Welcome to this issue of The Pause. Come on in and make yourself comfortable.
I’m grateful you’re here.
As the days of December come and go, I can feel the light of this year slowly beginning to fade, and I find myself thinking about all that I am deeply grateful for. These moments we share together are certainly one of those things; I have loved getting to know you on a deeper level, and I have appreciated getting to be seen on a deeper level.
To kick off the two final issues of 2021, I’d like to give out some free subscriptions to The Pause for 2022. If you’re a paying member, and there’s someone in your life who you’d like to share The Pause with, please reply with their name and email address, and I’ll give them a year’s subscription to The Pause, for free.
If you just read that and are like, “Wait! I want in!” come join the fun. Any annual or monthly membership you upgrade to this month will give you a year’s subscription to gift to one of your loved ones. Also, for free.
You have given me so much, friends. Truly. Thank you for being a continued source of light in my life and my days. I’m so lucky to do this with you.
Today, we’re going to take a moment to pause and reflect on how we’re approaching blessings when they unexpectedly come our way.
Settle in, take a deep breath, and get ready to pause in 3...2...1...
✨ Unexpected Blessings
With the recent IPO of Nextdoor, I’ve come to the realization that I will likely never have to work again unless I want to.
This realization is a massive, unexpected blessing. In all of my life dreamings, I never imagined at the age of 32 that this would be true for me, so I’ve been doing my best to sit and really consider the possibilities of what this means for myself and my family.
I’ve been known to struggle with accepting blessings like this when they come my way, especially when I feel I haven’t earned them, but I’m working to create a new relationship with the unexpected blessings of my life, which is why instead of questioning or arguing with this blessing, I’m putting effort into sitting with it, accepting it, and amplifying it. Instead of asking Why me? or declaring I haven’t earned this, I’m asking: How can I step into this blessing? How can I amplify what I get from this blessing to help those around me?
It’s a new way of being and accepting, and I’m finding it to be a beautiful gift to myself.
If you take a moment to think about what you do when an unexpected blessing comes your way, how do you typically handle it?
Do you argue with it? Deny it? Question it?
Do you accept it? Step into it? Amplify it to better yourself and the ones around you?
Choosing to feel grateful and appreciative of an unexpected or “unearned” blessing is just as valid as choosing to feel guilty and unworthy of it. Choosing to share and amplify an unexpected blessing is just as valid as choosing to downplay and minimize it. We always have a choice in how we approach the blessings of our lives, and that is a magically powerful thing. Can you imagine just how incredible it might be to whole-heartedly step into your blessings? Gives me goosebumps thinking about it.
As for my unexpected blessing, I’ve landed on accepting it with a gracious and humble heart. No guilt. No downplaying. No discrediting. Just a deep appreciation and love for how generous and surprising life can be.
⏸ Pause & Reflect
**Remember, there are no right or wrong answers; just what’s true for you.**
How do you typically react when you feel you haven’t “earned” a blessing that comes your way? Do you embrace it?
Would you like to adapt this reaction at all?
Are there current blessings in your life you’d like to approach differently? If yes, how?
Thank you for coming and spending this time together. I hope you go around the next couple of weeks embracing all the gifts life has to offer you with vigor.
Until we meet again. 🖤
- L