IT'S MY NOMAD ANNIVERSARY!!
YES, one year I left New York City to pursue this crazy life. Here are the biggest and brightest gifts this journey has taught me so far...
The overarching lesson I’ve learned from nomad life is how to lean into uncertainty.
We don’t love change as humans, and with Covid (and now, War - I can’t believe I’m saying that) uncertainty feels even more relevant.
How do we deal?
How do we ground?
How do we hold space for ourselves and each other when most of us are almost always at our capacity -- burnt out from bad news, a culture of immediacy, and trying to keep up with our responsibilities?
Uncertainty doesn’t stop. In fact, most of what we experience as humans is out of our control.
Over the last decade, I’ve learned and practiced the power of visioning, goal setting, and how to make our dreams a reality. The simple equation is...
Inner work + Outer work = The path that fills us up MOST (for our benefit and the world at large)
The Path meaning our unique path, that is completely aligned with us through mind, body, and beyond.
The catch is that our dreams and goals often don’t appear the way we think they will. Working towards something takes a lot of time and the path is never linear.
The way through is honoring our Truth, knowing ourselves, and doing our best to navigate what life throws at us.
I teach all sorts of mind hacks, self-care practices, and hold space for people who are ready to look at their paths and see how they can adapt to what’s in front of them. But for the sake of sharing, what’s top of mind at the moment are these three aspects of life that I come across time and time again on my personal path. If one of these is helpful or resonates with you, let me know!
1. You’re allowed to break your own rules.
Need a self-care day?
Did you set a goal that needs adjusting and refinement?
Did you make a commitment that you need to rethink?
Personal boundaries are important, and yet we create them in order to honor an intention that’s underneath them. Life doesn’t operate on a rigid straight line.
Remembering that we are constantly growing and that we are allowed to change our minds (about anything) is an empowering way to lean into our own flow.
It takes courage to get beyond the fear of what other’s might think of us and our decisions, but at the end of the day, we are in charge of our lives. We’re the power source running the show. So showing up and getting honest with ourselves, and our changes (with self-compassion) is a way to lean more easily into the natural ebbs and flows of life.
2. Keep promises to those who matter (including yourself) and don’t over promise over your capacity.
Let’s be real, life gets real crazy sometimes. We’re all needing support. Whether we’re a solo processor (we like to lone wolf it through life) or a person who easily accepts and asks for support, it’s no joke that right now many of us are always busy, always at capacity, often drowning in our own overwhelm or mental chatter.
Trusting ourselves and knowing who’s there for us is everything.
Reliability is one of the building blocks of trust - with both ourselves and in relationships.
There’s a difference between changing our minds and breaking promises. And one thing I’ve learned is that no matter where I go or what space I’m in, I’m honest with myself about how much I can hold. I keep the promises to myself about things like…
Nourishing myself first
Being honest with myself about my capacity
Feeling into and thinking through my decisions and priorities often
What are the promises you make to yourself?
In relationships, I’ve really learned that support is everything. And also having healthy boundaries within my support systems is everything.
I’m honest with my friends about my capacity.
I don’t over commit or over book myself. These promises keep me feeling grounded in myself and supported. We cannot navigate life's uncertainty without accepting, receiving, and honoring our support systems.
3. Miracles exist.
And making them has everything to do with both practice and surrender.
We know life can change in an instant.
Manifesting is a skill we acquire over time. You CAN create your reality and you CAN create miracles. It's just not as straight forward as "envision yourself having what you want and suddenly it’ll appear".
The reality is, manifestation takes grit and a hell of a lot of self-commitment. Not just in the form of meditation, though this practice is super helpful for getting to know our minds, but in the form of concrete action.
It takes showing up time and time again for what we want. What this looks like may change over time.
Miracles, however, are something I ask for in my daily life. There is a type of miracle that we cannot even manifest - I believe - one that comes from divine forces (not to get too woo-woo up in here). Some of the obstacles we face in life just simply do not have solutions clearly available to us. This is where I personally surrender to prayer.
I thank my ancestors daily. I thank the land I'm on daily. I ask for sweet surprises to delight my body and mind. Because I've learned that there are just some things we have to leave to faith sometimes. Some solutions are completely incomprehensible.
And yet, somehow, some way, the miracles always come...
Thank you for being here to witness my journey and for allowing me to share.
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Sending love,
Kelsey