Today I am chatting with you. Sharing a response to this email (below) that I received this morning.
Getting ready to head out to an Arts Residency and putting this podcast on sabbatical until perhaps late September or early October. bisous, Elizabeth
Hi Elizabeth,
Been meaning to write to you for awhile, and am finally getting around to it. First of all congrats on your time in Sedona, AZ. I hope your time there brings you everything you need and more. Many blessings on your journey.
Second, thank you and Tif, for your fairy godmother video on courage. The very day it came, I was looking through the myth of magic materials wondering when our fairy godmother piece was coming, and bam, minutes later, it came. It was perfect timing, as so often happens. I was going off on a road trip to the Outer Banks with my husband and daughter, staying with a friend of my husbands and his family, which I don’t really know all that well, and hoping for the best. I was afraid of the drive: traffic, accidents, no where to stay on the way there, none of which happened of course. So, Tif’s video really helped me to calm down, and realize how courageous I already was being, just by accepting the offer to go down there to begin with.
More than that though, hearing from someone who has struggled, and still struggles with courage, and how they dealt and deal with it, really helped me. I listen to morning on the dock every now and again, and it’s the same reason I like them so much. The part that is/ was hard isn’t glossed over. It’s talked about, and is accepted as a part of the process. So many stories I read, are about how once someone was having a hard time with something, and then boom, miraculously they are doing great, and everything is wonderful, and they skip what the hard part was, and how to deal with it, like it didn’t exist at all. It’s not that I revel in people’s misery and struggle, but when I hear about it, and that yes, it can be overcome, I feel more confident that I can do it too. It’s hard and it’s o.k. I feel less alone, and that is really comforting to me. So, thank you to both of you, it really helped me to dismantle some negative thoughts. Especially the part about carrying other peoples thoughts as our own, and putting it down when it no longer serves you. I have a lot of anxiety that I believe is my parents anxiety from when they were raising me. By the way our trip was great, we had so many wonderful experiences, and I am looking forward to going again.
I also watched the doc. Who Does She Think She Is? It was an eye opener. I felt kind of sad after I watched it, because giving up family for personal happiness and creativity, which was part of the sacrifice some of the women paid, really stinks. I think the way boys and men are raised needs to be changed radically. I also liked it because I saw moms figuring out a way to fit in time for creativity, and how that was good for themselves and their kids, if not their husbands. Which leads me to my question for you.
I am finishing up my masters this summer and in the fall, and I wanted to ask you how you studied like crazy for your yoga certification, and still took care of yourself, and had time to create and do the things that make you happy? A great deal of my time is focused on my masters work, and even if I am not doing it, I am thinking about it, and feeling pretty cranky, resentful (of my work, the people who distract me from my work, and myself because I procrastinate in doing the work) , and not always being nice about it, to myself or anyone else. I am practicing letting go, and bringing in gratitude, it is helping, but wondered if you would share some of your thoughts on working with this.
I know I gave you a lot to process, don’t worry about responding until you get back, I’m sure you are crazy busy. No worries. Thanks for reading!
Happy Sedona!
