Suzy said it perfectly below in her last paragraph. Thank you for your gift to us. It starts my weekend off with a shared sense of our community and such inspiration.
As a super planner myself, I strongly relate to your message in this post. The journey I’ve been on has shown me that the present truly is the only place to be. Leaning into discomfort is a practice I’ve been embracing, instead of turning to a distraction (checking phone, scrolling), I check in with myself and allow the feeling.
Love WOTY and your vanity mirror sticky note race is such a great way to arrive at it! I set a word as my intention during yoga practice and try on what resonates deeply with my mind and body.
I look forward to your post every Saturday! You stand firmly in your truth, your style is so relatable and real. Thank you for bringing this gift to all of us.
Suzy, I feel you. The lure of distraction is strong. Sometimes I win, sometimes I lose that fight. But overall I'm moving in the right direction. And I think intentions and WOTYs are in the same family. Thanks for your encouragement and kind words, it's an honor to land in your inbox every Saturday!
Deliberate is a great word; it must be very difficult to pick one word for the year. You likely saw the WSJ article last week which mentioned the futility of doing too much, such as planning, multitasking, DOING, spinning our wheels and so on, as too much spent energy can lead to stress, which we are all looking to escape. So my deliberation is to do less, while accomplishing more of the fewer things that are most important.
I love your blog, which mentions the many losses which people experience, so your Luminist has a great universality. I sent it to someone who is close to me who has experienced PTSD for many years.
How did you choose the word aliveness, as opposed to liveliness?
John, thanks so much for your kind words, and for sharing The Luminist - that’s my fondest wish, that the work finds whoever it needs to reach. And great question on aliveness vs. liveliness....for me aliveness takes in both the good things and the hard things that happen in our life....and both of them shape us into feeling more alive. Liveliness is a great word too, and to me it means feeling energy and impact - but we don’t feel that way all the time. I think words mean things individually to each of us, so whatever gives you power and inspiration is good stuff. Thanks for making me think about this more! And thanks for commenting. I appreciate the conversation!
Peace of mind. It seems that you and most who subscribe to The Luminist are looking for ways to attain it or more of it. After many years of frustration, it became more of a thing when I returned to town after Katrina to find my duties in especial demand, both to my family here, to my parents’ new life-threatening injuries, managing both of their separate homes and businesses from afar, and a wife who had serious acute illnesses, on top of my extremely busy career, made busier by the storm’s manifestations.
So was wondering why me (though I was the healthy one!)?
So I did some reading, and research and ended up noting that many of the spiritual gurus referred to A Course in Miracles, which I tried and ended up doing, and it was the one thing which finally brought peace of mind. I have recommended it to many who have had troubles, and it is surprising how few have followed the advice, though I am quite used to that! Anyway, it takes about half an hour a day for a year. I ended up doing it on awakening - the time of day when one is most alert. At least read the introduction. It is the product of research into what actually spirituality is, and one of the authors who was an atheist turned. Anyway, it is a thing. Won’t mention it again.
John, thanks for sharing your story and the help that A Course in Miracles provided...I did a little research and will look into it further. Appreciate the share!
My daughters are 27 and 28. My time with them and the joy it brings me gets better as time goes on. The younger one will spend three weeks with me to ski, hang out and work. Can’t wait! Has been 15 years since we lost their mother. Have a great year!
I love when you said: "I’m proud of those moments in my life. I’m just no longer wired that way." You can honor who you used to be, while also acknowledging that you've grown and changed.
I'm touched to read about your 2024 approach to parenting and daughter-ing—and inspired by the way you're prioritizing the richness of quality inputs when it comes to your writing here (it's all too easy, and shortsighted, to focus solely on the outputs). Absolutely loved this, Sue!
Hi Don....You are right, my purpose at The Luminist is personal growth as it says in our tagline. I write from the lens of loss, but that’s not all we cover here. I understand if this does not give you the solace you are looking for sometimes and I’m sorry about that. I’d encourage you to look at other substack writers that may have work that is more in line with what you are looking for. My best to you always Don as you continue on your journey.
Deliberate!,! ( I remember the young lady archer splits the previously fired bullseye arrow! ) thank you for the word!
Thanks Stephen!
What a perfect shot in the arm this morning!
Suzy said it perfectly below in her last paragraph. Thank you for your gift to us. It starts my weekend off with a shared sense of our community and such inspiration.
You are the best Sally! Thanks for your constant support and being my kindred spirit!
As a super planner myself, I strongly relate to your message in this post. The journey I’ve been on has shown me that the present truly is the only place to be. Leaning into discomfort is a practice I’ve been embracing, instead of turning to a distraction (checking phone, scrolling), I check in with myself and allow the feeling.
Love WOTY and your vanity mirror sticky note race is such a great way to arrive at it! I set a word as my intention during yoga practice and try on what resonates deeply with my mind and body.
I look forward to your post every Saturday! You stand firmly in your truth, your style is so relatable and real. Thank you for bringing this gift to all of us.
Suzy, I feel you. The lure of distraction is strong. Sometimes I win, sometimes I lose that fight. But overall I'm moving in the right direction. And I think intentions and WOTYs are in the same family. Thanks for your encouragement and kind words, it's an honor to land in your inbox every Saturday!
Deliberate is a wonderful choice for the word of the year, Sue. And I look forward to seeing here how it manifests into reality this year.
Georg, thanks for planting the seed! And thanks for your support.
Deliberate is a great word; it must be very difficult to pick one word for the year. You likely saw the WSJ article last week which mentioned the futility of doing too much, such as planning, multitasking, DOING, spinning our wheels and so on, as too much spent energy can lead to stress, which we are all looking to escape. So my deliberation is to do less, while accomplishing more of the fewer things that are most important.
I love your blog, which mentions the many losses which people experience, so your Luminist has a great universality. I sent it to someone who is close to me who has experienced PTSD for many years.
How did you choose the word aliveness, as opposed to liveliness?
Happy New Year.
John, thanks so much for your kind words, and for sharing The Luminist - that’s my fondest wish, that the work finds whoever it needs to reach. And great question on aliveness vs. liveliness....for me aliveness takes in both the good things and the hard things that happen in our life....and both of them shape us into feeling more alive. Liveliness is a great word too, and to me it means feeling energy and impact - but we don’t feel that way all the time. I think words mean things individually to each of us, so whatever gives you power and inspiration is good stuff. Thanks for making me think about this more! And thanks for commenting. I appreciate the conversation!
Peace of mind. It seems that you and most who subscribe to The Luminist are looking for ways to attain it or more of it. After many years of frustration, it became more of a thing when I returned to town after Katrina to find my duties in especial demand, both to my family here, to my parents’ new life-threatening injuries, managing both of their separate homes and businesses from afar, and a wife who had serious acute illnesses, on top of my extremely busy career, made busier by the storm’s manifestations.
So was wondering why me (though I was the healthy one!)?
So I did some reading, and research and ended up noting that many of the spiritual gurus referred to A Course in Miracles, which I tried and ended up doing, and it was the one thing which finally brought peace of mind. I have recommended it to many who have had troubles, and it is surprising how few have followed the advice, though I am quite used to that! Anyway, it takes about half an hour a day for a year. I ended up doing it on awakening - the time of day when one is most alert. At least read the introduction. It is the product of research into what actually spirituality is, and one of the authors who was an atheist turned. Anyway, it is a thing. Won’t mention it again.
That’s all for now. Just trying to help.
Best wishes.
John, thanks for sharing your story and the help that A Course in Miracles provided...I did a little research and will look into it further. Appreciate the share!
My daughters are 27 and 28. My time with them and the joy it brings me gets better as time goes on. The younger one will spend three weeks with me to ski, hang out and work. Can’t wait! Has been 15 years since we lost their mother. Have a great year!
Thomas, what an inspiration! Thanks for sharing!
I love when you said: "I’m proud of those moments in my life. I’m just no longer wired that way." You can honor who you used to be, while also acknowledging that you've grown and changed.
I'm touched to read about your 2024 approach to parenting and daughter-ing—and inspired by the way you're prioritizing the richness of quality inputs when it comes to your writing here (it's all too easy, and shortsighted, to focus solely on the outputs). Absolutely loved this, Sue!
Sue......You seem to be moving away from dealing with grief from the loss of a loved one to your own personal development. Comments??
Don Leedy, West Chester, OH
Hi Don....You are right, my purpose at The Luminist is personal growth as it says in our tagline. I write from the lens of loss, but that’s not all we cover here. I understand if this does not give you the solace you are looking for sometimes and I’m sorry about that. I’d encourage you to look at other substack writers that may have work that is more in line with what you are looking for. My best to you always Don as you continue on your journey.