A key to winning life (oh yes really)

Hey there!

How many to-do lists do you have?

I've got my list for today, for this week, for this month.

For my podcast, for my household, for my hobbies.

I've got dreamy-someday lists for my dreamy-someday projects.

For the most part, this really works 

and helps me create a full - a beauty-full - life.

And/but/also:

If I'm not careful,

all these to-do lists crowd out all space for Just Being. 

Just Being means checking in with my body.

Means pausing, closing my eyes,

dropping my attention down 

into my belly, my shoulders, my hips, my feet.

Means checking in with my bones, my muscles, my skin. 

And asking, “What do we want?”

The answer is immediate and yet I have to pay really close attention to hear it.

When I finally can listen, it's something simple, like:

To be warm.

To be kissed.

To be in the sun.

To immerse in water.

To feel the breeze.

To leisurely walk. Or stretch. Or have an orgasm.

To snuggle.

To eat a cookie.

To sleep.

You and I both know:

our bodies are not separate from our minds.

Our well-rested, well-fed, well-nurtured bodies

make all our doings 

so much easier, and more efficient,

and more aligned with our values.

But then why is it so hard to listen?

Darling, we've been trained not to listen.

We've absorbed the message that our heeding our bodily desires is dangerous and de-railing.

We've been told that success depends on completing to-do lists,

and that Just Being is a luxurious reward we cannot yet 

maybe cannot EVER

afford.

Fuck that.

Just Being isn't your reward. It's your right.

Just Being doesn't derail your progress. It smooths and fuels your progress.

It is, however, quite dangerous. They've got that right.

Well-rested, anti-racist feminists, 

who are self-honoring and all fueled up,

will certainly behave in ways

and create new systems

that endanger the oppressive status quo.

Oh hey!

Fuck Up This World and Build a Better One

is actually the to-do at the top of our list.

* 

So. Time to Just Be. Here's how:

Close your eyes.

Take a few breaths.

Check in with your belly, your shoulders, your hips, your feet.

With your bones, your muscles, your skin.

Ask What Do We Want?

Listen - without judgment - for the answer.

And then, even if just for a very little while,

Just Be, 

in the way your body desires. 

Trust: it's not only for you.

It's for a better world for all of us.

love,

Natalie