Creating Space
The holiday season is upon us.
Incredibly different than years past, but here just the same, demanding our time and attention. My question to you is, how are you creating space in your life these days, amidst the hustle and bustle inherent in this time of year?
Space for love. Space for joy. Space for calm in the chaos. Space for sorrow. Space for mourning. Space for connection. Space for community.
Easier said than done, right? Especially during this singular year that catapulted us all into so much awfulness.
But what if we use all that awfulness as a springboard?
If there’s anything I’ve learned this year it’s that there are gifts born from hard places. Especially when we intentionally create space for inquiry and insight, grieving and healing, recalibrating and reconnecting. Granted, our space may not look or feel the same as in years past, but I promise you, where there’s a will there’s a way.
To pivot. Turn towards. Tend to.
One space I find myself pivoting towards over and over is Reimagine End of Life. An annual in person turned virtual festival that originated in San Francisco, Reimagine offers inspiring and often transcendent experiences that help you explore death and celebrate life. Their fall virtual festival, Creating Space, focuses on “creating more space in our lives for what really matters, as we reimagine (end of life) in the face of pandemic, political upheaval, and racial injustice.”
From How to Plan a Virtual Memorial and Create a Legacy Cookbook, to my December 5th event, Deathiversaries: Love, Loss & Legacy, these offerings help you create space for what matters most. And as a bonus, they leave you with a fuller heart and a new openhearted community.
The reality is, this year we’re all experiencing the holidays with a backdrop of unimaginable loss — loss of face-to-face encounters, loss of physical touch/hugs, loss of our health if we contract Covid, loss of employment, and for far too many, loss of life to this insidious disease.
But we don’t have to face these losses alone.
I’d be eternally grateful if you’d consider joining me on December 5th, the 6th deathiversary of my beloved niece and our Graceful Woman Warrior, Terri Luanna.
Deathiversaries… Weird day right? What to do on the anniversary of our loved one’s death? It’s a day that no matter what you do or don’t do, it insists on being seen. Heard. Recognized.
Some days it feels like Terri and I were just sitting at Cork Wine & Tappas bar, delighting in the exquisite voice of my sister, Dori. Other days, I find myself gutted by the visceral heartache of missing her.
Each year Miss M and I ask ourselves how will we honor her mother’s legacy? This year, we’d love to walk hand in hand with you through our deathivesary stories, rituals, and practices at Creating Space. With special performances by Terri’s epically talented aunt, Dori Rubbicco, and her extraordinary daughter, Miss M, we look forward to creating this grace filled space with you.
So bring your stories. Bring your rituals. Bring your memories of your loved ones, and become part of our shared story of love, loss, and legacy.
Speaking of Miss M, if you’re looking to create space for a life changing mentorship/volunteering opportunity, or, if you want to experience the heartfelt joy of supporting a profoundly transformative program for motherless daughters, check out empowerHER’s BE THE LIGHT campaign this holiday season, featuring none other than the indomitable, Miss M.
In this time of too much awfulness, join me in alchemizing our pain into growth. Let’s honor our losses while embracing our lives. Let’s make space for joy and love as well as grief and sorrow. You are the custodian of your life and the world needs your light now more than ever.
I ask you again, how are you creating space for things that matter?
As for me, my favorite space these days is carving out as many moments as possible with my buddha boy turned lumber jack grandson, Mark David.
Talk about balm for the soul…
May his pure, unadulterated blissful being inspire you to create space for those gifts that await you in the hard places❤️
Love,
Auntie L