THE PRACTICE | remember january?

It’s August.
Remember January?

Did you choose a word this year? Maybe you wrote it down somewhere. Maybe you told a friend. Maybe you chose a piece of jewelry to carry it. Maybe, for a while, you could feel it shaping the way you moved through your days.

Where is it now?

If you can still feel it, that’s amazing. I’d love to know how it has shaped you this year.

If you remember what it was but it feels far away, you aren’t alone.

Life gets loud. Deadlines. Groceries. A hundred small things that need you right now. Your word does not disappear because you failed. It goes quiet because everything else got louder.

I have mostly stayed connected to my word, untamed, but that has not happened by accident. It has taken intention. And even then, the practice has not been smooth.

Recently, I found out I needed major surgery. Every part of my life had to be adjusted, from childcare and work to all the small pieces that hold a day together.

In the month leading up to it, I lost sight of untamed. I was so focused on getting everything settled before I was out of commission that I stopped paying attention to my word.

But I did not see that as failure.

Now that life is beginning to settle, I am returning to untamed and picking up where I left off.

I do not think I could have let my health take center stage without my word. I would have kept pushing. I would not have allowed myself to rest.

Still, it has not been perfect.
Did I rearrange my closet one week after major surgery? Yes.
Did I pay for it later? Also yes.
Did I admonish myself for not resting? No.
I told myself I would do better tomorrow.

Living with a word is not about making every choice perfectly match it. It is about learning to notice it, listen to it, and return to it as your life unfolds.

This is part of why I have been creating The Circle.

The Circle is a five-month guided experience for those who have chosen a word and want support actually living with it. Through weekly emails, practical tools, and monthly small-group conversations, it helps you stay connected to your word, work through the friction, and return to it when life gets loud.

The Circle will open in September. Until then, I am going to share some of the practices inside it so you can see what it is all about.

You can follow along on Instagram.

Almost everything will work again
if you unplug it for a few minutes,
including you.
anne lamott

what I'm loving

I've been listening to true crime podcasts for about twelve years now. Thank you, Sarah Koenig, for Serial. I have a long list of favorites, but the one I love most right now is Buried Bones, with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes. It's such an interesting pairing. Paul is a retired cold case investigator who played a key role in identifying the Golden State Killer. Kate is a journalist, author, and professor whose work focuses on historical crime. Each week, Kate brings Paul a case from the past. Together they look at the evidence and talk through how it might be investigated with today's forensic tools. I learn something new almost every episode. Their conversations are endlessly interesting.

in the studio

My surgery was three weeks ago, and so far I have only been able to work four half days in the studio.

I knew recovery would require an adjustment, but I did not expect it to be so difficult to balance rest with the work waiting for me.

The physical and mental toll changes from day to day, which makes it hard to know how much I can take on. Some mornings I feel capable, and a few hours later my body tells me otherwise.

I am doing my best to give myself grace and time, but this slower pace is hard for me. It does not take long before rest begins to feel like laziness, even when I know it is part of the work of healing.

So for now, returning to the studio looks different. A few hours at a time. Less than I want to do. More listening than pushing.

I am learning that slow does not mean I am doing nothing.

For now, consider this your August check-in.
Is your word still with you?
And if life has grown loud, what might help you hear it again?

You do not have to start over. You can return from where you are.