"Spit out the sour taste of unmet expectation"

🌬️ Over Zoom one time maybe about a year ago, a friend said our conversation was reminding him of a poem he knew.

As I was walking with Ernest the other day, the poem floated back into my mind and heart, meeting an inner need of mine in that moment.  I share it with you now:

Come new to this day

Remove the rigid overcoat of experience

The notion of knowing

The beliefs that cloud your vision.

Leave behind the stories of your life.

Spit out the sour taste of unmet expectation

Let the stale scent of what-ifs waft back into the swamp of your useless fears.

Arrive curious, without the armor of certainty, the plans and planned results of the life you’ve imagined.

Live the life that chooses you,

New every breath, every blink of your astonished eyes.

written by Rebecca del Rio ~ and shared by Michael

Is there something that a friend was inspired to share with you in the past that you'd now like to pass onto someone else who would benefit from it?

If you're able and have the capacity, I invite you to take a moment to share that something with that someone else.

What I've found is that if I'm able and have the capacity to give time to connect with that specific person at the moment I think of them, it's almost always at a moment they are open to receiving something supportive.

Curious about the what and why behind this newsletter? Read on!

These weekly shares arise out of a desire and need to reinvigorate our personal sense of agency by redefining the way we think about our sense of belonging with and in the world.

The evolving vision here is to hold space for humans who care for others (that's you... the "connective tissue" people*) to learn and care about co-creation and to express that care by intentionally integrating experiential and experimental co-creation into the many facets of life.

*some of the roles "connective tissue" people step into are caregiver, educator, grandparent, heart-centered leader, elder, coach, community garden organizer, therapist, dog walker, people-centered consultant, storyteller, auntie, body worker, uncle, and oh so many others.

Til next time... connective tissue beings,

Cassandra

P.S. 🐕 🐈 & 🐇

...If you're in the mood for more Fall photos of dogs and cats (and at least one bunny) than there are fallen leaves here in the Pacific Northwest, check out this contest that I submitted a photo of Ernest to.

It seems there are at least 300 and there's such a mix of posed and candid, costumed and bed-headed, sweet and funny.

I've laughed out loud witnessing at least five of them (here's one) and a lot warm my heart (here's one). And the photo of Ernest I took in a special spot of ours, and he looks quite dapper in my not-so-humble opinion. 😊 If you're into voting, you can vote for any and all that you want to.

(I submitted a photo purely because I have so. many. photos of Ernest and I thought it'd be fun to pick one. I don't give a hoot about winning.)