Your contribution matters, even when it's small. Let's look at this one place in nature that reminds us of this.

Sometimes vulnerability is about taking a big leap, and sometimes it's about simply inching our way into the Light.

How to come alive, right here where you are by Morgan Harper Nichols. http://app.thestorytellerco.com/devotion/84b20270-8382-11eb-a80f-17db90808d3f/shared (Read the original post that inspired today's post here)

Answering a listener question today! If you ever have any questions for me that you'd like to answer on the podcast, feel free to send them to: morgan@[email protected]

1 - When you feel stuck in a loop:

One of the reasons why we often feel stuck on a loop is because in many ways, in life, we are in an actual loop of sorts. Even though every day is different, we go through cycles of life in the same way we cycle through nature’s seasons. Even though no two winters are exactly the same, we come to know winter every year. The same is true for every other season, including the seasons of our lives. Perhaps the best way to work through this feeling of being stuck is to slow down and pay attention to what season we’re in. Are we in winter? Summer? Fall? Spring? Some seasons are longer than others. Some seasons are filled with more adventure and time in the sun. And sometimes, our internal seasons don’t seem to correlate with the external ones. Perhaps, the sun is shining outside, and yet, on the inside, you’re in the dead of winter. If you are living through an internal winter, I hope you can begin to find peace with where you are in the cycle. I hope that you can find the support and the worth you need to travel through this inner winter with peace.

“Life meanders like a path through the woods. We have seasons when we flourish and seasons when the leaves fall from us, revealing our bare bones. Given time, they grow again.” - Katherine May

2 - When you’re frustrated by limitations:

If you felt restricted or restrained, now could be a good time to ask yourself this: "What remains boundless?" Here are some examples: Love remains boundless. Grace remains boundless. Hope remains boundless. Allow yourself to fill in the blank, every single day: ______ remains boundless. Allow yourself to be intentional about breathing deep and remembering what remains abundant, even if it seems small. Of course, there may be areas of your life where you are having to wait. Unforeseen circumstances have radically changed your plans. And at the same time, even here, there is room to look above you and be reminded that you have not seen all there is to see. There is room to look out on the ocean waters that remind you that beyond the limit of what the eye could see, that ocean goes on and on. Hold on to what is boundless. Hold on to what is beautiful and true and has no end.

“I live my life in widening circles

that reach out across the world.”

–Rainer Maria Rilke

3 - When you feel stuck creatively:

Whenever you start to feel uninspired to create, remember: you don’t have to. It is just as important to take time to listen and engage with the world around you. Welcome those uninspired moments as moments to simply be. Be gentle with yourself. Take time to process things. Listen. Observe. Take time to take things in. Let the quiet moments fill you up. Let that be enough. There is a well of life inside of you. There are ideas and dreams ready to be visualized and put on paper or brought into the conversation. But you might have to dig to find them. You might have to spend years doing a lot of ordinary things to find the extraordinary. Work your way into the extraordinary. Do the digging. Do the searching. This is all a part of the journey. There is all a part of your becoming. Your actual daily life is just as much a part of the creative process as anything else. Not all things have to be photographed. Not everything has to be documented or understood in real time. Creativity is a powerful force that will continue to find you even when you are not working. Give yourself permission just be and let that be enough.

“At some point in life the world's beauty becomes enough. You don't need to photograph, paint or even remember it. It is enough.” – Toni Morrison

Sources mentioned in the episode: Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May, Rilke's Book of Hours: Love Poems to God by Rainer Maria Rilke, Tar Baby by Toni Morrison

When you’re worried about the future: 7 phrases to repeat to yourself:

1 - "Here in the waiting I will choose to believe: I will not miss out on what was meant for me."

2 - "Today, I am choosing to be mindful about what I am giving energy to."

3 - "I will remember what was beautiful. I will remember how I’ve grown."

4 - "I will have gratitude for the little things while I wait for the bigger things to fall in place."

5 - "I am slowly learning to accept the way things are changing."

6 - "While I wait, I will continue to create."

7 - "I am making the brave decision to keep going, anyway."

Lessons from Ocean Currents

The video mentioned in the episode:

How do ocean currents work? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4pWafuvdrY (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4pWafuvdrY)

Read the poems in this episode here:

1 - Lessons from Clouds https://www.instagram.com/p/CCmjsv_AdQJ/ (https://www.instagram.com/p/CCmjsv_AdQJ/)

2 - Lessons from Trees, Part 2

https://www.instagram.com/p/CDM-uu8Aa-s/ (https://www.instagram.com/p/CDM-uu8Aa-s/)

3 - Lessons from Trees, Part 2 https://www.instagram.com/p/CMC39EgA4k2/ (https://www.instagram.com/p/CMC39EgA4k2/)

4 - Lessons from a Leaf - https://www.instagram.com/p/CCrO_MtAMCE/ (https://www.instagram.com/p/CCrO_MtAMCE/)

5 - Lessons from Nature (Grace) https://www.instagram.com/p/CDKeMQ2Ax9Y/ (https://www.instagram.com/p/CDKeMQ2Ax9Y/)

5 Signs That You’re Growing — Read the original post here: https://www.instagram.com/p/CL9xAALAySj/ (https://www.instagram.com/p/CL9xAALAySj/)