Thrive

I sat down this morning to write a blog post, without really knowing what to write about. I would love to say that I have an early morning routine of yoga and meditation, long walks along the beach, etc., but my day starts with a good morning text to my partner (often penned as “hi” if I’m feeling groggy at 5:30 am). If possible, I replay my dreams from the previous night, thinking about how they connect with my daily life or mind-space, and I sometimes create a daily mantra that I try to greet the day with. From there it’s a lazy scroll through Instagram and Facebook while I spend another half hour or so under my blankets. Once I’m up, the day begins with e-mails, breakfast, dishes, and now this, adding something of substance to my blog.

Our little secret, some days I don’t feel as inspired as others. I watch the trees about to burst with green outside my window, I monitor the ticking of a clock on the wall, I say hello to a little spider on the ceiling and check the growth of my little Joshua tree, but these hardly seem like things to write about without something more meaningful to relate them to.

But on this particular morning, something feels different. I’ve grown quite accustomed to solitude and the romantic sort of melancholy that goes along with it, but today is glowing. Growth and beauty are emerging from a social media scroll– My dear friend Erin has graduated from nursing school. Jenna had her baby in Thailand. Kari received her MFA. Jon was awarded Teacher of the Year. Sara is on honeymoon. It is like a sudden explosion of wonderful. I’m filled with warmth for the joy in each of their lives and my smile widens.

When we shift our attention to things like this, the leaves turn a little more green, time fades into the background, spiders respond, and you recognize that there’s much more growth than what is rooting itself in your own little pot.