Notes from the Heart (Email Newsletter May 20, 2018)
{300 words}
Hello hearts,
Last week I discovered an envelope in my post office box, one I had missed for months somehow. It was a thank you note from a writer named Lauren with whom I had brunch last autumn. In the card she had tucked a thin glossy 4x6 photograph, a gesture of creative offering. Placing snapshots into letters has become so rare in the age of Instagram that it almost seems vintage! The picture is a cactus plant in full bloom. I love the richness of the colors, magenta, yellow, and green. She told me her mother took the photo in Arizona. Lauren had handwritten this note to me on the back:
“She always had a way of finding the soft and sweet in the wild.”
Touched by the tenderness of her gift, I taped it to the front of my new dream journal. I've started writing down my dreams again, and the cactus bloom reminds me that beauty is just waiting to emerge from behind the prickly defenses of the psyche. It only takes a few minutes in the morning to jot dreams down, yet it feels like self-care of the highest order. In fact, the dreamworker with whom I am taking a class recently shared that a turning point came when she realized, "My dreams are trying to support me."
There are so many ways to listen.
Speaking of listening, Maura McGovern will soon be offering a workshop in her The Body Knows series, called i am noticing and it sounds both heavenly and rooted at once. I received so much from the course I took with Maura last year. More details are in the Notes from the Heart email among my "favorites" this month, along with several other surprises and stories. So sit yourself down on a soft cushion, pour a mug of something delicious, and breathe in the goodness.
Oh, and I meant to ask, are you dreaming?
Sending love,
Laura
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.