prayers, expansion and prompts

I would like to practice expansion this week.

E x p a n s i o n

Want to try it with me?

Three reminders:

We are not our true selves when we play small—when we shrink to fit anything.

We can distance ourselves from people who deplete our vitality.

We can try and stay in a heightened sense of curiosity.

Those the rules. Let’s go.

It’s September after all. I like to imagine that all the seasons are so vast and large and full of change and surprise. They loom and then they are our new normal. Here in Ohio, it’s the almost last day of the public pool and I have already started thinking of fall clothing. It’s hot out but my mind is orange. The nights will get shorter soon. I mean, they already are and then the chlorophyll will decrease and eventually disappear and then the colors of carotenoids and anthocyanin will shine orange and red, and yellows and we will all feel different.

I tried to cultivate an ethos of ease this summer. I was like how can I not stress out so much? It turns out it is incredibly difficult for me to do this, but I returned to my love of reading and trying to stay in my bed a lot. Sounds terrible, the bed rotting. Right? But I think I needed it. I have this old ass 100+ year old house and it is hot like an oven in my room, so I just stayed in the bed with the window air con blasting on me for a lot of the summer when I wasn’t hustle culturing or dealing with all the bullshit of being human. And I loved it.

How did you get through the summer? It was hot and the groceries costs so much and people are scary but there is so much to do. What did you do? What are we doing? Strangely, I initiated a nightly prayer for all the artists I love very much and who are getting very old. I had this terrible worry for Joan Didion the whole year before she died. It really sat inside of me, the worry. Like a little stone in my mind.
I'm aware that my inclination toward morbid thoughts is more pronounced than most and I know that I am weird, but if you were to pray for the preservation of artists, who would they be?

PROMPTS:

Make an autumn adventure list.

Make a list of everything you need to remove from your life so you can grow. Expand.

Write about your bed and then write someone into it. Describe how they look in it, what they are doing and what you have done to get them there.

What would you like to have happen next?

Write a poem about math.

Describe a time you felt safe.

How do you hide sometimes?

RANDOS:

Last call for mini zine mails out! Everybody THANK YOU. So much.
Your zines (and lil treats) are being packaged and ready to mail. If you order now, you will still get free shipping and a little sweetness from me. Order here: Hi, ILY.

Things I liked lately:

This book.

And this shirt.

And this lip stain.

And Masterclass on in the background all day.

And please come to my mini retreat? Please… It’s next weekend.  I will fill your cup.

ILYSM,

Amy