You are Cordially Invited to a Lifetime Experiment

This article will not teach you how to make money nor will it provide a three-step guide to solve a problem. It will not help you to get social media followers or likes. It is not something that will use stories of my successes or failures while conducting experiments in my life as a teaching method. This is simply an invitation to try something that might take a lifetime to explore but anything worth doing takes time, right?

Life is the most exquisite, painful, heart-breaking, joyous story we get to exist inside of. We know that there is a beginning and we are assured there is an end but what about the in-between? We fill the in-between with stories we create or accept from others. From quite early on, it’s clear what society wants us to do, what kind of life is deemed acceptable in varying regions and we can choose to fall in line, consciously or unconsciously. But when we are awake and cultivating our lives — not like a museum exhibit but rather tending to the chaos of it all with heart, honesty and compassion — then it feels like we are really living, really writing our story, does it not?

In the end, all that seems to matter are the stories that allow us to see others — not through a scripted lens but though the lens of our heart — and to allow others to see us. We are the main character of this story so we can choose to play any part. We can change ourselves up season after season, adorning ourselves with everything and anything that celebrates our spirit and our playfulness and move from a place of love. That is the key.

No, not everyone moves from that space, not everyone is born into that space but if we — the people reading this right now — agree to have love be the basis of our very foundation, the birthplace of everything we think and every action we take regardless of the good or bad we’ve endured in life — what might we create? What stories might we fill the spaces in-between with? How might we serve others and make lives better? What works of art, what safe spaces for hard conversations, what healing, what magic might we create in our lives that would filter into the world at large. Perhaps I should ask first that you define love. Yes, you. Define it for yourself. Talk it out with a friend and find the common ground and the differences. Explore those and then own it.

So, what is this invitation? It’s an invitation to look at yourself and discover, cultivate, and lean into love while writing your story in this beautiful in-between space. Notice where you might need a little more love and breathe into that. For me, I noticed that I needed to extend a little more kindness to myself; to my surprise, love grew.

Then look out into the world around you and notice if there’s any space where you could add a little more love. It doesn’t have to be extravagant — hold a hand, bring someone a cup of tea, listen more, share the things you think you need to hide for fear of being judged, extend a kind word, a hug, a smile, the list is endless. That’s all it takes — one, small gesture — because love is not simply born in the big moments, it’s begins to sprout in the little things, the everyday moments. You see, love lives in the spaces between words, between the flower petals before they open, between the sun and the moon, between sleeping and waking. Love lives in the spaces in-between within you, yourself and the world.

Perhaps this is something I simply needed to remember, I don’t know, but I thought I’d share it in case you needed it too. Is it cliche to ask you to love yourself and others? Yes, absolutely. People say it all the time. So, what would make this less cliche? To actually do it.

Let love live in the spaces between breaths. Invite it in, breathe deep, share it, and exhale.