Dear Friends,
Let’s start with the words of Hafez, the Persian lyric poet, today:
These words feel fitting for the first few days in June. Radiance is our new month’s theme. To radiate means to emit energy or rays. That’s the work of the sun—but it’s also what we humans do.
What happens when we emit rays of love, compassion and open heartedness…when we share that love with ourselves and to those in the landscape around us?
The full strawberry moon arrived on June 3rd, Pride Month parades and parties are being celebrated with joy despite the haters and in the Northern hemisphere, the days are getting longer and lighter.
I will celebrate my birthday this coming week—I’ll be 52 on June 7th. Another trip around the sun. As someone who lives with a chronic illness (Type 1 diabetes) and has survived cancer, I come from a perspective of miracles. I can look at even the hard, shitty days of my life as gifts, as opportunities to open my heart and deepen connections. Not in the moment that hard things are happening, of course, but in my overall sense of healing and becoming.
Simply put: I’m grateful to be here. It’s a perspective that many people who come right up close to their mortality share. The truth is, each of us lives in that reality. But when you’ve faced it directly and not abstractly, there can be a kind of liberation. That’s how it feels to me, anyway—I embrace my messy and beautiful life as an opportunity to keep opening, to love with abandon and to keep integrating my shadow and light.
So come with me now into the possibility of how we might live and love with Hafiz’s imagery of the sun’s powerful love as a model.
Writing Practice: Set aside 5-7 minutes for this practice. Write in a journal or open a ‘Journey with The Season’ document where you can return each Sunday.
Even after all this time
The sun never says to the earth,
“You owe Me.”
Look what happens with
A love like that,
It lights the Whole Sky.
Make a list of loves in your life: people, animal friends, parts of nature’s landscape around you, kinds of art…anything and everything that opens your heart.
Look over your list and pick one love that really opens your heart, make you give and share your love completely.
Write a love letter to that entity or energy. Notice how you feel as you write it and after.
Please share responses as a comment or email them to me at gabriellekm@gmail.com
Deepening Practice:
Write about how the energy of your open heart feels.
Bonus: share the love letter you wrote from the prompt with the recipient (human or otherwise).
Thank you for reading! Word of mouth is the way that I’m growing a community; sending to a friend who may enjoy reading is golden. Check out my birthday specials below!
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Coming up!
On June 21st, I'm offering a Summer Solstice Circle. Join in community on the evening of the Summer Solstice for guided meditation & writing prompts to welcome to explore what it means to shine.
If you are a paid subscriber to Journey With The Seasons, you will receive a complimentary link and don't need to register.
If you'd like to join the circle, you can upgrade your subscription or register here for this session.
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To celebrate my birthday, I’m offering a flash sale on 'Summer Signs & Symbols,’ my next four-session writing circle. Normally $77, you can join for $72 through June 8th. Info and registration here.