The Art of Commitment & Presence
I promise it's way sexier than it sounds!!
What if it can be a super fun, flexible, and inspirational experiment?
Look at me committing to getting this out on a Thursday…
Today’s post will be short and sweet because I have SUMMERING to do! *Edited: was intended to be short and sweet but then circled back after said Summering to edit and send, and somehow added more!*
If you’re still waiting for your own “summer mode” to activate, we have a Juicy Life Minisode coming next week all about that.
If you’re looking to infuse a little joy into your life this week, definitely check out our latest episode with Grace Harry, Finding your GPS for Joy. There are so many fun ideas in this episode and we discuss many of the topics this newsletter has already explored, namely Play and Being a Pioneer for Weirdness, and Self-Connection
Creative Nuggs
You know I’m no stranger to “The Woo-Woo”.
It’s funny how Woo in some categories, feels more acceptable than others. For example, Woo as it relates to synchronicities, astrology, or the mysteries of creativity, all seem pretty common.
Woo around people channeling messages, on the other hand, oof - that took me a little minute to wrap my brain around.
It certainly did not, however, stop me from being curious and exploring. Here’s where I landed:
If it’s not hurting anyone, and it feels true for me, intuitively, then I choose to accept it.
You know that feeling when you hear something and you go “yes, I feel this. This feels true for me.” It translates in my body as an inner knowing. A feeling of insight. A calm wash over me.
On that note, I’ve been listening to some Abraham Hicks lately. I like the stories and metaphors, and I like the way it makes me feel.
*If you don’t know who or what that is, I will caution you to explore with an open mind and know that it might not be your source of what feels true for you.
At any rate, recently I heard this:
“You didn’t come for the manifestation, you came for the manifesting.”
Which simply means that we are here to create.
We are here for the process of creating.
They compare the immediate perceived gratification of getting the manifestation, to receiving a piece of gum that someone else has already chewed all the flavour out of.
The anticipation, the enjoyment of it all unfolding, has already passed.
Experiencing the process of creating, is presence.
Enjoying the day-to-day writing of our own stories, choosing how we want to experience our precious time here, and how/where we want to invest that time.
“When you see what’s present around you as if for the first time, you start to realize how astonishing it all is. As artists, we aim to live in a way in which we see extraordinary huddled in the seemingly mundane. Then challenge ourselves to share what we see in a way that allows others a glimpse of this remarkable beauty.”
Rick Reuben
We get to experience this wonder.
We get to commit to taking inspired action to create more beauty, more enjoyment, more connection.
What are you willing to fully commit to the manifesting of?
The Untangling
I used to think I had a fear of Commitment
I had created a big bad story around what commitment feels like—a feeling of being trapped. Not to mention all of the hard work it would require of me!
I thought I was afraid to commit, when really I just hadn’t found what I wanted to commit to.
I thought a commitment to something was one BIG thing. Like a relationship, a career path, or some form of discipline that would require a whole bunch of restriction…ick!
I didn’t know that commitment could feel joyful, or that it could feel hard—but it didn’t have to be in a help-me-I’m-trapped kind of way, more so in a growing pains kind of way.
What if commitment can just be a commitment to the next inspired action?
I recently had a “Creative Brain Untangling” Session with someone who was finally ready to take action…they just didn’t know which direction to go.
They told me they were tired of seeing other people have the balls to “just start” and then later watching their dreams take flight.
Everyone else seemed to be taking action around them, but they felt stuck because they believed they needed to make a big declaration/commitment to a career path, in order to take action toward it.
This story kept them paralyzed because they believed they could make the wrong decision.
We tend to see commitment in this binary way. You commit forever and it’s possible that you make the wrong decision. Or you just avoid all of that by not committing.
The thing is, when we decide to take action, many daily choices in that direction, add up to commitment.
We are the ones who continue to make the decision to commit. Over and over again.
And we can always change our minds.
It’s a commitment to showing up authentically and honestly, and to take inspired action in the direction of our intention.
And it doesn't always feel good, that’s true. But it serves a greater vision.
Our greater vision.
But we are not stuck. And decisions that are made from a place of inspiration can never be bad decisions.
We can start small.
With one inspired action toward something that is calling you.
What would be super fun for you to commit to adding more of in your life?
I thought I was fully committed to my acting career.
I thought I really really wanted it… but I also really really didn’t want to make all the sacrifices I thought I needed to (and did need to) make.
I had an all or nothing mentality, and I did not see how the commitment to the next inspired action was actually the path to commitment.
As an actor, I never really fit into any particular box.
And I really thought I had to.
Not quite right for the leading lady, not quite right for the quirky best friend, and unlike Goldilocks, nothing ever fit just right.
I would get really frustrated when the perpetual advice/answer was that if I didn’t want to try to shoe-horn myself into those roles, then I would need to create something new.
I hated this advice.
I didn’t want to have to create it, I wanted it to be given to me.
It’s not fair. Why can other people just fit, and I can’t!?
Lucky for me, I made a new friend in acting class who wanted to create.
We’ve been friends ever since and she reads this newsletter - Hi P, I love you!
Together we made a Pilot for a TV show called Walk of Shame.
I will never forget the process of manifesting that pilot, how it all perfectly unfolded — we were ON TOP OF THE WORLD — it was so much fun for us.
We wanted to continue creating…but our creations often took the back seat to real stuff, like auditions.
P was ALL in on acting, and so were many of our friends.
If I’m honest, I didn't really believe I could make it as an actor the traditional way, I was trying to hack the system.
Auditions became annoying to me. I didn’t want to have to put the work in.
I started to resent that they impeded my other interests. I now had a taste for creating. And because of acting, I now had a taste for personal development.
I just did a quick google and did you know that less than 2% of actors make a living wage as an actor? 2%!
And yet…
My friends who were ‘all in’ on acting, who were fully committed, I have seen them all succeed.
This my friends, has been one of my greatest life lessons:
Despite the statistics, those who are fully committed cannot fail.
So whatever you’re doing right now, whatever your big audacious dream is—the one where statistics show the odds are stacked against you—do not underestimate the power of showing up. Over and over again.
If you’re all in on the dream, the dream is all in on you.
My dream now is the overlap between Creativity & Personal Development, so naturally I coach people around their own personal development to serve their Creative dreams (and vice versa)!
And it’s the best!
Now my commitment serves me more than I ever thought possible! It’s creative and collaborative and reciprocal—my clients creativity and personal development fuels and inspires my own!
I’m so grateful that I didn’t fit into any of those boxes so I could earn the wisdom to encourage you to color outside the lines (or wherever your inspiration takes you!)
Abundance Aggregate
Today I’m sharing a few words from my friend Jess Janz.
Jess is a writer who also hosts an amazing dinner party series in Toronto called Dinner with Strangers, which I’ve had the pleasure of attending. The premise is obvious, but Jess thoughtfully curates questions that instantly connect people and create intimacy. No phones, and you’re not allowed to talk about “what you do for a living.”
We have also been lucky enough to host Jess as a guest on This Juicy Life.
I’ve been thinking about this sentiment a lot lately…
How miraculous it is that we are all here belonging to each other like we do.
If you have found your way here and you are reading these words, I know that you know what I’m talking about.
How unbelievable that we found each other, that some kind of Woo has brought us all together to create true abundance through community that is built on care and love.
Take a minute today and reflect on how you came in contact with your communities, and your chosen people. When you think about all of the plot twists, detours, and curve balls it took you to get to them, it might start feeling quite a bit more magical than coincidence.
We have a profound effect on each others lives.
What could possibly be more abundant than that?
Thank you for being here… you truly make my world more expansive and abundant than I ever thought possible.
Spread the love my friends, and happy miraculous and present Summering!
xo
Lauren