Hi loves,
For longer than I'd like to admit, I had a very convincing narrative in my head about how this summer absolutely sucked.
I've got a whole laundry list of why it was challenging. Things like: hormonal shifts (perimenopause is SO FUN), COVID (it finally came for my family), health stuff of my own, plans changing abruptly, some photoshoots that went awry, niblings being FULL of "auntie I hate you!" attitude, and more.
And all of these challenges added up to a narrative in my head that this summer sucked.
The truth is: while there were actually many things about it that did suck, there actually was so much awesomeness too:
~ One of my biggest desires for the past seven years came to fruition: my niblings met in person! and liked each other! and played and had sooooo much fun! at the ocean!
~ I repaired two significant relationships that had been painfully unresolved for many years
~ Some amazing travels
~ A bodylove photoshoot at Old Faithful, in Yellowstone National Park
~ Thanksgiving in August in Florida with my dad, sis, niblings, stepmom, and stepsis
~ COVID came for my family, and although it sucked and was not mild, everyone is recovering well, thank goodness
~ Taking some truly spectacular photos
~ Doing some very quality healing
~ Doing some amazing work with clients
~ Eating some truly fabulous cannolis
~ And more, so much more!
In all honesty, my list of summer challenges is long too.
But. If we forget to honor and celebrate, our perspective gets skewed, where all we see is the ugh, and we forget all about the awesome.
This is especially the case if you're more prone to noticing the ugh rather than the awesome...like I am.
Yes. It's true! Believe it or not, that's my usual inclination, and I have worked damn hard on shifting that, because it's a bummer and a really shitty way to go through life for a myriad of reasons.
So I have to **remind myself** to celebrate. Because if I don't, I'll succumb to my tendency of forgetting the good and only remembering the sucky. Which makes me feel sucky, and makes life feel sucky.
And that is exactly what happened this summer. If I hadn’t made a conscious effort finally (!!) to honor the awesome, my narrative about this summer would have been that it was terrible. And that would have impacted a lot of my choices going forward about how I spend my time and who I spend it with.
Which means, I now have a much more nuanced and accurate assessment of summer 2022. One that doesn’t make me want to cry whenever I think about it, one where both the positives and the ughs will inform my choices in the future.
This is just one very recent and very powerful example of why celebrating is so valuable and beautiful.
I’ve said this before and I'll say it again: seeing things as purely negative is a thought distortion, a distortion of reality just as much as seeing everything as positive.
Nuance is crucial, and something that is often lost in our culture of sound bytes and easy answers.
Many of us are predisposed to cynicism and thinking negatively, for any number of reasons. Constitution, family culture, where we grew up (hi, New Yorker here!).
If that’s you, nuance is adding a dash of celebration and honoring to balance out the cynicism and criticism.
And that's why I'm *especially* excited for this next round of the Celebration Challenge! Because sometimes we need to reminded to celebrate and honor, and sometimes we need someone to remind us to do that.
That's me, and I'm reminding you! 
It starts on Halloween, it's free, there are celebrations and amazing people and a raffle and more amazingness!
You can learn more about it and enroll (for FREEEE) here: http://eepurl.com/bnHbfb,
Looking forward to celebrating with you!
xoxo
