Thank you, Rahma. It seems my working life took a cue from spring, too. So much happening! It's hard to let it move beside me without getting on the ride. Appreciate you reading and commenting.
You've done it again. My eyes are teared. I think over and over "let me be enough." Why does that idea have such remarkable power? Thanks also for the link to LaMott, reminding me to take writing (and life) "bird by bird." (It is easy to imagine someday I am reading LaMott and there, in her text, is a link to your writing, Elizabeth.)
Stewart, such a generous comment. Lamott has been a favorite for years, so the idea that I would ever be on her radar is beyond my wildest imagination, but I'm honored to know it's crossed your mind. I think the journey to enoughness will be lifelong for me. Happy to be traveling in good company.
This is so, so lovely. And it gives me another lens through which to view my own recent quiet--one that rings more true than others that have been suggested. Thank you.
Oh, Rita, many thanks! I'm genuinely pleased to know that we are aligned in this way. I want more of this kind of quiet. I haven't sorted out how to get it, but I know I need it.
I'm glad to know that, Lindsay. So much of what you share here feels calm and grounded. I think that's one of the reasons I'm so drawn to your posts. I need to cultivate more of that in my life. Thanks for reading and commenting.
Thanks, Courtney. A good reminder, for me, that magic often happens best when we stop trying so hard. (And now I have a Mean Girls quote wanting to escape..! “Stop trying to make fetch happen!”) Grateful for you.
Have taken my self off to ‘The Mountains’ to Write…Reading ‘Let Me Be Enough’ was just what my ‘Scribe Doc’ would have ordered! Your luscious language brought me into meditation followed by 3 hrs. of ‘productive’ writing. If this is all the writing I do while on retreat, I am grateful…for your ‘Spark’🙏🏻
Oh, Peg - how wonderful, reassuring, and somehow humbling to know that this essay was a spark for both meditation and writing! May your retreat be restorative. Thank you so much for reading and commenting.
The idea of letting the spirit move me to write is my philosophy. I write like a constipated dodo when under stress.
And oh, that beautiful symphonic comparison! I shall write it in my journal with an attribution. It seems to me to write that, you are definitely in the right frame of mind.
Ha! I never knew dodos could write, let alone while constipated. 😅 Seriously, I hear you. I tend to someone who works well with a deadline, or who at least appreciates how a deadline drives routine and discipline. Balance is key, and elusive. So grateful for the comment, Prue, and the affirmation. Hope you're well, not too anxious about your upcoming "intervention."
Your last paragraph lingers with me. I closed my eyes and pictured that familiar sparkle. And now I will sit quietly just as long as I can get away with it. Thank you for this spell, this mood, this quiet. Ah.
this is such a relatable feeling, buried deep, and brought to the surface with your words. i am missing you and have started listening to your essays and i love the way it brings some Elizabeth into my space and day. thank you.
Aw, I miss you, too! Thank you for making time to listen, Roe. You are juggling so much. I hope you can give yourself permission to be enough, and to rest when possible. <3
"Lusty and productive" is a beautiful coupling of words that absolutely sums up this springtime feeling! So much of this resonated for me. Thank you.
Thank you, Rahma. It seems my working life took a cue from spring, too. So much happening! It's hard to let it move beside me without getting on the ride. Appreciate you reading and commenting.
You've done it again. My eyes are teared. I think over and over "let me be enough." Why does that idea have such remarkable power? Thanks also for the link to LaMott, reminding me to take writing (and life) "bird by bird." (It is easy to imagine someday I am reading LaMott and there, in her text, is a link to your writing, Elizabeth.)
Stewart, such a generous comment. Lamott has been a favorite for years, so the idea that I would ever be on her radar is beyond my wildest imagination, but I'm honored to know it's crossed your mind. I think the journey to enoughness will be lifelong for me. Happy to be traveling in good company.
This is so, so lovely. And it gives me another lens through which to view my own recent quiet--one that rings more true than others that have been suggested. Thank you.
Oh, Rita, many thanks! I'm genuinely pleased to know that we are aligned in this way. I want more of this kind of quiet. I haven't sorted out how to get it, but I know I need it.
...'the untamed fecundity of spring.' So good Elizabeth! Beautiful sentiments here that resonate with me so much.
I'm glad to know that, Lindsay. So much of what you share here feels calm and grounded. I think that's one of the reasons I'm so drawn to your posts. I need to cultivate more of that in my life. Thanks for reading and commenting.
"Give myself permission." YES. Yes, and yes again! Love this. You amaze me even when writing about not writing.
Thanks, Courtney. A good reminder, for me, that magic often happens best when we stop trying so hard. (And now I have a Mean Girls quote wanting to escape..! “Stop trying to make fetch happen!”) Grateful for you.
Have taken my self off to ‘The Mountains’ to Write…Reading ‘Let Me Be Enough’ was just what my ‘Scribe Doc’ would have ordered! Your luscious language brought me into meditation followed by 3 hrs. of ‘productive’ writing. If this is all the writing I do while on retreat, I am grateful…for your ‘Spark’🙏🏻
Oh, Peg - how wonderful, reassuring, and somehow humbling to know that this essay was a spark for both meditation and writing! May your retreat be restorative. Thank you so much for reading and commenting.
The idea of letting the spirit move me to write is my philosophy. I write like a constipated dodo when under stress.
And oh, that beautiful symphonic comparison! I shall write it in my journal with an attribution. It seems to me to write that, you are definitely in the right frame of mind.
Ha! I never knew dodos could write, let alone while constipated. 😅 Seriously, I hear you. I tend to someone who works well with a deadline, or who at least appreciates how a deadline drives routine and discipline. Balance is key, and elusive. So grateful for the comment, Prue, and the affirmation. Hope you're well, not too anxious about your upcoming "intervention."
Your last paragraph lingers with me. I closed my eyes and pictured that familiar sparkle. And now I will sit quietly just as long as I can get away with it. Thank you for this spell, this mood, this quiet. Ah.
Thank you, Tara, for sending quiet energy out with consistency!
this is such a relatable feeling, buried deep, and brought to the surface with your words. i am missing you and have started listening to your essays and i love the way it brings some Elizabeth into my space and day. thank you.
Aw, I miss you, too! Thank you for making time to listen, Roe. You are juggling so much. I hope you can give yourself permission to be enough, and to rest when possible. <3
YES!!!
“Once I’m in, it’s easy enough to swirl around in my own wave action, suck ideas into my mouth and let them flow out again”
Recognising ‘enoughness’ is everything. Doubts are fine, as long as we don’t allow them to hobble or limit us.
Needed your words today, Elizabeth. They never fail to hit the spot.
I hope, by the time I'm ready for the next big chapter, I will have reached a place of knowing this in my core. It's a long road. Thanks, Rebecca.