letters across the miles

Dear Kristine,

It was so great to hear from you!  I cannot believe that we are already in March.  This year is flying by, however I am really looking forward to Spring and all the snow melting.  The past couple of mornings when I have left for work I have heard the birds chirping and it brings me such great pleasure.  I love hearing their songs as I walk to my car.

This past week has been a really good week for me.  I am taking steps towards some of the projects I have sitting on the shelf collecting dust.  It feels good to begin.  To just jump in and see where it goes.

These projects on the shelf are my dreams, and I cannot just sit there and watch them fade into the darkness.

Sometimes it takes someone to push us to begin, and that is exactly what I needed.  A strong swift push out the door into the broad daylight to really begin to see who I am, and what it is I really want to accomplish.

All to often I find myself looking at what other people are doing and thinking that I would love to do what they are.  But I am not them.  I have a gentler voice.  A calmer spirit.  I need to find my own way in the world.   I need to listen deep to my heart to find out what it is that would make me shine with happiness.  With the help of this swift push out the door, I am finding this.

What has your week been like?  What adventures have you gone on?  Are you ready for Spring time?

Sending you so much love this week.

xo

Jennifer

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letters across the miles

Letters written between friends seems to have become a thing of the past.  But it shouldn't be.  Which is why Kristine and I are bringing it back in our own online version.  We are writing back and forth to each other every Tuesday. 

You can find my first letter to her

HERE

And read the response she posted today 

HERE

I am loving this project and look forward to responding next Tuesday. 

letters across the miles

Dear Kristine

,

I am excited to begin this new adenture with you.  I look forward to watching it unfold. 

Recently I have been giving a lot of thought to perfection and how I tend to not begin something because I feel like I do not have all of the pieces perfectly together to start.  Therefore, the idea, project, or moment sits there on the shelf never given the chance to see where it could go.  But nothing in life ever begins perfectly.  There are growing pains, messy pieces, and beautiful ah-ha moments. 

Life is evolving and we are constantly expanding and growing.  Where we begin is never where we end up and so much is learned along the way.  The pieces do not have to be perfectly alighned.  We can pick them up as we go and see how they fit together. 

I am glad that we decided to just begin and see where this naturally evolves.  Had we not jumped in, it would be just another thing sitting on my shelf waiting for the perfect moment.  And nothing great can come from an idea collecting dust on a shelf. 

This lesson of beginning has recently been presented to me often.  I have been shown time and time again that what I see as a final stage was never what it looked like in the beginning. 

I see the final project, all polished and clean and I am in awe.  But what I do not see is the hundreds of drafts that were tossed and the miles treked to get to that polished piece. 

Do you remember in grammer school when you had to "show" your math?  This was so the teacher could see how you got to the final resolution.  What if we had to do that in life?  What if we had to show all the stumbles and failures we endured before getting to the final resolution?  I think we would see that each of us are human and it all takes us work to get to where are.  We may even begin to be kinder to ourselves. 

What is sitting on your shelf that you are wanting to begin but have yet to start?  I have a whole bookshelf worth of projects and ideas.  I think I may start to dust some of them off, give them a whirl, and put the pieces together as I go along. 

Wishing you a fantastic week ahead.  Look forward to hearing from you soon. 

xo

Jennifer

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be sure to check out

Kristine's site

next tuesday for her letter response

Letters Across the Miles : a virtual collaboration

 Photo by Thea Coughlin

Growing up I had a pen pal.  We would write letter to one another, spilling the secrets of our heart onto the page.  We had never met, but there was so much excitement that washed over me each time a letter would arrive in my mailbox.  With the digital world being so prominent today, it feels as if having a pen pal is long gone.

However, it does not have to be that way.  Kristine and I are coming together to create a virtual pen pal.  We will be corresponding with one another in letter format through our blogs each Tuesday. The topics of the letters will very depending upon what is living in our hearts in that moment.  You may find us telling a funny story that happened at the grocery store, sharing our inner most dreams, or dishing on the latest things we are crushing on.

Kristine is a photographer, a creative, and a writer.  She is working on her first poetry/photography book in between being out in nature, exploring the world around her, and traveling with her husband.  She has a wide expansive heart and even though we have never met in person I can feel her warmth through her words.  You can find Kristine over at

Living in the Moment

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We will be starting tomorrow and we hope that you will follow along on our journey as we correspond with each other each Tuesday.