Dear Friends,
Hey There! Thank you for pausing, reading and stepping into this week’s Journey. Thank you for your good wishes about my son’s graduation. Thank you for connecting.
For folks who are new arrivals to Journey with the Seasons, each week I share a reflection about stepping into our inner and outer landscape, the world inside of the world. The places we don’t have time to go to when we are busy doing stuff and producing things. The place of rest, creativity and imagination.
Each week, I send you a gateway to pausing and pondering, an invitation to write for five minutes a week and to see what magic happens.
I believe: expression is a pathway to our inner wisdom, power, magic. You sense that, too—which is why you’re here. I’m walking beside you in this practice, learning each day to reclaim the world of imagination.
Planning for my Summer Solstice Circle has me charged up! I hope you’ll join us Wednesday night, June 21st to experience the joy of expressive writing in community. If you are a paid subscriber to Journey With The Seasons, you will receive a complimentary link and don't need to register.
You can upgrade your subscription or register here for this session on its own.
This week’s journey is a sneak preview of a poem and prompt we’ll explore together in the session, Mary Oliver’s Why I Wake Early.
Why I Wake Early by Mary Oliver
Hello, sun in my face.
Hello, you who make the morning
and spread it over the fields
and into the faces of the tulips
and the nodding morning glories,
and into the windows of, even, the
miserable and crotchety–
best preacher that ever was,
dear star, that just happens
to be where you are in the universe
to keep us from ever-darkness,
to ease us with warm touching,
to hold us in the great hands of light–
good morning, good morning, good morning.
Watch, now, how I start the day
in happiness, in kindness.
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.
Write your own version of ‘Hello, sun in my face. Hello, you who wake the morning…’
Write the details of the landscape around you…what you see when you wake up each day, inside your home and around you. Name the plants and trees, the animal friends, the people…make your landscape extend as far as you like.
Notice your energy and how it feels to envision your landscape and life waking up within you and around you.
Return to your writing and add words of gratitude for waking up each day, for the sun returning, for whatever blessings arose.
I would love to receive your experiences—please send them my way! Please share responses as a comment or email them to me at gabriellekm@gmail.com
Deepening Practice:
In our Summer Solstice Circle, we’re going to explore what it means to shine—the energy of being fully ourselves and what factors hold us back from shining.
Consider the circumstances when you feel yourself anchored in your inner power. Journal about how it feels to step into the world that way.
We’ll explore the shadow of that feeling when we’re together!
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 summer opportunities for creativity & growth below!
***
I’m bursting with excitement to share this new 4-week journey with you!
Writing With The Seasons: Summer Signs & Symbols is a space to explore summer’s metaphors and to express what it means to shine our light & know our shadows.
Info and registration here. All sessions are recorded for your convenience.
***
Let’s celebrate the summer solstice together!
On June 21st, I'm offering a Summer Solstice Circle. 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.
For friends in the Greater Philadelphia area, check out this in person new moon writing circle on June 20th.