Being Alive is clearly so very many things. So many, many, many things. These days it feels like the list is so epically long that it’s too hard to handle or keep track of it.

And part of the reason for that is that we are so invested in “keeping on, keeping on.” I heard Danielle LaPorte say that in her Grace for Impact podcast series and when I heard the words I felt the truth of it for me. We are a culture that is about constant motion whether it’s useful or not. We are concerned with keeping up, keeping it together, keeping up appearances, keeping the peace.

But what if we slowed down? Slowed down long enough to acknowledge fully the difficulty of this life right now. The hardships that you may be facing and also the extreme challenges of others. Acknowledging both of these not in the form of comparison but in the form of compassion. We are all suffering in some way. We are all struggling.

But instead of coming to a full stop once in a while and feeling the magnitude of it we can easily get focused on getting back to normal, keeping going, keeping it positive, keeping in motion.

And today I invite you to just STOP already. There is a reason we are in the places that we are in individually and collectively. And the reasons behind all of those is too long and involved for this blog. BUT what I am suggesting is that we stop and give witness to our own pain. If maybe for the first time ever, say to yourself, this is so hard. PERiOD. We don’t need to qualify, then shame ourselves because others have it worse and all the things we do to pile on.

This is hard, really hard. PERIOD. Now sit with that. And breathe. You are going to be OK.

I woke up yesterday morning with the same ennui that I went to bed with the night before.

(I do want to also acknowledge that finally in my adult life I have a valid excuse to use the word ennui and that does spark a little joy)

Sunday morning I felt just bleh. There are more than enough items on my to-do list at any one time and I couldn’t even muster the motivation to do one of them. I decided to bake. I made cobblers in jars. I knew that cobblers in jars weren’t going to solve anything but they could bring a little bit of joy to someone else. And it was something I could start and finish in a relatively short period of time and that felt comforting too. Everything we are engaged in with life right now is for the long haul and that’s not innately bad but sometimes it’s nice to feel the satisfaction of completion.

I made baked goods and delivered them. The end.

I didn’t keep up or keep it together yesterday. In fact, I probably won’t today. And maybe that’s how it’s supposed to be right now. Maybe we need to slow down and experience the experience fully and let it sink all the way in. And then bake something. Eat it, share it, deliver it. Feel accomplished. The end.

Sunshine & Sarcasm,
Lowi & G