Life Is Here

Entering into an unexpected season of grief, and not just from the election results.

My daughter's biological dad has entered hospice after fighting terminal cancer for over three years.

Our first snowfall seems timely.

Snow is somehow loud and quiet at the same time, a lot like life.

Hi friends, the Contemplating Beauty blog is back. I've learned so much about myself since I've been away from this space. A lot of my content here will be about my absence from writing and all the things I've been learning, working on, and the healing that has taken place. Hopefully, this space will be a place of encouragement & inspiration to you. I have found that because of all the life changes and personal work I've done for the last four years specifically,  that created some sort of self-expression block. Especially with writing. So much worrying about who is reading, what they think of what they read, am I saying something that will hurt someone, and on and on. It never ends, but I'm trying to change that, now. I just want clarity, and to freely express my life through writing. I want to share what I know, my life experiences, and all the things in between. 

Some of what you might find here are lists, like lists of all the things I've learned about myself, lists of the top no no's in relationships, or lists of ways to heal, etc. I absolutely love anything in list form, so I am definitely going to channel that energy. You will also find personal reflections, my thoughts/advice on life and sometimes I may get worked up about injustice that's going on in the world. Overall you'll find a mixture of practical and spiritual insights. I take an authoritative approach in my life so you'll pick up on that here as well.

A Poem For The End of 2024 & Why I haven't blogged in so long

I want to get started with my first post, which is a poem for our time, but I also wanted to share why I'm back on my blog. Once I started writing again, about a year ago I decided to join Substack, funny enough I didn't realize Substack was a social media platform 😁

Substack overwhelmed me. In the few pieces that I wrote, I felt like I was trying to be seen and get noticed. I felt like I was trying to make someone happy but I didn't know who.

I also felt like I didn't know who I was writing to. For some reason, I felt restricted, not myself. Here, I can just be ME. I don't need a theme, or a niche or a specific audience. I don't totally understand it, but that's how I feel. Being a Highly Sensitive Person definitely plays a role in this response😇

I hope you'll be on this journey with me as I continue to find my voice and my place on the internet. And yes, I'm still dreaming of writing and publishing a book-believe it or not, I'm getting closer!

Coming back here to my first writing home seems like the right move and more importantly doesn't feel overwhelming, I feel safe here. I don't feel the need to impress, I can just be myself. If you want to be here, I'd love for you to subscribe, that way you can receive emails of all my posts!

Sunset out my front window

Life In The Midst

a poem

Life is embedded in the memories that once existed

buried in years past

those years are still here, 

we can imagine the conversations

we can feel the bodies against our skin

we can hear the words

feel the pain

life is in the glimpses, not in the always

it is in the holding on and the courage to let go

life is in the faces of those experiencing healing and hope in the midst of the unsure

the fleeting moments of affirmations, and understandings

life is in the breakthrough even though we are stuck

the spoken beauty and the unspoken

the speechless

it is in the expression even though dismissed

it is in the caring about the misuse of people

in the compassion extended

in the voice crying for justice

life is under the pile of worry

the loss of life and chance

it is in the tears

and the glimmers

it's in the emptying and filling up

it is found in the tethering of what is good

it is light

and rebirth

life is the gem of reprieve and rest

it is seeing the ugliness

and knowing how to add to the beauty

it is someone seeing you, validating your existence

it is in the emotions that you can't locate

and in the fullness of feeling

life is when you don't know what to do

and when you know what to do

when you can't grasp anything

it is in the ever-changing

and ever mundane

the unfamiliar 

the familiar

life is the trust of unknowing

and dancing with acceptance

life is here 

in the midst

in the hidden

in the possibility 

in the small

in the trinkle

in the twilight

at dusk

Sending love my friends,

Gina