the kindred project

there are 12 days in the spring that have become the 12 days that created this little family that lives in this little house in the pacific northwest.

today, may 27th, is jon's birthday.
my birthday is in almost two weeks, on june 7.
and right in the middle is the day when little eleanor jane took her first breath.

12 days that created this little family.

so for these 12 days, i want to have a celebration with a little project. i want to do something to honor the way that we choose joy, hope, love...the way that we choose to live in the true home inside ourselves.

An Invitation 

Please share your stories of love and hope and joy. The stories where you have stood in the light within. I challenge you to see this light and claim it, to give yourself the gift of being seen. 

Please share the stories of others who have pushed you to see that you can choose the beauty and possibility and love.  

These stories can be simple. They might be one sentence. They might be a link to a blog post by another.

These stories can be anonymous.

These stories can be shared in whatever way calls you.

If you feel moved, please share your stories in the comments. I would love for this spot to be a place where your stories can rest...where your stories can become teachers to all of us. Perhaps you will decide to share your story on your blog, and if you do, I hope you will come back here to this post and leave a link in the comments.

A Shop Special

For these 12 days, I have listed the "hope," "joy," "love," and "home" simple soul mantra necklaces at a special price in the shop with free shipping for this item. But here is the catch: I would love to send this necklace to someone in your life who needs to be honored and reminded that they can choose hope and that they are loved and that they can live inside joy. Maybe they need to be given the gift of remembering the beauty of standing in the light of the true home that is inside them.

When you purchase this necklace, just indicate which word you would like on the necklace (choosing hope, love, home, or joy) and then include the recipient's address in the notes to seller. You can also let me know what you would like the accompanying note to say. (And, if you want to send it anonymously as a little surprise of hope in the mail, just let me know and I will include an anonymous note.)

And know this: If you are reading this and know that you are the one who most needs a message of love, hope, joy, or home as a talisman for your journey, well, the special is for you too. 

A Blog Series

Today, in another post, I am sharing pieces of what brought me to this moment and this belief that I can say "yes" to the beauty and the joy while standing tall in the real truth of my life (this originally appeared in this post but I have moved it to its own spot here). Then, beginning tomorrow, I will share a few of the lights along my path that have pushed me and taught me and held me in the midst of it all. 

Thank you (yes you) for being a light on my path...

Sending blessings to you across the miles,

Liz

trust this truth

::note::

a late evening truth

from the archives, february 2009 . puget sound

trust this truth:

you can walk tall on the path that feels most like home.

the letting go

a sweet with a friend . february 12 (processed with hipstamatic app)

a few lines from a post i wrote in 2005 that tumbled across my mind tonight. if you were here, and we were perhaps sharing a cupcake, i would tell you this:

A line from the last few pages of the book Five Quarters of the Orange by Joann Harris:

"It took a little time, you know," said Paul, "but I got over it. I let go. It's like swimming against the current. It exhausts you. After a while, whoever you are, you just have to let go, and the river brings you home."

Deep breath.

Don't work so hard at the letting go though. It isn't about how hard you work. It is about the breath, the life. Take a breath. When you let go, let it be easier than you thought it would be. Let the river bring you home.

Live.

the path.

soul mantra lockets in progress . loving my new iphone

pay attention.

this is the path.

(and you know it, so let go of that doubt and just keep going.)

one step, one breath, repeat.

there are things i want you to remember {6}

i am enough . stories from the little room

as i settle into the little room with paul simon singing softly, an "i release" candle burning, and tea by my side, i hammer this phrase into vintage lockets. with each letter pounded, i push myself to believe this truth (for you...for me...).

(if you want to read more about this topic of "i am enough," head over to tracey clark's "i am enough: a self-kindness collaborative" website)

with gratitude.

the me from today, the "what is real" covered in bits of spit-up and surrounded by words pounded into brass and tucked in for the night in flannel pajamas and overwhelmed by all that is and deciding to just relax with my husband and watch a movie and have some cake + milk at least until she wakes up me is peeking out to say this:

thank you for seeing the seventh-grade me. thank you for getting it. thank you for catching my words. thank you for noticing the mirror i am holding up. thank you for your words, your emails, your comments sharing your stories of the seventh-grade you...of the you of today. thank you for seeing me...seeing yourselves. 

more soon from this corner...but for now, i just want say thank you. (big time.)

blessings,
liz