Puzzles, papers, and pathways to peace in the closeout of 2022
The recent clean out project revealed one of my many previous art projects where I was exploring the “fruits of the spirit.”
Now I can say from personal experience, there is not much that can support the integration journey more than cleaning out boxes of storage from the last 30 years of your life. This is not exactly what I anticipated I would be doing for a good portion of my visit to Kentucky for the holidays, but the theme of water continued to show up in new and interesting ways. The holiday excitement had settled, and we were all ready for a week of calm to properly wind down 2022, when the effects of the winter snowstorm hit and I was greeted by my mom’s panicked knock at my door. She shared that the pipes had burst in the garage and had fully flooded the eight to ten boxes I had dropped here after my Seattle chapter ended, among other carnage.
The irony of this moment is that as I entered the garage, the first of the collateral damage I witnessed was a framed National Park puzzle that I had carefully constructed with my Pacific Northwest beau. The way his engineering brain worked to compose this masterpiece had completely captured my imagination and this artifact of our relationship had been so significant to me at that time. And yet I saw in that moment, standing in slosh, that the cords of that bond no longer had a hold on me, and I felt a great sense of relief. A spiritual and business mentor of mine shared that 2022 was the year of “letting go” so that 2023 could be the year of “creating the new” and I felt the divine forces conspiring on my behalf once again, inviting me to do some final “clearing” so that there was no residue left as I enter my next chapter.
And that “clearing” energy carried forward into sorting through additional items that had been lingering in my room for many years which also wanted my attention. A journal from my undergraduate foreign study trip to South Africa, a final paper submitted for a grad course comparing Finland and Norway’s higher education system, prayers to my higher power in times of need, animated photos from dance recitals, treasured written recipes. This process also reminded me of important pieces of myself that have been threads throughout my life which I want to carry forward. Writing, studying, curiosity about cultures, spirituality, movement, and cooking yummy eats.
I connected this to some of the themes that emerged from my “customer discovery” interviews that I conducted towards the end of 2022, to inform the development of my coaching services. In these conversations I heard so much about this challenge to balance different facets of ourselves. I sensed that many of us are trying to find how all our parts can matter in our lives, but often give up, because it sometimes just feels easier to choose the path of least resistance, or simply give up on believing it is possible to build a life that honors all the dynamic parts of who we are.
As humans it seems we desire both stability and novelty, success and impact, spiritual and material, financial provision and meaning, a sense of home and a sense of adventure. As I return home I am also reminded of my own binary thinking…I have often felt caught between choosing to be close with my family and complying with their expectations or finding my own way through life and sacrificing their support. Most of my adult life I have lived “away” from home, with a strong desire to self-differentiate and release the “programming” of my culture of origin. But every time I return, I remember this place is a part of me too. The small town charm of shared rhythms and traditions…cozy dinners in simple homes, the Lord’s prayer cited to honor a life, dropping off banana bread to legacy friends, and visiting the Arts Center to support local artisans and share in the annual season of gifting.
So for my next steps, my intention is to continue to explore some of these tensions in my own life and others. At the end of this week I set out for a “co-work/co-live” tour where I will be co-living with friends for a week at a time in cities throughout the US and Central America, to explore themes around connection and separateness, groundedness and expansion, presence and dreaming, daily habits and peak experiences. I will also be looking for ways to offer my coaching services in these locales I am passing through (my initial flyer of services is ready!).
Additionally, as a way to continue to nurture the cross-cultural and impact-driven network I have built through my travels, I plan to host a virtual monthly International Communication Circle. I hope to explore themes around integration of key ideas: spirituality AND success, sexuality AND sacredness, Eastern AND western, Global AND local, Tradition AND Trailblazing. Through this platform I want to elevate wisdom keepers, facilitate cross-cultural connections, and nurture participants with new tools and practices. If you know of others who might find value in being part of this community or network, welcome recommendations!
Which leads me to the reflection prompt for this newsletter…what are the tensions between "polarities" you are sensing in your own life? Are there parts of yourself you have forgotten that seem to want more attention in 2023?
Another discovery from the archives…from a young age, I was already displaying a curiosity about other cultures, and my mom enrolled me in a course called “Children Around the World.” My biggest memory was around how my palette was not quite sophisticated enough to appreciate the exotic fare.
