Today, as I went through my kids’ clothes for the dozenth time to give/donate/sell, I had a lot of thoughts flow through me.

It feels somewhat shameful to admit that I don’t really like to donate. All “good” people donate, don’t they?!?

To me, donating feels very impersonal. I don’t know who will end up with whatever I put out there. I’d rather sell because I know the buyer will want the thing I’m selling. Or I’d rather give to someone who I know wants the stuff. From a very egoic standpoint, having a face on the other end receiving feels for fulfilling to me.

Does that make me a “bad” person?

With fast fashion the way it is, I don’t think donating clothes is as noble as it’s made out to be. It’s similar to my doubts of single stream recycling. How effective is it really when we’re just dumping everything into bin and then someone on the other end has to sort through it, figure out what is usable and somehow distribute it? (To note, I do love groups like Dignity Matters that are very focused on what they accept.)

I also recognize I can work on my attachment to “things.” Clothing, especially of my babies, hold a lot of memories. I’ve always had that relationship with material objects. There deep childhood wounds at play (an image of my dear Cookie Monster doll being thrown away comes to mind). I have trust issues with handing my things off to a faceless organization. Perhaps after working through losing Cookie, I’ll change my tune about donating.

While I like being in the known, I’m not a “first mover” by any means. Tech companies are not expecting me to immediately adopt their latest product and lead the way of new trends and gadgets.

So unsurprisingly, I’m just starting to explore AI now. There is a lot of scary in the unknown. Especially with the number of sci-fi thrillers that exist around AI essentially ending/destroying our civilization.

While fear is a perfectly normal response, I also know that there is opportunity. The curious part of me allows me to dabble without expectation and with lessened fear.

Once we shine a light on our fears, they tend to shrink. The new is not always bad and what is unknown is really only one step away from being known.

I made a big financial and time commitment this week to invest in a course. It’s one of those decisions where I feel like the trajectory of my life will change.

While I don’t make such decisions everyday, I felt confident about it. I knew it was where I needed to be. I felt similarly to when I was selecting my college and when I signed up for my health coaching certification.

Those decisions had similar decision making patterns that I could fall back on.

When we are faced with an important decision, we can access our knowing. How past decisions worked out are certainly helpful reference points. Tapping into our values and truths is also important. And the feeling of alignment is essential.

Making a decision does not have to be paralyzing and come from a fearful place. We can flip that script.

Phew! I’m so glad it is officially spring in my area of the world. March has been a bit of a doozy. Our household had its share of viruses and bugs on and off since the first of the month. I think (*fingers crossed*) that we are finally on the other end of it!

During the haze of barf buckets and chicken soup, March 13th happened. March 13th was the 3 year anniversary of when everything shut down for my state in 2020 (and likely around when your world changed as well). On that day, I took a moment to recognize the day, took a few deep breaths and released how much has happened over the last three years.

These anniversaries are worth acknowledging because even if our minds don’t think they are important, our bodies remember. Somehow, our bodies know that when we were at this point in space a few years ago, our lives changed – just as animals know when to emerge for the spring season or migrate across a continent at the same time every year. Our innate intelligence lies within us whether we recognize it or not.

In 2021, the big question my friends and I asked was – “when will this end?” Last week, I looked around me and asked myself the same question with almost equal despair. I was exhausted mentally, physically and emotionally. It would have been wonderful to have an end date to work towards. It would have given me comfort in the unknown.

If I am in a room that I’ve never been in, the first thing I do is look around and locate the exit. When you’re in a movie theatre, they make sure to point out the exit signs for you. Knowing where we can go to get OUT allows ease in a new, scary or vulnerable situation. It’s always great to have an exit strategy.

When I asked myself last week “when will this end?”, I saw the “end” as my exit. But unlike in a movie theatre, when we are thrust into a situation, like a multi-weekslong bout of stomach bug or a global pandemic, and don’t have any control of the outcome, there is no exit to locate.

This can be quite disconcerting. Without that surety of an end or exit, where is our grounding in those situations? How do we know we are safe?

Well, when there is no “exit strategy,” we’ve got one thing – the present.

The here and now is the only sure thing, and if we can learn to be in it even when the next day is not certain, we can find safety in the most uncertain times.

In a culture where being present equates to not doing anything, it can feel like stagnation, laziness or passivity.

The reality is there is tremendous power in the present and in being still, aware and intentional.

In my upcoming in-person workshop Embrace Your Power, we will be redefining power for ourselves and align it with our inner strength and knowing. Find out all about it here: https://lisaforreal.com/embrace-your-power-workshop/

Healing is not a one and done kind of activity. Nor is it one dimensional. There are likely infinite layers we can work on though I think at a certain point, we have to stop so we can actually live our life!

At the very start of healing work, we’ve first got to bring in the possibility that things can be better. If you can’t believe that, the rest of it is useless.

We’ve got to believe there are more and better things in store for us and that we are worthy of it.