Innocent or Fool?

on choosing stupid hope

A red-bellied woodpecker snacked on a suet outside my window this morning as I made my coffee. We each watched the other out of the corner of one eye as we went through our respective morning rituals; him, hoping to feel safe enough to stay and me, silently willing him to.

The Iowa prairie sparkles like a faerie’s tiara these days. The hoarfrost looks downright decadent clinging to tall stalks of grass and the skeleton branches of oak trees. As I desperately gulped at my coffee (a small someone woke me up smelling like vomit again last night), I marveled that in just a few months this Narnia will look more like Eden. The resiliency of the land is confounding.

How is it possible that it will transform, the way I know it will, when what exists today looks irreparable? How can something be one way at this moment and so drastically, unfathomably different a few full moons later? How does a place of death and barrenness recover itself back to life — and not just once, but over and over and over again?

My toes wiggled in my fuzzy socks, already anticipating walking bare on warm grass. The resiliency of the land is in me, too; for we are made of the same substance. How is it possible that I will transform, when what exists today looks irreparable? Am I such an innocent as to believe what I see?

Am I such a fool as to not?

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Lately I’m…

Reading: And Yet by Kate Baer b/c her poetry speaks to the inner wolf

Watching: The Mindy Project & Derry Girls so I guess I’m team female comedians

Wearing: Knix tanks under every shirt all winter for extra warmth & bralessness

Cheering: for Sarah Billups on the release of her new book

Eating: this perfect vegan winter soup with friends at a snowy cabin last weekend

Writing: the last few chapters of my next book on the female mystics

Singing: along to Waxahatchee (“Fire” is my fave on the St. Cloud album)

Listening: to the We Can Do Hard Things podcast episode on attachment styles and why knowing yours matters

Sharing: this reel of U.S. Senators quoting Taylor Swift lyrics during the Ticketmaster hearing

Buying: this gold leaf Our Lady of Guadalupe print to hang in my office

Preparing: to start talking way too much about Feminist Prayers for My Daughter. It releases in 8 weeks and I’m dying to hear what you think. (If you preorder, be sure to claim this cutie little print as my gift to you!)

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Eric and I are facilitating a weekend retreat for couples on Feb. 3-5 at Shalom Spirituality Center in Dubuque, IA. It’s open to couples of any faith, sexuality, or marital status — we don’t want anyone left out! It will be a rich time of growing together, getting curious, finding ourselves while honoring each other, and exploring how to approach things like conflict resolution and decision-making in healthy ways.

There are still plenty of spots available, including a scholarship of up to $200 (thanks to my Patreon community)! Please, please, please don’t hesitate to reach out if financial assistance would make this possible. Just hit reply to this email and you and I can discuss your options.

Sound like just the thing you and your significant other might need? Find out more information and register here. Registration closes Friday.

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GIVEAWAY!

One of our readers here at The Rewilded Life is a children’s book author (hi Karen!) and generously offered to gift a copy of her new book I Can, Too! to one lucky reader. I absolutely adore the inclusive story about friends with diverse abilities, and my little ones really enjoy it too. Would you like a free copy? Just leave a comment here and it will count as an entry. The winner will be notified in one week. Good luck!

Wishing you a blessed January, my friends. May we trust the process.

XOXO,

Shannon