hey, surprise cheese tray.

i talk a lot about trusting yourself at least as much as everyone else, and listening to the wisdom within over the noise of what everyone else thinks or claims to know

and i’m aware that it can be challenging, especially at first, to actually do that

when you’re used to trusting other experts over your own internal knowledge + expertise, your own voice can actually be difficult to detect

you might confuse your negative self-talk for the truth, or misidentify your mother’s voice in your head as your own, for example

you might think that any voice is THE voice, or mistake words that feel familiar for ones that ring true — misreading conventional wisdom as intuition, appearances as signs

on last week’s UPRISING inner sanctum group call, our community card was pulled in reverse, which can signify a number of different things, or nothing at all

some people translate a reversed card as indicative of an obstacle, an area for which to seek extra self-care support, or something worthy of deeper attention

some ignore the direction in which the card is pulled entirely

what i refer to as the “reverseness” of a card can be the key to its most powerful interpretation in a particular moment, but the path there isn’t always clear

last week’s card was pulled from elizabeth dialto’s wild soul oracle deck, and it said:

WHAT WE HAVE IN COMMON (we are ALL made from divine love)

with such an uplifting message, it can be pretty disorienting to think of its significance in reverse —

like, are we meant to accept that we are NOT all made from divine love? or that what we have in common ISN’T important?

and i mean… you know i’m not here to deliver anything as THE one unquestionable truth, so if those are the wisdoms that speak to you — then you do you, bloom 🌸

but i’ll share a couple quick alternative riffs that i brought to our community conversation, for you to take if they resonate or discard if they don’t

either way, i hope they encourage you to expand your lens by way of what you see in the cards + what they call forth from you —so that you may discover whatever else you may find useful

(if you’re interested in developing this practice of honoring intuitive wisdom in your business decisions, let’s talk about it)

from a business point of view, this pull could be an invitation to lean into what makes YOU different, and/or what makes your ideal clients + customers different —

to speak to what sets you apart + appeal to what sets THEM apart

for example, rather than trying to appeal to all small biz visionaries, i might lean into a difference point i haven’t yet focused on, one that may not even seem super relevant, but could end up being a golden connection thread, like:

you’re done lining big box pockets + are ready to go small biz or bust…
you’re an auntie who gets to go hard because she gets to give the kiddos back + take a nap (and it’s time to activate that same superpower in your biz!)
they convinced you that you weren’t good at business, but maybe you just aren’t good at doing business THEIR way

similarly, you might be called to think about what your ideal clients + customers are all “made from,” and to let that guide your approach —

you’re made from a love of wonder + a healthy appreciation for spreadsheets, you take your strategy dipped in serendipity + glitter
equal parts moonbeam ice cream, watermelon sugar + tennessee whiskey, you’re an uncommon culinary treat that flies under radar but hits hard when it hits
made of rebel yells + silver bells, flower petals + heavy metal… you defy norms with a kiss to build a dream on and blaze trails in shades of ice + wine

(i’m not saying that any of these are winners out the gate lol, but they’re great starting points to shake up potentially stale messaging)

in a more overarching way, i know a lot of us are struggling to understand folks on different sides of big political issues, and finding or connecting to divine love in or for them can feel super challenging right now, to say the least

while the reverseness of the pull miiiight hint to the benefits of shifting your perspective or POV —

it might also serve as an unexpected invitation to just not give much of a fuck about understanding the divine love buried deep in folks who insist on embodying a stark disconnection from it

that’s the part that you might very much need to hear (as a member of the sanctum said she did)

it’s also the part that might feel mad wrong to say

because when we hear guidance to look at things from a different point of view, especially when grappling with people we can’t seem to see eye to eye with — it can sound like the “right” message

and when it sounds right, we might trick ourselves into believing it FEELS right

we might ignore the little knot that forms in our stomachs, even as our heads nod in recognition

the part of us that wants to be accepted, that wants to be “good,” will latch on to that common “evolved” person guidance + champion it as true, even as our insides tell us it might not be the truth we need right now

and every time we trust what sounds good over what feels true, we unwittingly reinforce the belief that even just thinking for a moment about NOT doing that “evolved,” good-sounding thing is something to hide out of shame because it makes us “bad”

and THAT makes it ever more difficult to HEAR the deeper wisdom within

because while sometimes familiarity is a sign to keep going, others it’s just what’s comfortable. or what we’ve been conditioned to believe to be true

and when indoctrination runs deep, shitty things will feel familiar

so it’s important to develop a fuller range of body cues + sensory signals as you navigate the landscape of effective + emotionally supportive intuition-driven decisionmaking

and yeah…

maybe it’s time to stop working so damn hard to redeem folks who aren’t invested in redeeming themselves

and maybe your energy + attention is better spent healing yourself + engaging with folks who don’t need to be convinced to do the work or be a decent human

now, we can’t ALL give up on those we perceive to be assholes or hard cases all the time lol

but the world won’t end if we dare to give up, even for just a little, on some

and it may be just the thing you need to keep yourself whole + well for the big work + long haul ahead

thoughts? you know i’d love to hear em

xxoo, cc

BEHIND THE ENDEARMENT:

the other night a dear friend who’d moved recently hosted a housewarming friendsgiving, and we had shared a list in the group chat of who was bringing what. one brilliant soul brought a gorgeous selection of cheese + crackers IN ADDITION to what we thought she was going to bring, it was super delicious + ultra decadent in its own right, and all the more so because NO ONE was expecting it

and you, my dear, are as delightfully delicious + decadent as a surprise cheese tray!

so many community members have mentioned that they enjoy finding out what i’m going to call you at the top of each email, so i thought i’d experiment with dropping some context at the end.

are you into hearing context around the names i call you at the top of emails, or nah?

hell yeah i am... I WANNA HEAR IT ALL!

i mean sure... why not lol?

love ya, but will honestly prolly never read them

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