So we’re almost 9 months into this pandemic, and those of us who are lucky enough to still be around and healthy are living under our entire families being at risk all the time. I mean, seriously, what the ever loving fuck is with this timeline.
The readings I’m doing are all about the shrunken down versions of life that we’re living. Relationships are being tested because there is no break in them. Parents are exhausted, kids are exhausted. Still, though, folks are finding joy. Couples who were on the brink of breaking up have found the reason they fell in love again. Some families are living with their parents and their kids are having opportunities to get to know their grandparents. Among the loss, there is some joy.
The readings that I have been doing all have things in common. All show a period of stuckness. All show time to rest, renew and refocus on priorities. All of them show that we’re going to be through this and all of them include reminders that this is NOT the new normal. That’s a trap – don’t fall into it. The new normal will be coming next year, and we’ll all be ready for it.
If you’re struggling with doing the dishes, being creative, keeping your temper, feeling listless – you are not alone. This is hard, and every day that you wake up and do your best is a good day.
I wanted to share some hope this month, and so I’m going to share some happy things. Hopeful things. Things that can keep you sustained, or at least be bright sparks of life on a particularly gray day. We’re going to be okay, you know. It’s hard to see what okay is going to look like, but we’re getting there, together.
I’m talking with Maggie Stiefvater on December 1st with Left Bank Books. My friend, Sarah Kate is moderating with Shane, and I have to tell you, I love every single thing about that sentence. You can join us here.
Also, if you want a reading, I’m right here.
xo Lis
VOWS
I invite you to speak these vows out loud:
“As long as I live, I vow to die and be reborn, die and be reborn, die and be
reborn, over and over again, forever reinventing myself.
“I promise to be stronger than hate, wetter than water, deeper than the
abyss, and wilder than the sun.
“I pledge to remember that I am not only a sweating, half-asleep,
excitable, bumbling jumble of desires, but that I am also an immortal
four-dimensional messiah in continuous telepathic touch with all of
creation.
“I vow to love and honor my highs and my lows my yeses and noes, my give
and my take, the life I wish I had and the life I actually have.
“I promise to push hard to get better and smarter, grow my devotion to the
truth, fuel my commitment to beauty, refine my emotions, hone my
dreams, wrestle with my shadow, purge my ignorance, and soften my
heart — even as I always accept myself for exactly who I am, with all of
my so-called foibles and wobbles.”
“I pledge to wake myself up, never hold back, have nothing to lose, go all
the way, kiss the stormy sky, be the hero of my own story, ask for
everything I need and give everything I have, take myself to the river
when it’s time to go to the river, and take myself to the mountaintop when
it’s time to go to the mountaintop.” – Rob Breszny