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Dear Subscriber First Name, I am one of those people who loves to really settle into the fold of a hug; to take a couple of intentional breaths, relax, and feel the power of heart-to-heart connection. I even relish eye contact before and after an embrace. Ahhh… My nervous system relaxes just remembering the hugs I have shared with the incredible people in my life. Please know: I honor the fact that for many folks this idea of hanging out in a hug probably feels about as relaxing as a death-defying act like skydiving or tightrope-walking between skyscrapers. If so, and regardless, if you have ever been in a languid hug that gave you the heebie-jeebies, I hope you can find it in your heart to continue reading… You see, I have come to realize that being fully present for a hug, or any other moment that matters to me, is actually a life-affirming way of being death-defying. To be wholly available to connect with my experiences and moments is a wide-eyed celebration of my ability to notice that I am alive, and to remember that life is a gift. A commitment to being wide-eyed and awake also means that in every treasured moment, I recognize that continued opportunities are not promised me, or any of us. I make every effort not to forsake the opportunities of this moment, counting on future moments to come my way. Gifts are gifts and are best treasured without the expectation of more. It is only when we take life for granted that we assume we will keep getting more chances to experience again everything we treasure. It is when we take the people in our lives for granted that we simply expect we will see them again. It is when we take our bodies for granted that we neglect to remember that we are all only temporarily healthy, able-bodied, and alive. It is when we forget to treasure and tend what we have, that we can get caught in the insatiable quest for more. As you might know from Wake Up Grateful, I advocate for the practice of “super-soaking” precious moments so that they do not pass us by. This means cultivating the capacity to be profoundly present and permeable. We open all of our senses to the moments we are in so as to “extend” them - not into granting us more time, but into enhanced and deeper time. Being fully present and treasuring what is available to us now is the most life-affirming way that I know to simultaneously embrace the truth of our impermanence and expand/extend our lives. A few end-of-June reflection-invitations for you to consider: Please feel free to reply to this email if you have thoughts you would like to share on the invitations above. I would love to benefit from your reflections. In sum, the biggest wake-up call of having faced stage IV cancer is learning that I cannot take what matters to me for granted. I actually can’t take anything for granted. A languid hug and a shared gaze is one way I make sure that the people I love know that they are treasured, no matter what the future holds, for me or for them. It’s one way that I supersoak. It’s one way that I do not take the gifts of this lifetime for granted. Honoring love whenever and however I can is one of the most meaningful ways I can pay homage to life. Thank you for being part of the “embrace” of this grateful community. The museletter collection below and my website are here to support you in being fully present for life. Please avail yourself of - and freely share - the gifts that are here. With grateful care, always -
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