The shift started fireside with two members of my "inner circle." We met up with one of our new friends, Amy, and two of her friends. Six of us in total, many of us strangers. We quickly connected over our stories of evolving into the woman we are today. Our host began our fire circle with a reading from Rebecca Campbell's book, Rise Sister Rise.
Allow me to give you a little context about how living life was going up to the point. My inner observer was highly engaged in watching me navigate greater states of vulnerability. I could see real progress in myself through better emotional control. I was aware of my self-care needs and followed through 75% of the time. And doing a fair job of keeping myself in a high-vibe state without the spiritual bypassing I can sometimes be guilty of. I watched as I still slipped into old patterns and felt disappointed in how I showed up in some of my interactions throughout the week. And everything was feeling like a lot of fucking work.
As my new friend, Amy, opened the circle with a reading, page 58, I assumed the tripod position with my hands on my knees, feeling breathless as the words she read aloud resonated deeply in my soul. I share my reflections on what that reading and the deep conversation among sisters opened up for me.
We never stop rising. We are always waiting to get to this place where it starts to feel easy and everything is back to groovy. But that simply isn't how life works for us as humans. As spiritual beings living in human bodies, that's what we came for, the work of rising and evolving into more of our divine nature. It's always going to be a mountain. Everyone is on their own climb of the mountain. Every path to the top of that mountain looks a little different.
No path up to the top of the mountain is easy. There will always be mental challenges. You might look at someone else's path and think they have it easier, but they don't. You might think the path you chose for yourself up that mountain feels too hard, and you want to quit and find a different route. That doesn't change the fact that you are still climbing the mountain. So you might as well stay the course. You have come this far, haven't you?
Instead of fighting against the climb, accept that it will never stop being work, sister. Let it go. Stop waiting for it to get easier. Stop letting the focus of the "hard" make you miss out on the JOY and LOVE that comes back to you from "doing the work." Don't miss that part because that's what you came here for too. Allow yourself to witness the joy and the love the world reflects back to you for doing "your work."
It's all around you. Be open to receiving it and allow it to flow back to you!
I share these reflections in deep gratitude for the sisters, no longer strangers, who accompanied me on the path to these new insights. To honor this new shift in myself, "Adventure of Me" by Rob Riccardo is my newest theme song. (Check it out and let me know what comes up for you.) My time around the fire in sisterhood eased the weight of the climb. Allowing myself to feel the heaviness of life alongside women who understood that kind of heaviness was, in fact, the love and joy being reflected back to me. It was the deep breath I needed. Now I am back to my living in my joy, acknowledging the work but not focusing on the effort required. Rather the fruits of my labor.
If you are craving sisterhood connections to "do the work" alongside of, check out the Moon Circles Virtual Healing circle preview here. We all might be climbing a mountain, but no one is on the mountain alone. Find people who make you feel lighter, stick close to them, and lean into the adventure together. It's more fun that way. At least, that's what's been true for me.
