folks, it is j u n e. can you believe it?! twenty sixteen is almost halfway over – and boy has my word for the year been spot-freaking-on.
back in january, i chose a word to inspire + carry me throughout the year. this year, the word is evolve… a word that evokes a sense of change + transformation, but without really knowing details or having a specific plan. for me, evolving is all about being open. trusting, breathing, accepting, allowing, moving ever forward, or upward, or inward; but moving slowly, intentionally, and with deep awareness. it is about living moment by moment.
for me, evolving is about becoming.
and, so, as i have chosen a word for every month in 2016, words that capture the essence of what it means to evolve – the steps and levels and phases of evolving, i am certain that i am exactly where i am supposed to be right now. what i mean is, back in december when i planned out the words for each month, i magically chose the perfect word for june.
unfold.
it feels like the past 5 months have very much all been the beginning stage of my evolving this year. and, after setting my intention, being brave, embracing the wild, finding my grounding, and feeling changes… it is time for something new to unfold.
literally.
now, i have no idea what it is that is unfolding, but i know that it is a new way of life. i’ve been settting the foundation and preparing myself for it throughout the past 5 months, and now it is time for it all to slowly begin to unfold. open. bloom.
and, whatever it is i feel, it is only just the beginning. it’s like the bud on a tree slowly, slowly, slowly opening up.
// so far in 2016, i have started a new job + am in the midst of completing this school year, ready to work hard to prepare for how i want to approach my work when the new year begins in august. it feels as if the possibilities are endless for ways that i can work with, coach, and mentor my students.
// my love + i also moved into a new home. the first home that we have ever owned. so, we have set down roots. roots that seem to make me feel more settled + free all at the same time. it’s an incredible blessing.
// and i am completing a year-long life coaching course, getting ready to launch a whole new opportunity of living a creative life + building a business for myself.
i’ve finished a bunch of big, huge, intense, deep, concrete life changes. things that have literally turned myself into something completely new. a way to begin to live out all that i have internally worked on for the past 8-9 years. that’s where i am right now.
it is a calm, peaceful, secure, grounded place. a place that comes from deep within, from a balanced place within my soul. the thing is, the unfolding part means that i am moving from focusing on my life within, to letting it all spill out into my life. i have begun to settle into all of the changes that have occurred and I have built a strong foundation + grown deep, strong roots… and recently i have begun to look outward + upward.
and now, it’s time to actively begin expanding the vision i have for my life. it’s time to let life unfold as it will.
and i finally understand that this is exactly how life is meant to be lived.
it doesn’t mean that you and i are passive, that we just let life happen. no, it’s not like that at all. in fact, it’s to be even more active than ever. but, to be active in choosing who we want to be + how we want to live. to be active beginning with our souls. it begins with a very internal journey. it is to discover our vision, cast it out to the universe, and then to surrender to how it all will manifest.
to let life unfold means to live life unattached and free, and yet completely grounded and secure. not secure in physical, material, or earthly things… but secure in ourselves. in who we are, in who we are created to be, in why we are here. finding that inner security, though, is not easy feat.
and, just because i have built my foundation over the past 8-9 years (it takes a long time, my friends), it doesn’t mean that i am completely secure. that i’ve found some magical way of living. well, i mean, i have found that. but, i’m not at all done. i have so much, much more to continue learn.
the growing and evolving and learning and transforming never ceases.
so, here are my top ten tips for learning to let life unfold
listen // to your soul. you already have all of the power + knowledge you will ever need because there is light and divinity and amazingness inside you, making you exactly who you are.
feel // exactly how you feel at any given moment
allow // everything. the silence, the noise, the confusion, the peace, the fear, the pain, the joy, the darkness, the light. allow it all. it is what it is. discover peace in the emptiness.
believe // that you are much more than all that you feel + experience. you are stardust. you are magic.
take it slow // breathe deep. meditate. walk. stop. enjoy. soak it all up.
set an intention // know where you want to go, how you want to live, the life that you want to create
observe + read the signs // know that the universe, god, is around + within you. and that there are mystical moments that give you guidance, that inspire you, that point you in the right direction, that remind you who you are. music. art. words. nature. places. people.
trust // in yourself. in life. in god. in love. in your purpose. in your dreams.
keep going // even if you have no idea what lies ahead
unfold // let it be. as long as it takes. so many times we cannot see what it happening, what is growing beneath the surface. but, changes are occurring. life is working itself out in its own time, not in ours. and, why, when this world exists in such balance, when nature gives us fours seasons year after year, would nature not also balance and harmonize our own lives… to the end that our vision becomes our reality.
to help us start to live a life that peacefully grows and changes, unfolding one moment at a time, i have created a playlist for june filled with all different kinds of songs. songs that beg us to slow down, and songs that push us to go further. songs that bring peace, and songs that bring inspiration. songs that challenge + remind + energize us. songs that celebrate life. read the titles, listen to the lyrics, allow the music to flow…
and, my friends, don’t be afraid. as one of my favorite heroes of the 13th century said, “all shall be well, all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well”*. no matter what. so, set your course, plant your seeds, and let your beautiful, amazing life simply unfold before you. what you will find is more beauty + peace than you ever could have imagined.
to find + subscribe to the playlist click >>> here or the photo of me above.
xoxo. liz
title – artist
Unfold – Message To Bears
Chrysalis – S. Carey
Bloom – Bonus Track – The Paper Kites
Meadows Of Dawn – The Pines
Wandering – Taarka
Take The Long Way – Po’ Girl
Open Up – Wild Rabbit
Slow Down – Bowerbirds
Run Wild – Laney Jones
Praise the Void – Bryan John Appleby
The Road – Bryan John Appleby
Times Goin’ – The Riverside
See the Light – Matrimony
Love Life Now – Paper Bird
Live And Die – The Avett Brothers
Head Full Of Doubt/Road Full Of Promise – The Avett Brothers
Daydreaming – Middle Brother
Silver Light – Trampled By Turtles
Things Happen – Dawes
Wherever You Are – Parker Millsap
Detour Sign – Aoife O’Donovan
The River Will – The Lowest Pair
Right Time – Nikki Lane
The Traveling Kind – Emmylou Harris, Rodney Crowell
Morning – William Wild
Snow Falls in June – Ryan Bingham
Get Up – Caitlin Canty
Something, Somewhere, Sometime – Ben Sollee
Transient Life In Twilight – James Blackshaw
Interlude – Lindsay Lou & the Flatbellys
Here Between – Lindsay Lou & the Flatbellys
The Time it Takes – Kendl Winter
Old Pine – Ben Howard
The Universe – Gregory Alan Isakov
Slow And Steady – Of Monsters and Men
On and On – Elephant Revival
Rhythm of the Road – Elephant Revival
Patience – Shovels & Rope, The Milk Carton Kids
Rivers And Roads – The Head and the Heart
Where I’m Going – The Wild Reeds
Peace Tonight – Elephant Revival
What’cha Gonna Do – Béla Fleck, Abigail Washburn
Song of the Traveling Daughter – Abigail Washburn
In The During Of A Moment – The Lowest Pair
No Shortcuts – Heather Maloney, Darlingside
Still Trying – Nathaniel Rateliff
Springtime – The Head and the Heart
The Longest Day – Megafaun
This Will End – The Oh Hellos
Oh Love – Prateek Kuhad
Unknown Legend – Shovels & Rope, Shakey Graves
Morningside – Dana Sipos
Gypsy – Live – Suzanne Vega
Home in Your Heart – Elephant Revival
The Desert – The Dead Tongues
Peace of Mind – Old Salt Union
Morning Song – Old Salt Union
Compass – Sierra Hull
Won’t Be Long – The Infamous Stringdusters, Sarah Jarosz
My Silver Lining – First Aid Kit
* quote from julian of norwich
I. Love. This. List. People often asked me when they hear my story of how I came to travel and whatnot what the “most important thing I’ve learned is” or “what advice I have” (still not sure why people think I’m qualified to give advice, but that’s another story) or “how I got to be happy” and the thing I almost always tell them is to listen to themselves because they have all the answers. I’ve only ever heard a version of that from yoga-related readings/teachings and so to read your words saying that truly made me smile. Awesome post, Liz. I love how you keep emphasizing and practicing the acceptance and the action, the saying yes to opportunities, the striving to be your most true self.