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{Yeah. You are.}  photo of my younger daughter, taken by my older daughter Let’s face it.
We are surrounded by unease. We are desperately frustrated. We are overwhelmed. 🌱 p a u s e 🌱 We can help it. We can do better. We can step outside of ourselves and offer grace and compassion to those who need it most. If you slip away from the fear goggles, who can you reach out to? If you let your heart become still, who would it like to comfort? When we embrace acts of altruism and kindness toward others, we can reap the benefits. Kind begets kind. Ease begets ease. It doesn’t have to be difficult, or expensive, or time consuming. Put your heart in a compassionate space from where you are at, with what you have. Write a thank-you note. Pick some yellow squash from the garden. Fluff a pillow. Make a wholesome meal. Decorate a tiny slip of paper with an inked afterthought. Save it. Tell someone why you are inspired by them. Pay attention to the prompts. If a person is suddenly called to mind, call them up or text them and remind them of how that one song always brings you back to that happy place. Cajoling never works. Sarcasm is hardly ever appreciated. Be willing to find humility and extend your truth - the wisdom of your anahata - and release it away with an intention for understanding. Tiny acts matter. You matter.
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 The tiny bee doesn’t work because she has something to prove; she wriggles in pollen because she is able, and the result is an enduring ripple of blossoming.
In what way can you step easily into your existence today? What pebble of delight can you toss into the pond of the morning, with no expectations?  I am so grateful to the brave and remarkable women who signed up for my upcoming retreats and were willing to trust me with their time and energy. However, with deep sadness, I've come to the decision to cancel my retreats in Cascade this year. It makes my heart feel best to provide rest and inspiration while considering the utmost health, safety, and comfort of everyone involved and unfortunately, the timing now feels incorrect. My family and I take the Coronavirus very seriously, and we have seen friends suffer dire effects from contracting it. My young daughter has Down syndrome, and this means she is more likely to have adverse effects from the virus. People with Down syndrome are more susceptible to respiratory illnesses, and their low muscle tone can make it more difficult to cough effectively when they need to. My little girl wants, desperately, to be out and about in the world. And I desperately want it for her. While the rest of my family and I are happily vaccinated, the emergence of the Delta variant has allowed us to take steps we feel are the responsible ones for the health and safety of my daughter and of others who may be at higher risk. I cannot wait to jump back into hosting retreats and playshops again, and I promise I'll return with some lively, holistic offerings as soon as I possibly can. Thank you for your understanding. Stay well and take good care of yourselves and each other.  An Invitation for GraceIf you've been receiving my emails for awhile this year, you've seen the amount of dedication and excitement I've put into planning my retreats. I was immensely saddened to have to cancel them; they provide the greatest examples of kismet and connection I have been able to offer in my years as a coach and instructor.
As I extend grace to myself, I ask that you extend it to yourself, as well. I also ask that you look for the light of altruism inside you and to consider the best possible ways in which you can step into the world and make it a lovelier, safer place for everyone around you. If you have not already received the Covid-19 vaccine, I encourage you to at least consider it. It is safe, effective, and can help us all look forward to a hopeful future. If you'd like to reach out to me, please know I am available. XO, Emily  Here is my wish for you: I wish that you’ll rest your weary eyes and know that you are able to sleep without harm coming to you. I wish that you receive compassion and affection from your family (and I wish to remind you that family does not need to share blood). I wish for you to be seen in the capacity in which you need to be seen.
I hope your name is never slandered for glorification of an ungodly being whose sole purpose is to hurt you. I wish you at least three people who will answer your call at 3 a.m. without any hesitation, who will show up with bear spray and something hydrating and a woven basket full of tissues and a shoulder that cradles your head, without requiring reciprocation. I hope you know that you’ll be called upon to do the same, and that you’ll jump into your heart’s speedboat to deliver a sincere listening session. I wish you a connection with nature that allows you to explore the ease that comes from touching your fingertips against the spiked grass or the gnarled wood. I wish you a peace that is true and unbounded and a notebook with pages that feel safe to scribble on. I wish you the sensation of feeling whole, even if there are forces that want to break you. I wish you the bravery and capacity to step away from those forces and to not be afraid of what others might think. I wish you authenticity and a space to find your best walking shoes, shoes that will point you in the right direction, and whose soles aren’t crusted with eggshells. I wish you an open ear to lean into, and I wish you an open heart to truly hear the pleas of others. If a bedraggled, beloved soul comes begging to you for compliance or blessing or apologies, I hope you will be able to step into their longing and meet them in a place of grace and love. I wish you the clarity you need when it is time to step away from the things that make you feel heavy and unproductive. I wish you the strength to grip a beautiful walking stick when you feel unstable. May you rise with aplomb and seek solace with assurance. May you rest. May you smile. May you exhale.  Consider the source. The source of water for the earth is fresh and clear and crystal cold. If you ever been to the site of a spring you’ll see the water flowing as clearly as the air, you’ll be able to see all the way down to the rocky bottom as if there was nothing there at all.
Springs are the source of water for rivers and lakes and reservoirs and nourishment. They are pure and only pure, and the water in some has traveled through the ground, getting tumbled and mineralized, for miles before reaching the abrupt surface of the earth. When we consider the source - of water - we can see the clarity that resides therein. When the water comes from the source, it is unburdened by grimy tarry sooty dirty scummy information; it is crystalline in its purity and therefore completely truthful. Ideally, the source is a point of honesty and trustworthiness. The source is raw and real and where you want to go for answers - even if you didn’t know you had the questions. Drink spring water, the plastic bottles declare, for it is clean and healthy and will wash your insides free of the toxins you acquire. Come to the spring, the healers say, and be cleansed with a purification for body, mind, and spirit. Consider the source, they say. They say it when a word makes us feel grimy, when a statement makes our hearts feel heavy. Consider the source, they say, when a story comes with a doubt shadow lingering in its wake. The source matters, and when we begin to open our eyes to sources that are untrustworthy, overly opinionated, and dishonest, we consider them, and we make a decision whether to trust our vulnerability with its presence or to turn in search of an honest spring. |
by Emily Nielsen"I am determined to be cheerful and happy in whatever situation I may find myself. For I have learned that the greater part of our misery or unhappiness is determined not by our circumstance but by our disposition." 
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