Whether you’re navigating health challenges or life challenges that are more intense or are just in the midst of the more typical year-end, holiday pressures and commitments that usually seem to define this time of year: today I am giving you permission to pause.
Photo of snowy trees by by Adam Lukac
Want to take a nap, but feeling guilty about everything remaining on your to-do list? This is your permission slip.
Got an invite to another holiday party, but feeling like you’d rather stay home in your PJs? Skip it. Let them know you’ve got another commitment. (You don’t have to tell them it’s a commitment to your own self-care if you don’t want to.)
Feeling pressured to make a decision? Let them know you’ll need another day or another week (or whatever time feels right) before you’ll be able to get back to them about it.
Pause.
There is so much worthy of our attention, but we are human beings and we have limits, friends. As much as we may try to push them regularly. As much as we may be known as the “busy” person in our circle of friends.
Your friends and family love you, even if you have to skip a commitment because you’re getting a cold or you need another night to sleep or rest ahead of an important event.
Permission to pause. Take your permission slip, and use it whenever you need it. It doesn’t expire.
Does this resonate with you? If so, let a friend who could use the reminder know about it. Want some support navigating boundaries and helping you to bring your dreams to life? Come grab your free session with me.
Well folks, things are getting spooky in the United States right now, and I don’t mean Halloween antics or that the darkness of evening is coming more quickly. I mean, of course, that millions of people are being denied their life-saving SNAP benefits because Republicans would rather starve people and keep a tax cut for billionaires while increasing healthcare premiums exponentially. They won’t even tap into the emergency SNAP funds that exist just for this purpose. And yes, we need to have corporations pay their fair share too, but in the short term, let’s prevent starvation!
Some other news on my mind:
Trans healthcare for youth may be banned outright. Gay marriage may be relitigated. And no one with brown or black skin is safe from profiling and persecution in Chicago and around the country.
A wellness influencer with a lapsed medical license and a history of sharing lies about immunizations is nominated as the US Surgeon General, aka “the nation’s doctor”.
The wannabe dictator gets closer and closer, killing people without proof of cause, preparing to send more troops around the country, destroying the East wing of the White House, and exhibiting more and more behavior showing he’s likely both physically and mentally unwell (likely had a stroke) and his team is hiding it.
Republicans are afraid to swear in Rep. Grijalva and release the Epstein files. Gaza is once again being destroyed.
National parks are at risk in the shutdown. More drilling? Nuclear war? Apparently it’s all on the table with this administration.
What do we do, in the face of all of this? How do we care for ourselves? How do we care for our neighbors? For our planet?
Here are a few questions I ask myself to help me discern amidst the noise and horror and daily challenges too. Maybe they’ll help you as well.
Are my basic needs being met? Are the basic needs of my family and friends and neighbors being met?
Do I have an emergency fund, and how long can it last? How precarious a position am I in? How vulnerable are those closest to me?
Consider reaching out for help if you need it. There are organizations and maybe some individuals in your network willing to help. And if you do not need help, consider what steps you can take to support your loved ones, and perhaps your wider circle too.
Prioritizing your own survival is important. Supporting those who turn to you for support or sometimes support you in turn is also important. And consider what ways you can support your neighbors and the larger community, whether it’s helping to connect them with resources or sharing resources of your own.
It can be a wise thing to ask ourselves these questions. But worrying about the future is not helpful when it gets us stuck in thought loops. Instead, do some work to ground yourself when worry or fear is dominating. That’s when you’ll best be able to a) recognize the dangers and b) deal with them. It’s also extremely important to take time to rest.
Am I remembering to rest? To feed myself? To shower? To find joy?
Working 24 hours a day isn’t sustainable. The sabotaging voices in our heads will tell us that we are only worthy when we “earn” it. They are lying. Your wise mind knows that you are a treasure, just because you are you. Even if other people, even if your religion, even if the government tells you otherwise. You are worthy of love and joy and a safe existence.
Set some breaks in the day – for a walk, for a meal, for a shower or bath.
Treasure your loved ones. Make a call, watch a show together, play a board game, sing a song. We never know how much time we have left.
Where are my feet?
Take time each day to remember where you are – and to feel it in your body. Feel your feet on the floor or wherever they are. Focus on your breathing. Listen to the sounds around you. Take time to be fully present.
Find yourself getting overwhelmed by the news or anything else? Presence is life-giving. Get present so you can support those who need you.
What is abundant? What can I share? Who can I support?
It may be counter-intuitive, but we do feel better when we can volunteer or give back in some way. We also know how life-giving gratitude is. Find what you have in abundance, be grateful for it, and consider what you have to share. Your time? Your money? A listening ear? A strong body? What do you have to give, from a place of ease and abundance? And who would benefit from those gifts?
You are doing great, friend. This world is TOUGH, especially right now, and you are still here. And you are doing the best you can. Keep breathing. Make a choice to care for yourself and your neighbors, as you have capacity. I’m so proud of you for continuing to show up. Even when it’s hard. Even when it’s hard to see how it matters.
Need some help finding a broader perspective? Want to know you’re not alone? Want to learn how to get the negative voices in your head to calm down and get out of the way so you can get more done, and with ease and joy?
Photo descriptions: I am wearing a flapper feather headpiece for the 1920’s themed Halloween party I lead a singalong for on Halloween. A second is a photo of my husband. We went out for the best Mexican food we’ve had since New Mexico on Saturday, and we are both extremely grateful for each other and for the amazing meals and drinks we were able to enjoy, especially when so many will be going without in the coming weeks unless Republicans fund SNAP. A third photo shows my gorgeously lit grapefruit mocktail (it was amazing) with boba. I hope it doesn’t seem tone deaf to celebrate the joyful moments. I hope you can do the same, whether it’s a night at home or out in the world.
Hi folks. What a week! On a personal level, I had a marvelous long weekend away, getting to see both Melissa Etheridge and the Indigo Girls in concert – what an extraordinary gift! And since then, I’ve been fighting with allergies or a cold – some sort of not COVID nuisance that is so easy for me to get with the changing of the seasons, and yet so uncomfortable.
As always, when I don’t feel well, my wise mind can recognize that the situation gives me an opportunity to reflect on what matters most and to prioritize my own self-care.
And then, of course, there’s the larger world. Whether it’s all the signs of the United States giving in to fascism and returning to bold displays of murder (lynching? I hope we are all horrified) or to the larger world condemning Israel’s actions while they continue brazenly, there is so much demanding our attention.
On a day to day basis, I find that getting present is the way to get through. I focus on the sensations of my feet as I walk across the hallway. I feel the coolness of a breeze or the warmth of my tea in my hand. I listen to the sounds of the birds or of my sweet cat purring.
Photo: A variety of flowers at the Botanic Garden in Fredericton, NB (photo by Jamie Feinberg)
Even when I am sick; even when the world feels more hopeless each day; even when I have so many reasons for fear or anger or sadness; even in all of this, I have the opportunity to choose presence, to choose love, and to choose to take bold action, whether in the world or in my own self-preservation.
This is the kind of work I do with my mental fitness clients. It gets easier over time – even when it’s hard.
Presence keeps us in the here and now. It keeps us from retreating and neglecting our best wisdom about how to proceed. It shows our loved ones we are here and we love them. Even when things are tough.
How do you stay present when life is uncomfortable?
Anyone else finding the juxtaposition of life confusing right now? It’s such a gorgeous time of year where I live, getting to have so many sunny days, enjoying warmth and blue skies, flowering gardens, and some really delicious fresh and local foods, from lobster to strawberries and from garlic scapes to new potatoes.
And yet, I’m also making phone calls to my representatives to tell them they need to do everything in their power to stand up against concentration camps being built in our backyards.
What to do, in the face of it all? How do you keep moving forward in your own life when you know what’s happening in your backyard?
Photo description: Magenta-colored flowers catch the light, with their green leaves behind them (Photo by Jamie Feinberg)
You know what you need best, my friend. But here are some ideas, if things are hazy and it feels like the walls are closing in:
Return to the self-care practices that have gotten you through tough times in the past. Feel regulated when you take a shower? When you go for a run? When you call a friend? Prioritize that.
Practice presence, several times a day, but definitely when you begin your day. Pay close attention to your five senses. Feel yourself in your body. Focus on your breath. Release tension. Release negative thoughts.
Cultivate movement in your life, at whatever level is feasible for you. The more movement, typically, the better you will feel. I know for myself, the more intense it is, the bigger a difference it makes, but just walking or even getting outside can make a difference.
Find the sky. Remember when you see the clouds or tops of buildings or find the sun or blue that there is something bigger than you in this world – whether it’s a divine presence or simply a giant planet and universe that will long outlive you, tune in to the gifts of that, and remember you’re one person, doing your small part, to make a difference today.
Give back. Call your representatives. Protest. Create art. Talk to people. Stand up for small injustices and micro-aggressions. Do not normalize atrocities. Talk about people as if they are human – because they are.
Feel gratitude for something. Or several somethings.
Take breaks from social media. Take breaks from noise. Just be.
Find community. Join a group or start one. (Join one of mine!) Get connected and remember that sharing our gifts and our presence is a meaningful way to be the best we can be in the world.
Remember you’re not alone. Thank you for being you, and for doing what you have the capacity for today, in your own world and your own community.
And I’d love to hear how you’re doing right now. How are you handling this? How do you want to handle this?
Hi folks. I hope this title spells out what this article will be. I’m going to specifically speak to those of you who are very concerned about what’s going on in the United States right now. In particular, I’ll spell out what’s making me most concerned. I’ll also share one way to help yourself to pay attention, but not too much attention, if you’re finding that looking at the news is really anxiety-provoking right now.
CW: I’m going to talk about some scary stuff that could happen very very soon. Especially to trans people.
Sound okay? Read on.
We as Americans are at an interesting time in our history. To say the least, right? Though I’ve been sounding the alarm for a long time, in the past week, I have gotten especially concerned that the combination of a government sending innocent people to prison and saying they can’t get them back, combined with talk of invalidating the passports/legal documentation of trans people entirely (as well as disenfranchisement for others, such as married women who changed their name at marriage but don’t have a matching birth certificate) is something we should find extremely frightening.
It’s such a tiny step to move from that to, oops, we are now sending trans people out of the country for the crime of being trans, and no, we can’t get them back. (And if the conditions are as awful as the 60 Minutes documentary exposes, how many people will die there? Even if it’s sometimes dying of lost hope?)
And after the trans folks are gone, what about the people of color? The liberals or the people who spoke against Trump? The intellectuals? The disabled? Queer people?
You get the idea.
If this stuff doesn’t scream Holocaust to you, then you don’t know your history.
And to be clear, I have trans friends, family members, work colleagues etc. Tons of people that I know and love and respect. I am so angry right now.
Many people I’ve been talking to have said they’re getting anxious, or even having a panic attack, when they look at the news headlines. I hear you, and it’s so hard right now.
My personal suggestions if you’re struggling in this way?
Limit yourself to a very short window where you check in on the headlines every day. If that proves too much, go to a trusted friend or family member for a daily summary of what you need to know, AKA what should I call my reps about today, or what should I make sure I do? If you can’t do it daily, do it weekly or as often as you can.
Before you check the headlines, take some time to meditate/practice some form of mindfulness. Savor the feeling of hot water on your back as you shower. Enjoy some tea or coffee and really savor it. Get outside for a walk in nature. Focus on the detailed sensations where you are. Then, and only then, when you’re in a good space, read the headlines. Set an alarm and then do some more self-care. Repeat as needed.
If your current source of news is “too real”, change it up. Skip the TV and read an article. Move to a weekly instead of a daily cadence if daily is too much. Read a blogger you respect instead of a Facebook feed.
These are the ways I am making it work for me right now, and I hope some combination of these things might work for you too.
And while I am 100% not a lawyer, not an expert etc., I will say that if you have some privileges right now, now is truly the time to use them. Things have gone south so quickly, and there’s not much progress happening. What does that translate to?
Keep boycotting if you can. Keep protesting if you can. Keep calling. And keep making noise. We are going to need as many people as possible to keep resisting.
And if you’re in a role where you are being asked to do something that you know is immoral by our federal government or by your organization, consider the consequences of saying no, or of quietly ignoring the order.
And if you’re trans? I am frightened for you. I know everyone’s circumstances vary, but if you can get to Canada or another country and ask for asylum, maybe it’s time to consider it? If I had the money and I were trans, I’d be gone. On the other hand, I know traveling at all right now could increase your visibility which may not be helpfull. So maybe talk to a lawyer. If you have these privileges, of course. Because of the ways we’ve treated you, you’re less likely to have the cash for such moves. I am so sorry, and I won’t stop fighting. But we are in the danger zone, friends, so while it’s only a small minority of you who may have these kinds of financial privileges and options, I don’t think there’s any shame in taking care of yourself if that’s available to you. (And for all of us, organizations like the Transgender Law Center would love your support.)
If you’re white and/or privileged, consider if there’s a bigger role you could play right now. Can you take a stand at work when they’re axing DEI programs to remain compliant with the government? Can you speak up to ICE or the police or elected officials when you see something wrong happening in front of you? Can you stage something larger, or fight back in a more prominent way? I remember how much I was in awe of Julia Butterfly Hill, living for 738 days as an act of civil disobedience in a redwood tree. Do you have a way to use your power and visibility to support the people and causes you care about?
I’d love to hear your thoughts on all of this. What are you doing? I know it’s awful, and I wish I could fix it. I’ll keep working to do whatever I can. And mental fitness will be playing a very important role in that.
How are you feeling, friend? Let’s take a moment to just be. Observe your breathing, in and out, if that feels comfortable for you. Or take a look at a pretty object or window near you, and observe what you see. Count backwards from 20. Let’s just be for a moment.
It may be cliche at this point, but it’s that time of year when it’s common to take time to be grateful. I know I’m not alone in having a dedicated gratitude practice (running on at least five years now, wild!), and if you haven’t yet tried it, whether during the holiday season or any time of year, I definitely recommend it.
Back in 2020, I wrote a blog on how to make the holidays work for you. At the time, a lot of people were struggling with the holidays and how to celebrate them. While Ross and I were living an RV and used to doing our own thing for the holidays, we were aware of local grocery shortages on preferred foods, and where we were staying, in New Mexico, actually had a stay-at-home order in place over Thanksgiving that I’m sure was challenging for many.
I’m grateful that a lot has changed for the better since then (namely, vaccines!), but the holidays are still a challenging time for many, whether due to viruses in the air or distance from family (physical or otherwise) or the challenges that happen when we return home and revert to our younger, less wise selves (or when our family assume we are the same person we once were, even if we aren’t!). Or all of the above, perhaps?
It’s okay to have mixed feelings.
It’s okay to have moments when you feel wrapped up in the love of or even memories of your family/friends.
It’s okay to, in the next moment, feel anxiety that your parents are going to do x, or miss loved ones, or feel resentment that you can’t do holiday celebration you did in the past, or feel jealous of y, who lives with their family or has many close friends while you are living and celebrating alone.
I hope that during this challenging time, you will give yourself forgiveness for these feelings. All emotions are valid. Offer yourself grace. I know you’re carrying a lot, and opportunities for anxiety and other challenging emotions abound.
It may be helpful to remember that if someone else’s life looks glamorous on social media, that is just the tip of the iceberg that you’re seeing. The glamorous surface life may be only a passing moment in a chaotic day or week or month.
Here are a few things I recommend making time for this week, whatever your plans are.
Practice gratitude – and mean it. This can take many forms, and all are valid. Start each morning picturing one thing you’re looking forward to today, in vivid detail, and then realize it. (A warm shower? A cup of tea? Enjoy the magic of simple pleasures you get to bring into your day.) Start or end each day by acknowledging five things you’re grateful for. Start a gratitude journal, whether it’s a big beautiful book or a note on your phone. If you’re connected with your family, begin a meal/Zoom call/family walk by having everyone share something they are thankful for this year.
Make time for exercise. I love indulging in rich holiday foods, as many of us do. Most of us, at least in the corporate sector or education, are also lucky enough to get time off this week. It can be tempting to use that time to relax on the couch, but making time to take a walk or stretch or lift some weights will give you more energy for the festivities and encourage you to enjoy your indulgences more, without guilt. This isn’t about losing weight. It’s about how you feel. Bonus points for combining it with outside time.
Don’t let comparison steal your joy. Have you ever attended a family gathering or friend event and felt like everyone else had it “figured out” except for you? Ever find yourself stretching to describe your own work in a way that puts you in the best light? Ever wish you could be more honest, but find yourself afraid to admit where things haven’t been going your way yet? I find myself using authenticity as an antidote in these cases. And focusing on the good, the things you can be grateful for, is so key. I don’t have to talk about my work. Or I can focus on the happy feeling x gives me, rather than the funds in my bank account or how stressed I’ve been feeling covering for so and so lately. When I envy other’s travel or title, I turn my attention to all the joyful things I am grateful for in my own life. Eyes on your own paper, friends. This can also be a signal to get off of social media and dive into a book, go for a walk, dance to a holiday tune, or watch a favorite movie with a cup of a warm beverage.
Carve out time for yourself. I love my family, but as an introvert who isn’t always her best self at large family gatherings, I’ve worked hard over the years to set boundaries for myself. For me, part of a successful holiday season is making time for my morning routine and making sure I have time to relax on my own. Even living far from family, it can be easy to fill my schedule with Zooms or friend gatherings if I am not mindful of my own needs. If you’re having trouble seeing blank space on your calendar, take a moment to block out a morning or an hour for you each week, or even 5-10 minutes each day. It will help you to be at your best if you are celebrating with others too.
Strive to let go of perfection & release your expectations. I think one of the toughest parts of the holiday season is that we tend to bring to it so many expectations, whether it’s from holidays we experienced in the past, popular culture from movies and books that romanticize the holidays, or a growing awareness of limited time and not wanting to disappoint our loved ones. This season, when you catch yourself judging yourself, those around you, or the situations you are in, can you let those judgments go instead? What would it feel like, when you had a thought creep in, to look at your surroundings with loving attention and gratitude? To be present to joy, instead of to lack or imperfection?
Whatever your plans are this year, I hope you’ll find some comfort or guidance in this advice. No one has your best interests at heart in the same way you do, so go create a holiday schedule that will light you up and invigorate you.
Take care, and Happy Holidays! This may be my last check-in before 2025, so I wish you all the best as you end 2024 and look ahead to 2025.
P.S. Are you ready for a shift? The holidays can truly bring out our lowest versions of ourselves – the parts we are least proud of. If/when you’d like to learn more about the ways we sabotage ourselves and carve out a path forward, please join me for a Saboteur Assessment. And if you’re curious about the role your personality plays in your life and find yourself Enneagram-curious, or you want to take advantage of my BOGO coaching deal before it expires Monday, send me a message to learn more or get started with us in January.
Photo credit (of strings of white lights in the dark): Dzenina Lukac
What an interesting week this has been! Saturday afternoon, as I chatted with family on the phone and walked by the water in downtown Charlottetown, I received a text from my husband saying he had COVID. Oh joy!
Given that we live in a two bedroom apartment, I knew there was a decent chance I’d already gotten it, but in case I hadn’t, we began Operation: Isolation in earnest.
It’s fascinating, going from a fully shared space to masking in “public spaces”, avoiding each other’s presence, and carefully planning use of the kitchen or bathroom.
The Enneagram, if you aren’t familiar with it, is my favorite tool for understanding personality, myself, and how I relate to other people. I’m a card-carrying Enneagram 1, and part of that means I am in the dependence stance: as a result, I have had to do a ton of boundary work, because my natural instinct is to accommodate other people and ditch my own plans. This is especially true with my husband.
I began this COVID-venture assuming that it would be really tough for me to keep so much distance from my husband. Especially so because physical touch is so important to me (it’s definitely one of my love languages, if you ascribe to that).
After a day or so’s transition though, I was pleasantly surprised to see how much I’d gotten used to the new normal. In some ways, it was freeing that I had to do my own thing, and trust my husband to do his. And in fact, I found that being in the midst of “Operation: Avoid COVID” worked really well for my rule-following 1 personality. I’ve been so busy masking and otherwise checking the boxes that I haven’t been nearly as preoccupied worrying about my husband’s needs or desires.
Fascinating.
In my mental fitness work, we refer to this as being a curious anthropologist. While my inner critic or judge voice might get judgmental and opinionated about my recent behavior, I’ve found it quite easy to tap into my curiosity and just observe myself and my behavior.
And that’s something the Enneagram offers me in spades. I have names and a much fuller understanding of why I do what I do then ever before – and as you can see here, I keep learning, week by week and day by day, even more about myself and the world.
Last night we had an informal get together for the members of our Enneagram Book Club, and it was a wonderful opportunity for community and learning. As I always do, I left feeling more confident about who I am and more aware of the ways I am both different and the same from other people. And I continue to feel gratitude that such wonderful people choose to join my programs and work with me.
Have you ever had this kind of “curious anthropologist” experience in your own life? What did it show you?
P.S. There are lots of ways to work with me in the new year! Do a Saboteur Assessment, an Enneagram intro, or just contact me to learn more!
Photo description: box of tissues in the foreground, with a mug of tea and a person with their setup for dealing with being sick in the distance
Thanks for being here, friend. Thanks for following along on this journey, for showing up each day and being you, and for bringing your curiosity to the table.
For persevering when things are rough, when you feel disheartened, when you’re ill or mistreated or facing systemic oppression.
For seeking joy when life presents potential stressors. For choosing love, and not fear.
As we kick off the busy holiday season, full of opportunities for both saving money and living out our values, I’m offering a few things you might be interested in:
BOGO 1:1 Coaching (New and returning clients!) $179
2 60-75 min coaching sessions w/ a pre-session worksheet & a follow-up summary (to be used before April 1, 2025) – $179 (buy 1 session, and I throw in one for free!)
This is for you if you’ve wanted to work with me (or work with me again) one-on-one but aren’t ready for a longer-term commitment
Last date to book is 12/23/2004
Together (Intro Pricing, all welcome!) $50
A new space for growth, self-exploration, and finding community!
Purchase two months of group coaching with me, one Sunday per month at 5 p.m. CT/6 p.m. ET/7 p.m. AT. 12/22 and 1/19.
For December, we’ll focus on celebrating, honoring, and letting go of the year that’s passed. For January, we’ll set intentions for 2025, consider our priorities, and explore the possibilities a new year holds for us.
Rate includes access to a Facebook group to connect between sessions. $50 reserves your spot for two months, AND you can continue at the intro pricing ($25/month) for at least six months if desired.
Book & Save
New customers who book their free saboteur assessment with me by Sunday, December 1st will receive a credit of $200 that can be used toward any regularly priced coaching package before the end of 2024.
Wishing you all the best, whatever you’re celebrating, or not celebrating, in this season. I wish you peace, joy, and love in abundance.
All the best,
Jamie P.S. You can find out more about my coaching here, and you can reach out to rossandjamieadventure @ gmail . com if you’d like to sign up for 1:1 coaching or Together.
One of my favorite reads this year has been The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness, and Healing in a Toxic Culture by Gabor Mate. It’s a long book, and I’m still working my way through it, but it’s the most comprehensive acknowledgement I’ve found of the complex factors that make our lives challenging as well as the varied ways, from individual to systemic, that healing is possible for us.
In the book, Mate refers to the concept of healing as a journey toward wholeness:
“It is a direction, not a destination; a line on a map, not a dot. Nor is healing synonymous with self-improvement. Closer to the mark would be to say it is self-retrieval.”
Self-retrieval.
What if we could find ourselves again? What if we could work through the suffering, make some changes, change our perspective, and ultimately return to ourselves?
To the beautiful self we were before the world hardened us, changed us, wounded us?
To the wise, sage being underneath all those layers of personality we put on as self-protection?
To the sweet, kind human obscured by our saboteurs and our sabotaging thoughts?
What would a journey of self-retrieval look like?
Conventional thoughts around healing might make us focus on the physical path toward healing: get some rest, take some medicine, eat some healthy food, get some exercise or movement into our day.
But if we’re on a journey of self-retrieval, that kind of healing would also include our mental and emotional needs. Maybe that’s therapy, spiritual development, coaching or yoga. Maybe it’s art-making or finding joy, fostering meaningful friendships and connections or joining support groups. Maybe it’s an afternoon with tea and a journal, or pounding a pillow, or grieving the loss of a loved one or an opportunity or a career that could have been.
One of my coaches emphasizes the importance of play – finding joy in the things we once did as children, or the things we wish we’d have had the opportunity to do as a kid. So for me, self-retrieval might mean cultivating play: purchasing a jump rope, swinging on a swing, coloring in a coloring book, or dancing around my living room or in a dance studio.
What does healing as self-retrieval mean to you?
My Enneagram teacher, Suzanne Stabile, has a book called The Journey Toward Wholeness. I recently re-read it with a cohort of other students of the Enneagram. The conversations have been revelatory. The Enneagram remains my favorite tool for self-retrieval or healing.
It’s so easy, amidst a busy day and week and life, to stick to the status quo and say no to new opportunities. But as Suzanne says in her book, “Even when there is much to do, we must first guard our souls.” I highly recommend joining an Enneagram cohort (my next one will start in the new year) or, if you know your number, a group like my Enneagram Book Club, to further your own work toward self-retrieval.
Do you agree with Gabor Mate, that healing can be seen as self-retrieval? Does this have any implications for you in your own journey?
If you’re feeling a lot of emotions or going through changes in your life, now might actually be the best time for you to seek a community as you navigate your healing journey. And wherever you are in the journey, I wish you all the best.
Crafting The Life You Want: A Practice in Living 