Practical magic 🔮
Earlier this year, I was a mess. I'd wake up ten minutes before work, slither upstairs, and just try to make it through the day. Morning breath and sweatpants included.
I was burning out. Exhausted by 2020. Tired of feeling stuck. Tired of my own bullshit excuses.
Things started to shift when I asked for help. I went to therapy and some of the ice melted around my heart.
Slowly, I started journaling more, writing down the kind of life and career I really wanted to build. I began looking for new jobs that aligned with my vision. I hired a career coach.
Over the past three months, I've felt a landslide of momentum. Like everything that was blocked is moving out of the way. (Or maybe I'm finally getting out of my own way.)
This shift has been dramatic, and it's felt a whole lot like magic.
This week I listened to the Sunday Soother podcast interview with Melinda Lim, a multidisciplinary witch, and was immediately pulled in by Lim's definition of magic:
Magic is an internal shift that changes your external circumstances.
Well then, maybe all the therapy and journaling was something like magic all along.
Magic is believing it is possible to change, and deciding to move in the direction of our dreams.
Magic is being intentional.
Magic is saying, out loud, what you want and what you need.
Magic is taking the next small step.
Most of the time, the next right thing is something small: washing out your paintbrushes, stopping by the art-supply store and getting your clay, checking the local paper for a list of acting classes... As a rule of thumb, it is best to just admit that there is always one action you can take for your creativity daily. This daily-action commitment fills the form.
— Julia Cameron, The Artist's Way
Magic can be very, very practical.
Make a magic list. Write down the things that make you feel confident and sparkly. Then do one of the things on that list.
Reply to this email and let me know all about the magic you conjure ✨
Things I've consumed this week
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The last chapter of The Artist's Way. I'm writing an extra-long blog post about my transformative experience working through the twelve-week program. I'll let you know when it's posted.
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Meow Wolf, Denver! It was amazing.
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The aspens changing color in northern New Mexico
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Too much beef jerky and a gas station hot dog
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Lavender and sweet orange essential oils rubbed between my palms before bed
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This short but helpful NPR podcast about how to redefine a friendship
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A daily magnesium supplement. Is it doing anything??
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This vitamin C facial serum. I'm liking it a lot thus far.
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Purchased a few tiny crystals and stones at a metaphysical shop in Fort Collins
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Enjoying the empty space in my brain since taking a social media sabbatical. Maybe I won't return?