh-so-much.
Taking this line with me "There is nothing wrong with receding so that you can once again flow, it’s only judgment that convinces us of that." 🙏
This struck a chord with me, Ali. I couldn’t agree with you more that acceptance is so, so important. I’ve been in a down cycle of my own for a while, but have finally made peace with where I’m at. Learning to accept less than ideal circumstances is the most freeing thing—if we strive for acceptance, we are no longer at the mercy of the crappy things that happen to us, and no one thing can stand in the way of our happiness for long. All the best ❤️