Hey Friends!
Happy New Year! It’s been a whirlwind two weeks here in my world and I wanted to send a quick accountability e-mail to not lose my streak :)
We’re moving! While we’ve been together two years, we don’t live together yet but that is all changing THIS SATURDAY. It was very important to me to not live with someone unless we had the promise of a life together and I’m so grateful we stuck to our commitment. Call me old school, I don’t care- it worked for us.
The best part of moving is unearthing old journals, and like a true Pisces, I spent over an hour last night reading mine. I stumbled upon old poems, the beginning of my character, Audrey with the Extraordinary Camera, and so much more.
My favorite moment was stumbling upon my journal from 2019- that year was… hard, to say the least- but, there were so many sprinkles of Dan as my friend in it. By September of 2019 I was separated, and by December I was coming to many realizations on the precipice of my third decade on earth. The last entry to that journal is on 12/17/19 and it was the day Dan and I confessed we had feelings for each other. I won’t share the nuances of the entry, mainly because if you think I’m not incorporating this into my vows you’re crazy, but I wrote:
“Maybe one day, just not today. I need to work on not being so reactive before I can be with him. And, maybe one day I’ll be able to move forward, but until then, I just need to heal. What if being together is everything we both ever dreamed of? This dream we assume is unattainable- just sitting in arms reach? What if we try?”
And, here we are.
In re-reading my old journals, I felt a sense of sadness for how much past Leanne carried as a burden. But, I also saw how powerful my thoughts are. I wrote every day that I wanted to be a successful photographer, and I am. I wrote about how I wanted to live creatively and freely, and I am. Through so much heartache and uncertainty, I still had this vision of my life and now, here I am- in it. It gives hope to the idea of manifestation, but more so, it gives a grounding principle to the idea that your thoughts become things.
In this week of New Year Resolutions, I hope you all take a moment to realize you are enough as you are. If there is something you want to change about yourself, give yourself the grace to make those changes with ease. I hope you talk kindly to yourself, I hope you keep the vision of your life at the forefront of your imagination. I hope you daydream about the abundance you crave so much, that you already feel it in your bones. Resolutions are tricky and don’t work for everyone. Personally, I am in the mindset of a “word” of the year, but we are all different and have different motivators.
This year, my word is “Continuation.- the action of carrying something on.” It’s not easy, but I want to continue to release the unnecessary pressure I put on myself and do the things that bring me joy. I want to niche in joy, and I know as I continue to put that frequency out there, I will continue to live in it.
There is no “Salt” this week, and next Monday I’ll be introducing “Salt with Soul, the year of 2023 version”. This newsletter has brought me so much joy and has allowed me to enter an arena I’ve missed so much. I cannot wait to continue to grow it, tweak it, and cater it to you. Plus, now I have someone to cook for every night :)
Follow along @leannegelishstudio for a little more “Leanne”.