“But I send you a cream-white rosebud
With a flush on its petal tips;
For the love that is purest and sweetest
Has a kiss of desire on the lips.”
~ John Boyle O’Reilly, The White Rose
Because Human-ing is harder than Adulting. This is a weekly publication for heart-centered warriors, swimming through this thing called Life.
Selected Readings and Sounds:
The White Rose, John Boyle O’Reilly
Found/Tonight, Ben Platt and Lin Manuel Miranda
Dear Embodied Hearts and Dancing Souls,
Dear Ones, this is my 100th newsletter on the Substack platform. How fitting to celebrate as we turn towards the new year to 2025. During Solstice I was struck by a poem that Jane Siarny (InterPlayer and Dance Chaplain) shared by Brigit Anna McNeill that reminded me that seeds are not born in spring, but rather winter. Continue tending to the promise of you. Rest well in your body.
Play as Path of Greatest Ease. Yesterday I stepped into Play’s beckoning call. I HAD to. I had forgotten about a commitment I had made to be on a podcast. Not just any podcast, but that of my dear friend and mentor, Andrea Hylen, aptly named Carve a New Path. All of sudden, there were needs: a topic, a description, host questions, etc.
After 3 years of daily practice, I more instinctually turn to Play instead of stress. Instead of hunched over my laptop brainstorming ideas, I began wondering about my topic. Would it be points I had already come up with? Maybe from the video 3 weeks ago? Or from the chapter I am finishing on Play? As soon as I hit upon the possibility of working with this topic, a feeling came over me. Play began inviting me in.
I was sitting in bed when the initial spark came, jotting down some possibilities. Then I knew I needed to go on a walk, even though it was a windy 30oF outside. It was the only way the various swirly thoughts would come together. Play made my path merry. I remained with the unknown, allowing the pieces to swirl as I walked.
It was a Short walk (see these ducks, lol), but exactly the right move. I felt the confirmation in my body like an arrow. By the time I returned, I knew the examples I wanted to share; the backbone for the talk and its composite parts became clear. To offset the swirly habits in my brain, I asked my current AI tool for title ideas to augment my own, loving the options it generated. Play showed me the path of greatest Ease and Flow.
Play is Expansive. Not only did I submit the required pieces to the podcast host within a couple of hours, I got the bonus of a valuable storyboard angle for this part of my book. Wow, how different from my old approach. I would have pressured myself for ideas for topics, wanting to (but then doubting I could) make an impact. Play helps me bypass all of this noisy chatter so I can follow the spark of my own curiosity.
Play helps me bypass all of this noisy chatter so I can follow the spark of my own curiosity.
Five years ago, you could not have told me I would be playing myself into a new career. Now I noticed many full circles that Playing enabled. The most precious is my new found capacity to trust more and more of myself. More than 5 years ago, my primary identity was being a problem solver. Now I rely on a diversity of indispensable weekly Play practices to get me out of self-doubt and over working.
Play Co-creates My Desires. By December, I felt a growing desire to have more line of sight into my calendar for 2025. I wanted to feel into—that is, have in my body, more security about my future writing topics and classes. More and more I feel a call to “stick the landing.” I have been in the unknown for a while, and started to worry that I wouldn’t find my way.
Yesterday I learned that my cells felt alive talking about this topic. My host loved talking about the topic. There is more here for me to discover. I find I have MORE TO SAY about it! The title I chose for the show? It was, “Why Play Matters: Exploring the Wisdom of Play Dates.” The magic of play and its essential characteristics started to flow into our space. She recalled examples of Playdate moments from her own life which led me to share from mine. Watch here to hear me lay out the anamoty of a play date and why play dates are holy.
Follow Your Wonder. None of us, when we are in our curiosity, can quite explain what we’re looking for. When my friend the quilter plays with her fabrics she cannot quite explain what draws her to one piece of fabric or causes her to pair it with the next. She is in the play with the colors, the shades and textures. Similarly I can’t explain what causes me to tug at my iPhone to take a picture on my walks. I just know there is an interaction between the object and my curiosity that is getting my attention.
Yet there is a vibration, a frequency driving the curiosity that seems to know what it’s doing.
Though I never know where Play will lead me, I have come to love its way of surprising me. Following my wonder makes my life a true joy ride. I’ve enjoyed the thrill of a ride in fancy machinery (like a Porsche) but prefer this for the surprise element. I cannot anticipate the level of joy I find when I follow Play’s lead. Nor can I anticipate how these chance interactions lead me to new connections and discoveries that keep expanding my own self-expression in the world.
Speaking into the possibilities that Play brought alive led Andrea and I to talk about igniting our desires for 2025. I couldn’t have imagined a more perfect way to open up this New Year. After 5 years of developing a practice of Play, I finally feel genuinely excited about having something to say and what’s possible in my Life. In my Body, I am feeling this year is about having more fun, even in a sexy way.
To your exquisite unfolding. Stay #heartwoke.
Monisha
When we belong to ourselves, we move freely. ~ Monisha Mittal
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