Welcome to The Pause, dear friend. Come on in and make yourself comfortable.
As birthday month winds down in the Liu house, I’m feeling hopeful for each of our respective new years to come.
Dangerous in the times so near-after covid? Perhaps.
But, man, it feels incredible to feel hope emanating, and I want to hold onto it for as long as possible.
As for today, we’re gonna carve out a moment for the moments that make us feel alive.
Settle in, take a deep breath, and get ready to pause in 3...2...1...
♥️ More Hugs
Last night I lifted my daughter out from the tub. Wrapped her up like a little baby burrito. Kissed her cheeks. Rubbed her hair to help it air dry. And then, just as I was checking off the final bathtime to-do, I stopped.. hypnotized and hyper-present by my daughter’s sudden surrendering of her full self into my arms as she whispered:
More hugs, Mama.
We sat there for three full minutes, the bathroom quiet save the lingering notes of We Don’t Talk About Bruno.
Her, content: head on mommy’s heart, wrapped up in the comfort of home. Me, in awe: eyes closed, nostrils burning from trying to hold back tears.
I felt everything in that moment.
I felt the wonder of what I could have possibly done right to be the benefactor of such beautiful, pure, tear-jerking love.
I felt the lurking awareness that one day I would yearn to experience this moment again.
I felt a deepening connection to my parents, their parents, and their parents before them who likely found themselves wrapped up in the magical moments of raising a child, as well.
And I felt a calming, peaceful knowing that, if I were to die in that moment, I would die grateful, grounded, in awe, and in love.
To acknowledge the obvious, our lives move fast. One minute we’re kids.
The next we’re raising kids of our own.
And, even though we try to stay rooted in the gifts of today, we find ourselves wrapped up in the to-do list of tomorrow, draining the precious moments of now obsessing over the never-to-be outcomes of later.
However, much to our benefit, every so often, a moment comes along that shocks us into the present and reminds us of what it means to feel alive.
We sense our lungs expanding.
We witness our surroundings in full color.
We let down those emotional walls we’ve built over our lifetimes.
And, in turn, we experience a moment so heartbreakingly beautiful we know we will yearn for it for the rest of our lives.
Today is a perfect day to take a moment to feel alive, dear friend.
To appreciate the preciousness and fleeting nature of being alive in this time period, in this location, on this day, as no one other than you.
⏸ Pause & Reconnect
Put your hands on your heart. Take a deep breath. Allow yourself to feel what it means to be alive, right here, right now, in this moment, as you.
What’s something in your life that you anticipate yearning for in the future?
What’s something you yearn for from your past that you wouldn’t have imagined yearning for in the moment?
Relish the remainder of your month, dear friend (and here’s a little bonus tear-jerker to accompany you on the way out).
Until we meet again. 🖤
- L
P.S. Before we part, I can’t recommend Bittersweet: How Longing and Sorrow Make Us Whole enough. I don’t quite have the words to explain how much I cherish the research and the case it makes for why bittersweet life moments are the key to living a deeper, more connected life but suffice to say reading it has changed me forever and for the better.