Reflections from Unravel Your Year (an annual ritual, thanks to @alliemullin for introducing me, and to @susannahconway for making & gifting this every year) At the end of 2014, I wrote this to the me of right now: "Dear Love, You are on the right track, and you know it. By this time, you also know that much of this journey is cyclical, and I probably don't need to say you will continue to meet your humanity again and again over these next years. But be assured, just as you've released a measure of your attachments to outcomes and approval, you can and will begin to shed other addictions over time. They will lighten their hold with continued attention, awareness, and commitment. You are mutable. The most important thing you can do is make space to be present with yourself, resuming your regular practices and journaling, and managing your mood by getting enough rest, getting outside, and monitoring your energy levels. Trust your heart. Trust what enlivens and excites you, and trust that calm, stable, true center. This, you know, is the most important work you can do. By making more space for yourself, you can soften your needs for stimulus and distraction. By trusting and creating space, you can spend more time in that calm center - gain tolerance for the times when it feels inaccessible - and do more of what enlivens you. By creating supportive structures, you'll create even more space, for success in your stated missions, a stable income, and continued growth (inner&outer). In three years time, once again you'll be in awe of how far you've come and all that has brought you here. You'll have the community you seek and a solid sense of your responsibility; a stable, grounded humility from which to serve; and an impact that comes largely from allowing people to witness who you are. Keep up the good work. Keep practicing. Create the space you need. All is coming. Love, Me" If ever I doubt myself, the me of 3 years ago has proven wise. 2017 has been hard in some deep, heart wrenching ways. And this IS practice. Messy. Human. Showing up, even when I *know* I am stumbling - this is the only way to learn. We cannot avoid all the damage we do, to ourselves an