31 Days of Stability {highlights}
Introduction: “I choose to believe there is always a way forward.”
Day 2. “Stability presents a wholeness of hope I want to embody.”
Day 3. “Stability is a posture of hope.”
Day 4. “Today, listen to a story of someone who is not like you, and practice seeing through their eyes."
Day 6. "Today is us, and how we see each other/ Today is love, enough for all."
Day 8. “What I have and who I am and what I am called to focus on today is enough.”
Day 9. “The act of making a commitment is not proof alone of stability. The act of keeping it, well, that certainly looks more promising. But the act of setting boundaries, that’s what stability in commitment really looks like. The “here, and no further” is not only good for me to know, but it’s good for neighbor, family, lover, etc.”
Day 10. “My dream looks like the work of freedom and growth. Waking up to the beauty of it. Awakening others to it. Encouraging an awareness of self, an awareness of God-given creativity, an awareness of space to grow, change, learn, and live into.”
Day 11. “This hunger is to live. Live loud. Live wide. Live with my hands lifted up to the sky. As a giver and a receiver. I believe that’s what we all are meant to become.”
Day 12. “We change the world by making space for everyone to be wholly themselves, just as they were fearfully and wonderfully created to be.”
Day 13. “That’s life though, isn’t it? I can reach for stability. I can practice staying present. I can aim for my ideals every day and do my level best. But I’m still a little shaky. Is that why I crave stability?”
Day 14. “Meditation is not just an idea of allowing no thoughts whatsoever to enter the mind. Rather, it is about not fixating or purposing to figure out, reason out, explain, understand, conform or compartmentalize anything. It is an opportunity for me to stop trying to play god over my own life, and instead let go, exist, and have that be enough.”
Day 15. “Maybe today’s inertia is only for today. What if I try this whole ‘wait for the Lord’ thing?”
Day 16. “Autumn. It speaks boldly of endings and subtly of beginnings. It speaks of retreating, but it also speaks of promise. It speaks of the temporary- the changeableness of the world around me. It speaks of the eternal- the faithfulness of the circle of seasons. In all things, it speaks of the Presence of the divine.”
Day 17. “Open your eyes and your heart to receive. This is the truth dawning over me.”
Day 18. “Yahweh has been good to you.”
Day 19. “When my shoulders feel they are carrying a massive weight, is that weight perhaps the pressure of expectations?”
Day 20. “People come over because they want to spend time with me and my family. They are hoping for connection and relationship. It’s simple, really. So why do I complicate it?”
Day 21. “Stability in the midst of pain is a tough one. Because the first thing anyone wants to do when one cannot relieve pain is to seek a means of escape.”
Day 22. “It only takes one upward movement of the face to experience the blue of a clear autumn sky. Maybe it’s just me, but it feels bluer than the blue of any other season. It heals me right into the weariness of joint and bone. It energizes me, straight inward to the heart. The children are far too bright not to catch the spirit of this blue-ness, and their joy is uncontainable.”
Day 23. “Facing the emptiness of the page with hope for inspiration is an act of faith, trusting that the wisdom that brought me this far will be there for me in the next moment. I am practicing a peaceful receptiveness; not reaching or grasping for what I think I need, but keeping my palms open to receive. Believing in enough.”
Day 24. “This stability challenge is no joke.”
Day 25. “When I feel like my purpose is slipping, I can see it as a call to action instead of despair. When I feel like my purpose is slipping, I can cultivate that inner fire by being creative. Even though it takes discipline and work, it is restful to my spirit.”
Day 26. “It's tough. To pursue being equal; not lesser or better. It's tough, because we're so sure there is an "ahead" and a "behind", and the one out in front or at the top is obviously the best.”
Day 27. “As I practice staying present to myself, I have realized a part of that is being present to my whole self, even the parts I would rather hide from.”
Day 28. “This is an enormous challenge that takes an intentional approach. It takes listening to everyone’s opinions. It takes putting my needs in a holding place with other people’s needs while we determine priorities. It takes discernment and a caring heart. It takes a continual attentiveness.”
Day 29. “Some days stability does mean looking back. It means honoring what was that made way for what is.”
Day 30. “There are plenty of seemingly insignificant but actually powerful things we are still able to do, even when we are tired. So let’s focus not on what we cannot do, but instead imagine the many things that we could do to make a difference.”
Thanks for sticking with me on this 31 Days of Stability journey! Love, Jamie