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Sara Parker's avatar

Brianne, I loved reading this! Especially the John O'Donohue blessings. It reminds me of Pema Chödrön's "When Things Fall Apart," in which she says: “To be fully alive, fully human, and completely awake is to be continually thrown out of the nest. To live fully is to be always in no-man's-land, to experience each moment as completely new and fresh. To live is to be willing to die over and over again.” (Another person's writing I turn to when I'm in the space to read Pema Chödrön is Marlee Grace, who writes Monday Monday here on Substack: https://marleegrace.substack.com/). So many new things for me to think about and to explore with what you've shared this morning!

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Shelby Newsome's avatar

I'm echoing Sara! Marlee Grace writes about feelings that, when you're experiencing them, can seem so singular, yet they're completely universal. I recently bought their book "Getting to Center"; it's in my reading queue. But I definitely recommend their Substack newsletter. Also, I recently read "The Power of Now" by Eckhart Tolle, and it was transformative!

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Brianne Alcala's avatar

Thank you, Shelby! I so appreciate book recommendations, and I just requested Getting to Center from the library. Looking forward to reading it!

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Shelby Newsome's avatar

Awesome! We'll have to discuss it once we've both finished it.

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Sara Parker's avatar

Shelby (and Brianne), I LOVED Getting to Center -- it's one of the few books I've read over and over and over again. Would love to chat with y'all about it once you've both read it!!

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Shelby Newsome's avatar

I'm glad to hear it! I'll let you both know as soon as I'm finished reading it.

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Brianne Alcala's avatar

Sara, thanks for much for this kind note and for pointing me to Marlee’s wonderful newsletter. And for Pema’s gorgeous passage. “To be continually thrown out of the nest” - wow and yes!

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