On Readiness vs Aliveness
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When you are able to trust yourself to take risks and move through the unknown in the belief that you will be able to manage whatever challenges arise, then you are able to navigate the space of generative discomfort.
But I don’t think that generative discomfort is the only thing that happens in that overlap between self-trust and risk-taking. I think that Aliveness also happens there.
Think about the times when you have felt most alive. Has there not been an element of both self-trust and risk-taking in those moments? A way in which you gave yourself permission to believe that you could do the kinda scary thing, and then you did it, and it felt so enlivening?
Sometimes we get so caught up in the fear of doing something new, that we forget how alive it can make us feel.
So maybe the question that we ask shouldn’t be: Am I ready?
But rather: Am I ready to feel more alive?
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When I think about the energy of self-trust and risk-taking coming together, I think about that moment when summer becomes fall. When you go outside, after so many months of feeling warm, and there’s that first little nip in the air. You’re the tiniest bit chilled, but it feels invigorating because it’s new. You’re in that magical space in-between, where one season is falling away and a new season is coming in and it’s so enlivening — to stand on the cusp.
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What cusp are you standing on?
What wants to emerge?
What feels alive?
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“Slowing down is about lingering in the places we are not used to. Seeking out new questions. Becoming accountable to more than what rests on the surface. Seeking roots. Slowing down is taking care of ghosts, hugging monsters, sharing silence, embracing the weird.”
—Bayo Akomolafe, A Slower Urgency
“People are hungry for an approach that doesn’t treat our fellow citizens as enemies but rather treats our fellow citizens as neighbors, even if we disagree with them — an approach that’s filled with grace.”
—Sarah McBride, Ezra Klein Show
✨
How can I find love? “You don’t find love. You give it.”
David Hockney, collage, and the return to awkwardness
47 quotes to inspire your creative practice
Rick Rubin’s “The way of code”
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Shout-Outs:
The artwork is: Yaroslav Shkriblyek, who is based in Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine.
Link ideas from: Shira Erlichman and Sebene Selassie.
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Every few weeks, I share provocative ideas about culture, consciousness, and creativity, alongside beautiful artwork, in my newsletter. I also host the Hurry Slowly podcast, teach online courses, and practice energy work. Learn more at: www.jkg.co
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