A pretty normal human response

Y’all, 

You kinda blew me away with your responses to my last essay (the one about Botox). It was my most read newsletter of all time, and a ton of y’all wrote to me after.

I literally said “f***ing fascinating” out loud by myself, to myself after reading your reflections.

As you’ve shared your thoughts on this and past essays, many of you have asked for a space to connect with others. Many of you noted that my writing makes you feel less alone. 

Same! Your responses make me feel less alone, and I’d love for y’all to benefit from hearing one another’s smart, personal, and hilarious insights.

This year, I’m excited to create conversation and community surrounding my writing. 

I want to connect with y’all and co-create a new space. 

Unfortunately, as soon as I start to get creative these days, it feels like my brain shuts down any idea I'm not certain about.

As my coach and friend Lindsay Bryan-Podvin explained, “This is a safety mechanism, which makes perfect sense given this current snapshot in time.

Why would anybody want to try anything that they're uncertain about right now? 

“This is a pretty normal human response.”

As I rewatch the Zoom of our coaching session, I can actually see the effect of her comments on my body. I’d literally been waiting to exhale.

I hadn’t realized I’d been holding my breath, pushing myself to make a decision or take action from a place of diminished capacity. (Wanna make strong decisions? Start by getting some oxygen!)

We’ve been pandemicking for almost 2 years. In the last year, I’ve written about the “ever-changing landscape” about a dozen times. 

I’m bored with being afraid and depleted. I’m tired of being tired. Because it's been so long, I’ve started to dismiss my exhaustion and lack of capacity. 

But here’s the thing: Just because it’s become standard doesn’t make it any less real.

Those feelings of depletion, helplessness, and fear are still valid. They’re still affecting my capacity, mood, and sympathetic nervous system. 

Today, I’m striving for self-compassion and to take small steps.

I don’t know what the final form of our community and conversation is going to look like yet, but I don't want that to stop us from sharing our thoughts now.

What are your thoughts on Botox?

I'd love for you to join the utterly fascinating conversations on Facebook, Instagram, or on my website. (Pick your poison!)

As we begin 2022 by continuing to navigate this ever-changing landscape [eye roll], I’m excited to continue the conversation and grow our lil community together.

Big hugs,

Lelia