June Update
A chilly gentle breeze starts our June mornings. The boys race out the door to chase the birds before I get it open more than a sliver. Fiery hues over the distant mountains light up the sky. Sunrise amidst the flowers that dot my land. Everything is so spectacularly green.
It’s a well-kept, and highly-guarded secret, that summer in Vermont is other worldly. We don’t want that getting out. Yet. It is so incredibly beautiful here in the summer, i simply cannot not share!
Gentle, and sometimes not-so-gentle, rains keep the gardens happy. Sun without penetrating, debilitating heat illuminates us for hours. We are quite north here so long summer days are gifted our way for months on end. Life is filled with freshness. i breathe it all in, savoring every single second.
Most mornings, I take a seat on the front step and sip my coffee as I let the sun awaken me.
I find myself remembering outdoor volleyball tournaments, tennis match attempts, camping, running up and down big mountains, endless swimming, road trips, lounging poolside, raucous BBQs, reading amongst the trees, and countless hours talking beneath the stars.
My dear summer, I cherish the ease you bring.
You get to define what Abundance and Wealth mean to you. You decide. It’s up to you to decide how rich you feel.
Money. Happiness. Well Being. Love… all the good things long to play with you. They are forever up for a wonderful-fest.
Everything you receive comes from you nurturing it into being.
You can nurture your Money. Happiness. Well Being. and Love like seeds, plants and trees. Care for them. Talk to them. Engage with them. Show them how much you adore and honor them. And watch as you see that:
Massive good happens when you attend to what matters to you.
Inspired by Word 35: AWAKE in Quantum Wealth: Factoring in Abundance co-written with the exceptional, Amber Lilyestrom.
My Favorite Thing: Aging
As I prepared for this month’s newsletter, I thought… hmm, what is my absolute favorite thing that I do? The first thing that popped into my head was AGE! I love that I have known many of my friends for decades! I love that I used a rotary phone, watched TV on a black and white screen with rabbit ears and tin foil. I know what an 8-track and a 45, and party line are. I lived in a time without traffic on the 405, where we ordered everything from the Sears (&Roebuck) catalog and waited weeks to pick it up from lay-away, dressed up for plane rides and going to the grocery, and wrote letters and thank you cards on the regular. I love that I know the major moments of history for this planet. I love the possibilities that lie ahead and remembering the moments of life that soothed and pleased me to no end. Aging, to me, is the gift of a lifetime.
Favorite Aging Graciously Go To’s:
Eating 80-90% Veggies. This is the change that has made the most impact on my health and happiness. Not only is it good for Mama Earth, it is cheaper, it is cleaner, it is easier, and it replenishes my energy and continues to return my body to a youthful state. It is an on-going transition. I use my same cookbooks and sub in a veggie for the fish/meats. My current fave in Veg books is below. I do my best to avoid dairy, breads and sugar which helps immensely with bloating and fatigue.
Move my Bod. Absolutely critical to get a move on of some sort. I walk daily. Yes. Every. Single. Day. Minimum of 30 minutes. Sometimes fast, sometimes not. I also ordered a Peloton! I do yoga and I dance around the house and yard. I garden. I shovel. I move my body and I know it matters.
Rest. Cannot emphasize this one enough. Gotta sleep people. This may be #1. For more, please check out Lifespan.
Supplements. I don’t like taking pills. However, I take Evening Primrose (hormones), Black Seed Oil (immunity) and a daily vitamin for women. I also take B12 (brain and energy) and D3/K1 (calcium and sup to help my body use the calcium). I also consume a non-dairy probiotic and flax to honor my deep desire for a healthy gut—usually these are not pill form.
Read. Research. Experiment. I love to study. Can’t get enough of it! Here is a cool list of nutritious foods (not all veggies!). I’m always hunting for new and awesome ways to energize and feel good in my bod. Getting a Healy was a game changer. Thank you, dear Inger!
Laughter. This might replace Rest as #1! It is essential. 1000% required for a life well aged.
Muting Memories. There is a beautiful book I read long ago about the unreliability of our memories. The author, Maureen Murdock, writes about memoir juxtaposed against her mother’s Alzheimer’s. As I age, I see how mutable—as in turn off the volume and as in morph—my memories have become. In my fiction, which is always based on my observations of my life, I have come to decide that there are never-ending spirals of time spinning and whirling. Nothing to regret, because in some swirl, in some dimension, every decision I’ve made and dream I have created, is playing itself out perfectly. We needn’t hold onto to what is mere mist and vapor. Today is the only place life is at.
For the Love of These…
Recipes
I love this beautiful and incredibly simple collection of recipes. It’s divided into seasons, which I love, and explores the full use of what grows from this rich planet of ours. Gill has written a load of wonderful books. Please have a look when you find a few moments.
This book is so fun and inspiring!
Highly recommend! I also bought Kerrie Hess’ new book, Joy in the Little Things, which is so pleasing and lovely. Kerrie also teaches online art classes, loves!
I love to sit on my porch and read.
It is pure heaven to me. Float Plan is on my list as well as The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman, recommended by my dear friend, Michelle Lowbridge! Thanks Miche! If you haven’t read, Less, I think you might love it and the Agatha Raisin books are also great fun for summer!
Playlist
A chill and joyous set of tunes compiled in the Beautiful Beliefs playlist awaits you, gorgeous. Also listening to Deuter’s Reiki Hands of Love.
The Written Life
Summer is always a busy time in my written world. For the past couple decades, yes, decades, I have worked on a Truitt novel over the summer—either editing or creating—or both! This summer is no different. I am penning Truitt 3: The Equation for Imagination.
And it is not easy.
This is a first for me. Usually ridiculously prolific, I suddenly find myself having a hard time getting the words onto the page and it’s really bugging me!
I’m stuck in a story. I’m in the “resist to persist” phase. And have been for a bit longer than I prefer. My hope is that this giant confession to you incredible people will spur me on and get me writing.
This is one of those times when I need to push, not pause. Or I will remain trapped.
And I confess that I’m (un)consciously doing this on purpose.
Why?
I don’t want Truitt to end.
There is this thing that happens to me as I get near then end of writing a Truitt. I do not want to finish. Like putting my paws out and screaming: NO! I love her. I love our private time together.
This is such a beautiful thing. And it is an excuse. And my writing fingers need to get in gear. And they will. And I will finish it by the deadline. And T3 will be made into a stunning book for your fingers to hold and read. Inhale. Exhale. Yes. I. Can.
Guts of Story
My take on the steps of story. Easy to remember and put into practice anytime you need to!
One Turtle at a Time
I am sooo happy to announce that I’m working on a WONDERFUL PROJECT with Michael Klubock, executive director of the Malibu Foundation, who runs a phenomenal event called, Kids Ocean Day (KOD).
KOD is devoted to empowering kids to save the earth by connecting them to the beaches and oceans. I mean! COME ON! How awesome is that?!?
Michael presents to thousands of kids every year and takes on the mammoth task of taking 5,000 to the beach annually where they frolic and collect litter then arrange into an important conservation message in the form of unbelievable aerial art which then goes viral around the globe!
It has been two years since Michael and the crew have been able to do the beach event, so in 2022, he wants to go big! And to do so, he needs to raise buckets of money.
I offered, and he thankfully accepted, to co-write a picture book, illustrated by my talented and beloved friend, Elizabeth Vanderliet, designed by the ever-extraordinary Cass, and published by my generous and exceptional publisher, KMD Books to help them reach their goal. Our working title is: One Turtle at a Time.
We’re gunna need you to spread the word, buy books, and support this, okay? THANK YOU!
Our beaches and oceans need us more than ever. Let’s empower each other! Love it! Love it!
I hope this particularly newzee newsletter leaves you feeling energized and inspired! Uplifted and excited! Like sunshine is beaming from within like never before because Now. Is. Your. Time!
I think we need to connect, to laugh, to vent, to let loose and be seen and touched and loved like never before. Are you getting together with people you realllllyyyy love getting together with? As in friends and family that engage and discuss and help you sort out your feelings and thinkings without criticism and disdain seeping in?
Kindness must be in the spotlight, loves, starting with you being kind to you.
“What wisdom can you find that is greater than kindness?” -Jean-Jacques Rousseau
You don’t like what they’re doing? So what! It’s not your life! Focus on you, not them. When our boundaries are crossed, we can voice our space considerations without malice, and with distinction and confidence that we are to be loved, not schooled or ridiculed.
May we be confident, and vulnerable, and filled with reverence for all sentient beings.
May we be quirky and do as we please, and eat what we want, watch what we want, read what we want, and finally let go of the need for anyone to “get you”.
May we love like time is running out. Because for this beautifully unique, one of a kind journey… it is.
