invocation

May we grow in wisdom. May we root down more deeply, as we reach into ourselves, our awareness, and our capacity for our experiences. May we come face to face, willingly and boldly, with our own fears and inadequacies, with all the lessons we’ve yet to learn, with our weaknesses and areas of opportunity. May we notice our own biases and specific lenses, as often as possible. May we decide to experience our lives and embody our learned lessons (allowing information to be forged into transformation — genuine understanding and change — only through lived experience). May we work hard, as well as rest and play. May we find a deep contentment, satisfaction, and confidence in who we are, and then live in alignment with that true self, every day, in word and deed. May we be our own best friend and ally. May we be authentic and kind and filled with gratitude, delight, and wonder for our lives.

P.S. My summary at the end of gritty persistence is reminiscent of this invocation, too, so I’ll copy it here:

If nothing else comes out of my wildly uncomfortable, challenging, frustrating (though also joyful, delightful, and beloved in many ways!) experience of being a twenty-something wondering everything there is to wonder, with few answers, and trying to figure out moving my life forward, with much belabored effort, impatience, and such long liminal spaces of tension — No Longer Here but Not Yet There — at least I hopefully will begin to embody more resilience and the capacity for joy in the middle of chaos, stress, and unknowns. The ability to carry on and keep carrying on, with delight and curiosity instead of obligation and doom. The wonder to ask What If? and to move forward into each new day with a gentleness, boldness, and brightness. The wisdom to be present in the moments of my life. A stubborn “hopepunk” for good times and bad.

It’s what I wish for myself. It’s what I’m trying to practice. Maybe you too?