When she transformed into a butterfly, the caterpillars spoke not of her beauty, but of her weirdness. They wanted her to change back into what she always had been. But she had wings.—Dean Jackson
July in Review
Last month was filled with travel, family, and friends. From savoring four tea dates, to spending a weekend with a girlfriend of 30 years, to seeing Garth for the 13th time—July offered an abundance of experiences.
Monday night I penned this muse for the Tranquil Space newsletter using the above Dean Jackson quote. The notion of spreading our wings has motivated me since my early 20s. In the muse I tried to convey the discomfort in change (former caterpillars may not approve) and importance of finding your own way. Taking flight connotes freedom.
July delights: wandering through the Cloisters and Hillwood gardens, riding two carousels, picking lavender, attending a DC Council meeting to support an animal welfare bill (it passed unanimously and has one more round to go), biking around the city, celebrating Mookie and Belle’s gotchaversary with my parents and their former foster parents, hiking the hills in Oklahoma, seeing Cabaret at the Kennedy Center, spending an afternoon decluttering, going through a minor surgery and receiving good results, releasing the Pigs & Pugs tee, and holding the fall TranquiliT shoot.
Keats wrote, “I almost wish we were butterflies and liv’d but three summer days—three such days with you I could fill with more delight than fifty common years could ever contain.” A gorgeous reminder to infuse our days with experiences and simple pleasures, to treasure the moments in between as if they were our last.
Now, let’s spread our wings and fly. Bisous. x
July Blog/Podcast Wrap Up
Turn Toward the Light
Summer Reading List
Podcast #401: Finding Your Inner Artist
400th Follow Up + Giveaway
Podcast #400: Celebrating 400 Episodes
August Wish List
Learn lots at this weekend’s Animal Rights Conference
Smooth travels to and from Farm Sanctuary Hoe Down in New York
Host inspiring Writing Lab
Complete 5,000 words of memoir
Date night to see The King and I
Release two podcasts
Announce plans regarding Daybook 6.0
Collaborate with clients
Read three books from Summer Reading List
Spend full day in declutter mode
Savvy Sources
The feminist consultants for “A Dolls House, Part 2”
A neuroscientist reveals the most important choice you can make
The importance of being unproductive
Yes, you can buy happiness if you spend money to save time
An essay primer: 6 essay types you should know
Can animals suffer from PTSD?
How to eat vegan for a week for under $50
I quit sugar for a week and here’s what happened
Do you often wake up between 3 and 5 am? A higher power is trying to tell you something . . .
4 ways to make space in your brain to create
Tons of people ditching meat after watching Okja
Becoming Jane: How Austen transformed into a chick-lit icon
How to live a life of reading with no regrets
How pursuing a quest can bring purpose to your life
5 tips we can learn from the French way of grocery shopping
Thoreau on defining your own success
