Today, home feels like a teacup full of stillness, a book with dog eared pages, and a heart that has stopped searching long enough to listen to the birds. For today, that is more than enough." 🌸🍵
Belinda, sounds perfect. This is staying at its best. I also believe that being present to the sweet tea, pages, and song helps us to stay with the harder to be with stuff. Thank you for sharing. Sharing our experiences keeps us strong in our practice of mindfulness and love. And this benefits everyone. Love to you. 💞
Danni, the phrase “be good company for ourselves” feels like the quiet center of this offering. I appreciate how you frame staying as a practice of presence rather than endurance alone, because so much of modern life trains us to escape, distract, scroll, rush, or leave ourselves behind whenever discomfort appears. The invitation to stay with joy, sorrow, gratitude, grief, anger, and breath gives dignity to the whole interior life, not only the parts that feel peaceful or polished. I was especially moved by the reminder that even when nothing changes outside us, something can change within us when we choose to remain present. Grateful for the softness and steadiness here, and for the reminder that one breath, one pause, one honest return to ourselves can become a way of living.
Kevin, I agree, I could have written 'be good company for yourself" and it would have been enough, said it all. I really do believe it is about returning to self-love. Being able to look in the mirror, close our eyes and see all of oneselfl - feel oneself - and just feel love, compassion, tenderness, gentleness, trust. When we learn to love ourselves, perfect our acceptance, patience, and self-compassion, and also our curiosity and humor over perfection and the need for validation, we have all we need to love this life and serve it. When we own our self-worth, we can be of the greatest service because we know how to value others and all of life without judgment, without expecting perfection. And this creates connection between us and everything. And fear, anxiety, and loneliness lessens. Self-love is the way. We cannot fix the problems of the world. We really can only return home to ourselves and start from this place every single day. 💕
Danni, this is beautifully said. I appreciate the way you connect self-love to service, because returning home to ourselves is not withdrawal from the world; it becomes the place from which we can meet the world with more honesty, patience, humor, and care. When we stop demanding perfection from ourselves, we often become less likely to demand it from others. That kind of acceptance can become a quieter, deeper form of connection.
Thanks so much for including me in this inspirational roundup of incredible reading! I'm finding so much joy just soaking all this in on a rainy Sunday afternoon 😁💛🌟.
Laura, thank you so much for taking the time to read and listen. I am so glad that you enjoyed it. I am planning on adding more of this type of letter. Have a beautiful rest of the day. xo
Thank you for staying with me. Why did I say it? Maybe because I feel as if the world is going in a certain direction, a direction that is going to challenge those of us who intend to lovingly fight to remain human. And it is okay. This is being offered to us, maybe to motivate us to ‘stay’ more, discover our strength, our love…stay more together. It is not meant to be a downer. Can we find the beauty of hard, stop searching easy… find the ease with the hard and the beauty and love that follows when we do?
and maybe, I am just nostalgic of how things used to be and I need to sit with this some more and learn to better accept that things change, and that this too is okay… always an opportunity to grow, cultivate love.
What do you think? Things will get better or it is up to us to create better, a better feeling about things?
I am hopeful we will come together and make things better for humanity. So it’s hard for me to say it won’t get better. I am someone drawn to what could be than what might continue to happen
I truly appreciate you. Thank you for sharing your beautiful energy here. I don't sugar-coat, but I do believe in keeping our hearts high and united. I do believe that those of us who want something better will create it, and better will also include deeper and deeper connection. All my love and gratitude xo
Oh Danni I just listened to your sweet soothing voice guiding me to a much needed few minutes of relaxation in a very busy outwards-facing day. Thank you! What a gift! I will relisten again and again!!
Dan, thank you for offering me your time. The beautiful thing is that this stillness is always here. We can choose at any moment to give it our attention - stillness over noise and frenzy. You were one of the first Substacks I subscribed to and I love reading your work so I am so glad to connect with you. Sending love.
Bernadette, thank you. I am sure you know how wonderful these few emotion-filled words feel. Creating something for ourselves is a beautiful thing. Sharing it with others completes it - your presence, imaging you staying lovingly with yourself really does feel like everything. I truly appreciate your time, you reaching out and sharing your experience. Love and more love.
Such a treasure trove you have cultivated here, Danni. You do not do anything 100%, it is at the very least 110%. I so look forward to listening to your meditation, and reading some of the people you have shared.
I feel so blessed that I had a mom who taught my brother, sister and me, how to enjoy our own company. She was not the 'entertainment committee' and encouraged each of us to have alone time, so that we could practice how to BE in our own company. What a gift, yes?! As she would remind us, we would be spending the most time with ourselves, so why not begin as wee ones.
In gratitude for your generous offerings today. I can feel the time and attention that is infused within it. 💫
Joanie, thank you so much for sharing this. What a wonderful thing - to have a mother who was the example of what we need most, something so rare, especially now. I hurt for this generation, this generation of patents. It is so difficult to understand how important knowing how to be with yourself is when we are always connected with our smartphones, bluetooths, all the screens... when we lose the curiosity to wander out, to learn things from the natural world, to sit in silence and just be with our surroundings... read. We have become the distracted, disengaged, and numbed ones. And at the same time, I must trust that when the isolation becomes too strong, many will search for something better. I didn’t have your type of mom. There was zero spirituality in my home, no communication, no creativity, no nature, lots of dishonesty. My parents loved me, but they didn't have the resources and never seeked to find them. My mom wanted me to have what she didn’t. An education, economic stability, a 'normal', easy life. I laugh at this now. Normal. Easy. basically became an attorney for her. I don’t regret it. But inside I felt something was missing. I was so scared. I felt different. I wanted a different life than the one anyone was telling me I should have. I wanted to feel more. And less insecure and scared. And this made me turn within. There is so much to face, understand, be truthful about, learn to be with, heal... love. We always have a choice. We can repeat patterns and programs or we can go within and start changing them. I have so much more to learn about love and loving. But I can now say that I love myself, and it has nothing to do with perfection. I stopped judging my flaws and fails. I am more forgiving. And with this, I hope I am a better example for my daughters. They are of this world. They seem like they search for busyness. But then, they will stop and cut veggies with me, pick up a guitar or pencil to draw, get up early to watch a sunrise, climb in my bed to cuddle and chat. They are 21 and 18. They have watched me sit in silence, stand on my head, write, read, paint ... I trust they will too learn to slow down, stay, not be so scared of just being with themselves. I trust they already know how. Thank you Joanie. It is so beautiful to share one to one like this. Being good company for ourselves is essential. But so is feeling connected with others. Maybe this is the greatest gift of 'sitting and staying'; we can then offer the best of ourselves to life. Only love today. Please let me know if you enjoyed the meditation or not. Always honesty. It is one of the 'rules' here. xo
Just listened… Yes, 🙌🏼 the staying and resting within no matter what is happening on the outside. One I will be returning to when life feels turbulent. Xo💜
Today, home feels like a teacup full of stillness, a book with dog eared pages, and a heart that has stopped searching long enough to listen to the birds. For today, that is more than enough." 🌸🍵
This IS so beautifully said. 💜💜💜
Belinda, sounds perfect. This is staying at its best. I also believe that being present to the sweet tea, pages, and song helps us to stay with the harder to be with stuff. Thank you for sharing. Sharing our experiences keeps us strong in our practice of mindfulness and love. And this benefits everyone. Love to you. 💞
Danni, the phrase “be good company for ourselves” feels like the quiet center of this offering. I appreciate how you frame staying as a practice of presence rather than endurance alone, because so much of modern life trains us to escape, distract, scroll, rush, or leave ourselves behind whenever discomfort appears. The invitation to stay with joy, sorrow, gratitude, grief, anger, and breath gives dignity to the whole interior life, not only the parts that feel peaceful or polished. I was especially moved by the reminder that even when nothing changes outside us, something can change within us when we choose to remain present. Grateful for the softness and steadiness here, and for the reminder that one breath, one pause, one honest return to ourselves can become a way of living.
Kevin, I agree, I could have written 'be good company for yourself" and it would have been enough, said it all. I really do believe it is about returning to self-love. Being able to look in the mirror, close our eyes and see all of oneselfl - feel oneself - and just feel love, compassion, tenderness, gentleness, trust. When we learn to love ourselves, perfect our acceptance, patience, and self-compassion, and also our curiosity and humor over perfection and the need for validation, we have all we need to love this life and serve it. When we own our self-worth, we can be of the greatest service because we know how to value others and all of life without judgment, without expecting perfection. And this creates connection between us and everything. And fear, anxiety, and loneliness lessens. Self-love is the way. We cannot fix the problems of the world. We really can only return home to ourselves and start from this place every single day. 💕
Danni, this is beautifully said. I appreciate the way you connect self-love to service, because returning home to ourselves is not withdrawal from the world; it becomes the place from which we can meet the world with more honesty, patience, humor, and care. When we stop demanding perfection from ourselves, we often become less likely to demand it from others. That kind of acceptance can become a quieter, deeper form of connection.
Thanks so much for including me in this inspirational roundup of incredible reading! I'm finding so much joy just soaking all this in on a rainy Sunday afternoon 😁💛🌟.
Rainy Sunday afternoons can feel like a warm hug. Enjoy. 💕
This is so beautiful! Thank you for this peaceful and inspired invitation to rest and be! Really appreciated this! 🫶🏻
Laura, thank you so much for taking the time to read and listen. I am so glad that you enjoyed it. I am planning on adding more of this type of letter. Have a beautiful rest of the day. xo
You’re so welcome! I can’t wait! 😊. Have a great day too! 🌼
Wait i love this idea but why did you say things probably won’t get better???
Thank you for staying with me. Why did I say it? Maybe because I feel as if the world is going in a certain direction, a direction that is going to challenge those of us who intend to lovingly fight to remain human. And it is okay. This is being offered to us, maybe to motivate us to ‘stay’ more, discover our strength, our love…stay more together. It is not meant to be a downer. Can we find the beauty of hard, stop searching easy… find the ease with the hard and the beauty and love that follows when we do?
and maybe, I am just nostalgic of how things used to be and I need to sit with this some more and learn to better accept that things change, and that this too is okay… always an opportunity to grow, cultivate love.
What do you think? Things will get better or it is up to us to create better, a better feeling about things?
I am hopeful we will come together and make things better for humanity. So it’s hard for me to say it won’t get better. I am someone drawn to what could be than what might continue to happen
I truly appreciate you. Thank you for sharing your beautiful energy here. I don't sugar-coat, but I do believe in keeping our hearts high and united. I do believe that those of us who want something better will create it, and better will also include deeper and deeper connection. All my love and gratitude xo
“The art of being.” “Stay with the joy.” Xoxox
Stay with joy. yes. may we always. 💕
Oh Danni I just listened to your sweet soothing voice guiding me to a much needed few minutes of relaxation in a very busy outwards-facing day. Thank you! What a gift! I will relisten again and again!!
Thank you Amy! So glad you enjoyed it. It is something I would like to offer more of. 💕💕💕
Reading this post you can feel the stillness within it.
Dan, thank you for offering me your time. The beautiful thing is that this stillness is always here. We can choose at any moment to give it our attention - stillness over noise and frenzy. You were one of the first Substacks I subscribed to and I love reading your work so I am so glad to connect with you. Sending love.
oooh love this. I will come back to this again and again! Thank you !
Bernadette, thank you. I am sure you know how wonderful these few emotion-filled words feel. Creating something for ourselves is a beautiful thing. Sharing it with others completes it - your presence, imaging you staying lovingly with yourself really does feel like everything. I truly appreciate your time, you reaching out and sharing your experience. Love and more love.
Such a treasure trove you have cultivated here, Danni. You do not do anything 100%, it is at the very least 110%. I so look forward to listening to your meditation, and reading some of the people you have shared.
I feel so blessed that I had a mom who taught my brother, sister and me, how to enjoy our own company. She was not the 'entertainment committee' and encouraged each of us to have alone time, so that we could practice how to BE in our own company. What a gift, yes?! As she would remind us, we would be spending the most time with ourselves, so why not begin as wee ones.
In gratitude for your generous offerings today. I can feel the time and attention that is infused within it. 💫
Gentle care and a thank YOU.
Xo 💜
Joanie, thank you so much for sharing this. What a wonderful thing - to have a mother who was the example of what we need most, something so rare, especially now. I hurt for this generation, this generation of patents. It is so difficult to understand how important knowing how to be with yourself is when we are always connected with our smartphones, bluetooths, all the screens... when we lose the curiosity to wander out, to learn things from the natural world, to sit in silence and just be with our surroundings... read. We have become the distracted, disengaged, and numbed ones. And at the same time, I must trust that when the isolation becomes too strong, many will search for something better. I didn’t have your type of mom. There was zero spirituality in my home, no communication, no creativity, no nature, lots of dishonesty. My parents loved me, but they didn't have the resources and never seeked to find them. My mom wanted me to have what she didn’t. An education, economic stability, a 'normal', easy life. I laugh at this now. Normal. Easy. basically became an attorney for her. I don’t regret it. But inside I felt something was missing. I was so scared. I felt different. I wanted a different life than the one anyone was telling me I should have. I wanted to feel more. And less insecure and scared. And this made me turn within. There is so much to face, understand, be truthful about, learn to be with, heal... love. We always have a choice. We can repeat patterns and programs or we can go within and start changing them. I have so much more to learn about love and loving. But I can now say that I love myself, and it has nothing to do with perfection. I stopped judging my flaws and fails. I am more forgiving. And with this, I hope I am a better example for my daughters. They are of this world. They seem like they search for busyness. But then, they will stop and cut veggies with me, pick up a guitar or pencil to draw, get up early to watch a sunrise, climb in my bed to cuddle and chat. They are 21 and 18. They have watched me sit in silence, stand on my head, write, read, paint ... I trust they will too learn to slow down, stay, not be so scared of just being with themselves. I trust they already know how. Thank you Joanie. It is so beautiful to share one to one like this. Being good company for ourselves is essential. But so is feeling connected with others. Maybe this is the greatest gift of 'sitting and staying'; we can then offer the best of ourselves to life. Only love today. Please let me know if you enjoyed the meditation or not. Always honesty. It is one of the 'rules' here. xo
Just listened… Yes, 🙌🏼 the staying and resting within no matter what is happening on the outside. One I will be returning to when life feels turbulent. Xo💜
Thank you Joanie. I am fasting today and will be returning to this brief practice before bedtime. I will send extra love your way. 💕