Good morning friends!

Have you cleaned anything out lately at your house? Find out that have more than you thought you did? Have you looked at your calendar lately and thought how can I do all of this? Have you been asked to do something only for you to feel overwhelmed as to how to answer?

To all of these quandaries enter this week's word: less. Less: a smaller amount or quantity of something.

Though a simple word and a math term that we teach our children (remember greater than or less than 1st grade math anyone?), less can be a great spiritual principle too.

Because here's the thing about the lifestyle of plenty-- it doesn't always leave us satisfied. When we are always in the rat race for more, it's so easy to not enjoy what is right in front of us.

Do you know what I mean?

Chatting with some friends recently, I realized how much our quest for MORE was weighing us all down. Everyone's issues in the circle of conversation seemed to stem from too little time to do all the things that everyone thought they needed to do. This got me thinking, might less be what we all needed to find our peace? Such as:

Less commitments to stuff just for the stake of it.

Less nights of plans.

Less friendships of the fluffy nature.

And most of all a lot less noise on an average Saturday or Sunday afternoon.

I will admit, though, that living into less can feel scary. It can mean disappointing people you love. It can mean stepping away from things that defined you (and you can easily wonder-- who am I without that?). It can mean having blocks of time where you might just have to think big thoughts about your life (that normally you'd just like to skip over) because the only voice around you is yours!

Sometimes, I believe, we avoid less because we're afraid of what we might find underneath all the noise.

But in inviting less into your life, I believe you're making room for the best things to be MORE. More work that is yours to do. More nights at home where you could look up at the stars if you wanted to. More connections with people you love.

So here's your homework this week if you are up for it. Pick a day soon that you'd normally have a lot of plans. If possible, cancel them all. Yes, that is what I said. Cancel. And see what might come of your less.

Excited to be on the journey with you of having less (that can be more!)-

XO

Elizabeth

Good Sunday morning to you, my friend!

Today, I'm thinking about how our recent experience of a global pandemic has been one big "I never saw this coming," right?

Everything about our lives, our work, our community life has been changed forever. What we've lived through is the definition of our word for this week: interruption.

Interruption is defined as something that causes a stoppage or break in the continuity of something.

Of course, I could go on and on about the negatives of the interruption called Covid-19. I have a long list. You have a long list. Many of you have lost loved ones. Others have lost jobs. All of have lost in these pass couple of years: FUN! Clearly, interruptions are full of consequences.

But are ALL interruptions bad?

When I think about what I have learned, this is where I land: clarity. With so much being "canceled" over the past couple of years-- so much hasn't.

I've seen there are dreams for my future I can't delay with more of "it's not the right time." I've seen friendships that need attention even if Zoom calls are how we talk. In my professional life, I've seen words that must be written or preached because I know how much they matter (because if not now, when?)

I love how author Sonya Renee Taylor sums it up: "We will not go back to normal. Normal never was. Our pre-corona existence was not normal other than we normalized greed, inequity, exhaustion, depletion, extraction, disconnection, confusion, rage, hoarding, hate and lack. We should not long to return to any of these friends. We are being given the opportunity to stitch a new garment."

And this is the gift of interruption: the new. We know what is ours to do. We see more clearly so we can head in that direction.

Would you be up for some deeper thinking on this? Here's your assignment to think about for the week:

What are you most curious about right now? Is there anything you did pre-Covid that you'd like to permanently discard?

As we all begin to go back to some new normal way of being in community with each other, it's good to stop and ponder what this HUGE interruption has taught you and how your insight is going to lead you in new ways.

On the journey with you this week-

XO

Elizabeth