Notes from the Heart (Email Newsletter, May 5, 2021)

(1,100 words)

Hello friends,

I hope you are soaking in some beauty and finding a moment of calm.

The air is soft with early morning birdsong here, and I have a half-cup of coffee nestled in my lap. I'm sitting on the big madrone tree at Seward Park again, feeling appreciative just to be breathing.

The clouds burst a moment ago with a spring rain shower. I only know because I can hear drops hitting the broad maple leaves that form a protective canopy over my journaling session.

Have you been vaccinated? I hope so, and if not I hope you can be soon. I received two Pfizer shots in March and April, liquid gold. Again, gratitude.

Spring roared to life this year with a velocity of green growth that seemed almost surreal. In the midst of that mad rush to re-emerge, anxiety kept rising up too. My Alexander Technique teacher reminded me I have time.

This little phrase, "I have time," is like a magic spell. Try it for yourself.

Go ahead, whisper it aloud now. I have time.

We always have time. There is time to take a breath and become present, before we decide what action to take next.

When I find myself feeling rushed, worried it won't all get done or I'll be late to an appointment or miss my own life, I remind myself "I have time" and suddenly I do. All the time in the world, really. My body responds by calming, shoulders relax, breath and heart rate slow, and I drop for a moment or longer into true presence.

No one I know escaped from anxiety entirely in the past year. I've never considered myself a particularly anxious person, so I didn't recognize it at first. I coped for awhile with wine every evening. Transitions from the work day into the evening hours were the hardest for some reason. Everyone has their own strategies for soothing anxiety, I know.

I stopped drinking wine in early February this year and feel a lot better. I can count on one hand the number of glasses I've had since then, each one savored fully. I can still taste the pinot noir from my birthday when I close my eyes.

I've replaced wine drinking with healthier evening habits over the last three months: longer walks, reading books, drinking flavored sparkling water (lots of this), eating dark chocolate, listening to podcasts, and finding beauty.

The search for beauty begins when I wake. I carry my camera to the lake, letting my eyes adjust along the way as my peripheral vision picks up which flowers are blooming and how the light falls. I take photographs, marveling at how it is never the same scene. Every day is different.

The search continues during short screen breaks from my work. I might go sit in the yard and look at the wisteria my dad gave me a few years ago. It never wanted to bloom before, but it's blooming like crazy now... hi Dad.

Each discovery is a reward for my brain, I can practically feel the synapses fire and the rush of endorphins, a flood of feel-good chemicals, maybe oxytocin? Whatever it is, it soothes and calms my anxious body and mind. The camera helps me focus and enjoy the experience longer.

Last night, I walked by the grocery store and found muted red and creamsicle-colored ranunculus for sale, and instinctively picked them up and bought them. This morning they were the first bit of beauty I noticed. I took 84 photographs of them.

I think beauty helps change our brains for the better.

light signatures

Speaking of cameras and capturing beauty, I'm SUPER excited to share some news! I'll be teaching a photography course this summer, it's called Light Signatures. This is something I've wanted to do for a few years now, and it's time.

Light Signatures is a six-week online and hands-on course designed to teach the creative skills behind beautiful images--the kind infused with light--that will reflect your vision, your brand, your message, your heart.

It's designed for heart-centered creatives, solopreneurs, small business owners, and really anyone for whom capturing beautiful, cohesive, heartfelt photography matters.

Photography is one of my lifelong loves, and I can't wait to share it. I hope you'll consider joining. We get started on June 7.

You can learn more and register here: Light Signatures 2021.

the lucia collective

I just want to say that I am loving The Lucia Collective, so much! Thank you to everyone who has joined, I hope you are enjoying it as much as I am.

So far we are a loose-knit band of 35 creative hearts from at least four countries (U.S., Denmark, Finland, Switzerland) and as many states. We include authors, poets, yoga teachers, a library designer, artists, communications professionals, MBAs, therapists, movement instructors, a chief of staff, a winemaker and a travel writer!

Each month a new notebook arrives with a themed essay, journal prompts, ideas and inspiration, and a recorded meditation. Later in the month, I share a longer audio voice note, kind of like a private podcast. I'm having fun recording these, and I’d like to turn them into two-way conversations very soon, moving from heartfelt monologues to inspired conversations. If you know of someone I should interview, please send me a note!

In March, our theme was The Beauty of Re-emerging. In April it was Inviting Lightheartedness.

For May, I'm thinking of Growing Intuition & Dahlias, because this feels like what I need to do right now. My access to intuition sort of dissipated last year. Was it because of grief? Or the weirdness of connecting with colleagues and clients through a screen every day? Zoom calls are super disorienting, and yet they are now the norm. Whatever it was, I want to spend May opening back up to intuition by revisiting the practices and tools that enable connection and trust in a deeper kind of knowing.

You are welcome to join us! Learn more and sign up here: The Lucia Collective

The May notebook is in progress now and will be delivered to inboxes on May 7!

lucia volume four

A brief update on a most important item! I am working to bring the next print volume of Lucia to life, and expect to be able to share it with you this autumn. September is the goal. Thank you for your ever-present patience and encouragement. 

I hope you are finding lots of healthy ways to increase goodness and joy. Keep shining your light, this world needs your sparkle, creative life force and love.

I'm so glad you're here.

Yours in the eternal hunt for beauty,

Laura

P.S. I am reading The Book of Joy, a conversation between His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Demond Tutu about lasting happiness in a changing world.

P.P.S. To purchase Lucia's print volumes, visit our website, here.

Laura Lowery is the founder, editor and publisher of Lucia. She does her best to lead a creative life. Whether triumphant or stumbling, Laura shares daily notes (that are often weekly) here on luciajournal, including stories, behind-the-scenes happenings, little doses of inspiration, and large quantities of curiosity and heart. She is pleased to meet you.