Notes from the Heart (Email Newsletter, June 23, 2019)
(525 words)
Hello beautiful friends,
It's mid-year and I've been thinking of you with curiosity and love.
Summer solstice arrived with a sunset that set the Pacific Northwest ablaze in ripples of deep coral and rose. Cloud tufts glowed apricot, gold-spun like cotton candy. I sat mesmerized, forehead to window frame, gazing at the sliver of sky I can see from my house.
I texted, "Sunset!" and he replied within moments, "Just saw it too, taking out trash. Missing another good one."
We talk about a home that faces west with a wide view of the horizon. This is why. These sunsets are exactly why.
“Everything really worth having seems to take time.”
I have some exciting news that falls under the category of "it's about time." We are officially sending Issue Three of Lucia to print next week. It will be available to purchase--and mailed to you if you are one of our subscribers--this September.
It has been three years in the making.
A lot has happened since the spring of 2016. An election here in the U.S. revealed our nation still has so much healing work left to do. When it feels overwhelming, I try to balance reading the news and being an informed citizen with maintaining a softer focus, fixed on what I can heal. It starts with my own heart and mind, my own relationships, the places I inhabit, the earth under my feet.
Issue Three's theme is “wild" and it's all about what is right here under our feet and inside of us. So perhaps it is well-timed.
I am busy preparing, reaching out to proprietors of independent shops and booksellers, and more. I have a plan--it's in Excel spreadsheets, timelines and to-do lists, and even new software from Salesforce--but also I am winging it. Mostly I feel grateful to finally be going print again and bringing more women's voices to you.
Later this summer, you'll hear from me with how you can order copies. We are printing a limited quantity this time, and I want to make sure everyone who receives this Notes from the Heart email gets first dibs. Stay tuned.
Earlier this month, I bought a big bunch of peonies. The buds were an intense dark pink when I placed them in a vase on my desk. As they opened slowly, their color softened--day by day it transformed to lighter coral, and finally creamy white. Even as the petals began to drop, each day still they seemed more beautiful than the one before.
Lately when I start to worry or feel like a failure for taking three full years to get the third issue of Lucia into the world, I think of these peonies. I think of our sunset home dream. I try to remember that everything beautiful, everything truly worth experiencing, takes sweet time.
And you? How are these long days of early summer for you?
Sending so much love,
Laura
P.S. I am listening to another mixtape, this one is for June. It has wildflowers, busy bees, beautiful energy, sweet clumsy love, the new Carter's and the old Cash's, cellos, revivals, and a drop of Spanish guitar...summertime.
P.P.S. I am watching One Strange Rock on National Geographic, hosted by Will Smith. Only three episodes in, it is knocking my socks off. It's the story of Earth. The cinematography is astounding. The interviews with astronauts are revealing. The production and storytelling is captivating.
Laura Lowery is the founder, editor and publisher of Lucia. She does her best to lead a creative life. Whether triumphant or stumbling, Laura shares daily notes (that are often weekly) here on luciajournal, including stories, behind-the-scenes happenings, little doses of inspiration, and large quantities of curiosity and heart. She is pleased to meet you.