Just had to tell you, Jen, how much I absolutely ADORED this post. Desire is one of the guiding lights of my creative life and it’s so wonderful and refreshing to see more people talking about it!! Also I just love your work. I’ve been reading and following your work for almost 20 years now, which is like wild to me. (I first read your Comfort Queen book when I was a teenager!!) Anyways thank you for being awesome and for touching the hearts of folks you don’t even know, like me! 🥰
This hits on the same level as my post about ego - the stories it tells often shuts down desires before we even truly feel them. And you're right, we get a lot of those stories from society and patriarchy. Buying into those stories (and how can we not, bludgeoned by then as we are) diminishes us, shrinks us into nearly nothing.
Yet we're still there. Waiting for better stories to set us free.
Thank you for bringing new stories to our egos, so that we might open ourselves back up to our divine desire and truly live once more! 🫂🥰
We question if we are worthy of the want. Instead of just accepting it and acknowledging it, we start a conversation in our head about why we can’t have it. Then steps in shame and guilt for even entertaining the thought of the desire.
We can’t just hold the want. Whether it is something so simple as a haircut or more elaborate like wanting to go on a Disney cruise.
Oh, and if we do hold on to it, we call it a dream— a.k.a something we never expect to receive. Lol.
It was an awesome workshop Jen! So many excellent points, one of my favorites being that noticing our desire does not take time, "maybe three breaths"! This is an excellent reminder as we often feel we need to wait for everything to be right. Paying attention is an acquired skill; from that place we can better discern our direction.
I find it interesting to consider desire as a spiritual path, it's something I've been contemplating a lot. I'll work to wrap my head around the right words in an upcoming post but I loved how you linked so much of your talk to yogic traditions. I am not a yogi but everything you said was fantastic.
Donna thanks for the amazing comment and reflection-- so much of what makes life worthwhile comes in those tiny moments including most of all knowing ourselves.
Just had to tell you, Jen, how much I absolutely ADORED this post. Desire is one of the guiding lights of my creative life and it’s so wonderful and refreshing to see more people talking about it!! Also I just love your work. I’ve been reading and following your work for almost 20 years now, which is like wild to me. (I first read your Comfort Queen book when I was a teenager!!) Anyways thank you for being awesome and for touching the hearts of folks you don’t even know, like me! 🥰
Nikki that is so so kind and lovely to read. I'm about to sit down to write and your words will be with me. Thank you!!!
This hits on the same level as my post about ego - the stories it tells often shuts down desires before we even truly feel them. And you're right, we get a lot of those stories from society and patriarchy. Buying into those stories (and how can we not, bludgeoned by then as we are) diminishes us, shrinks us into nearly nothing.
Yet we're still there. Waiting for better stories to set us free.
Thank you for bringing new stories to our egos, so that we might open ourselves back up to our divine desire and truly live once more! 🫂🥰
thank you for reading! And yes, this is so wise "he stories it tells often shuts down desires before we even truly feel them." So well said!!
We question if we are worthy of the want. Instead of just accepting it and acknowledging it, we start a conversation in our head about why we can’t have it. Then steps in shame and guilt for even entertaining the thought of the desire.
We can’t just hold the want. Whether it is something so simple as a haircut or more elaborate like wanting to go on a Disney cruise.
Oh, and if we do hold on to it, we call it a dream— a.k.a something we never expect to receive. Lol.
All I want is a quiet bath. 😉
beautifully said!!!! so right.
It was an awesome workshop Jen! So many excellent points, one of my favorites being that noticing our desire does not take time, "maybe three breaths"! This is an excellent reminder as we often feel we need to wait for everything to be right. Paying attention is an acquired skill; from that place we can better discern our direction.
I find it interesting to consider desire as a spiritual path, it's something I've been contemplating a lot. I'll work to wrap my head around the right words in an upcoming post but I loved how you linked so much of your talk to yogic traditions. I am not a yogi but everything you said was fantastic.
Thanks for all your hard work on this.
Donna thanks for the amazing comment and reflection-- so much of what makes life worthwhile comes in those tiny moments including most of all knowing ourselves.