So many of us live in the midst of a harsh narrative of self-criticism and self-doubt, feeling all the ways we imagine we fall short of who we're meant to be in life. But every now and again we might catch a glimpse of something very beautiful in us, something essential, that reminds us that to be a living being in the midst of a living world is always in one way or another to belong, to be at home. How can we remember this life-giving truth from the midst of our forgetting? We have some ideas... with the help of an exquisite poem written by Lizzie's sister Hollie. This episode of Turning Towards Life is a conversation about receiving our lives and letting ourselves be loved, hosted as always by Lizzie Winn and Justin Wise of Thirdspace.

This is Turning Towards Life, a weekly live 30 minute conversation hosted by Thirdspace in which Justin Wise and Lizzie Winn dive deep into big questions of human living. Find us on FaceBook to watch live and join in the lively conversation on this episode. We’re also on YouTube, and as a podcast on Apple, Google and Spotify. You can find videos of every episode, and more about the project on the Turning Towards Life website.

Our source this week is brought to us by Lizzie, and is written by Hollie Holden:

Some days my soul taps me on the shoulder,
A lot.

And some days, I ignore her,
Over and over again.

And then she has to get serious
Because she sees how I can get.
And she knows I can't resist stopping
To look at leaves.

And so today,
She made a deal with a tree
And arranged for this one
To land right in front of my feet,
Not red, not green, not yellow, not orange,
And exquisite in her raindrop gown of Great Change.

And while I was admiring her offering,
She snuck in a whisper,
That sneaky soul of mine:
You too are that beautiful to me, you know.
Before you Get There,
While you feel stuck,
In the middle of all the feelings,
In the midst of so much change,
As you sit in the In Between space
Of red, green, yellow, orange.
You too are that beautiful to me.

Hollie Holden
Photo by Simon Berger on Unsplash