“Fruitful. Lusty. Wild. Revealing. Every day a brilliant reminder of how nothing stays the same, every day an exercise in variability, resilience, and trust. I love seasons, live for the changing seasons, could not imagine my life without seasons, but, I must admit--at the risk of offending the others-- autumn is my very favorite one.” ChangeTrustFruitResilienceLustAutumnBrillianceWildRevealAutumn Realities Author:Shellen Lubin
“It is the nature of life, the world, that nothing tangible, nothing holding us up and leading us forward in this dance can be counted on.” WorldLifeNatureChangeFreedomStrengthMovementBeginningDirectionLetting Go Again Author:Shellen Lubin
“Any move you make Moves you. Whether craved or feared. Any change changes you.” FearGrowthChangeProgressMovementAdaptationCravingMake A Move Author:Shellen Lubin
“Sharing stories. Is there anything more powerful? More illuminating? More connecting? It can change you forever, really hearing others' journeys, really being heard. Having each person's journey honored, validated, and, yes, questioned as well, is fundamental to being fully alive.” LifeChangePowerJourneyHonorQuestionListenConnectIlluminateSharing Stories Author:Shellen Lubin
“Catch the breeze. Open to the changing season. Yes, resist the political disaster we're living through but open to the possibility of breezes clearing some of the air, leading us to how and where we can keep the worst from happening and how and where we can move it in a different direction. There is still hope.” HopePoliticsChangeMovementDisasterDirectionOpenResistCatch The Breeze Author:Shellen Lubin
“In the greatest hell-- in the fiercest freeze-- the search for truth focuses, the struggle for change empowers, the quest for understanding and connection opens our hearts, the creative venture dances within and without, and we find a way. We will find a way.” TruthUnderstandingChangeCreativityStruggleFocusEmpowermentPersistenceConnectionHell Freezes Over Author:Shellen Lubin
“It's going to take us all having a strong constitution to withstand the necessary pressures on our constitution to change while the ideals and principles at the heart of it hold. Can we do it? We shall see. But we won't have much of a democracy any other way.” GrowthChangePrinciplesDemocracyEvolutionFutureIdealsConstitutionPressureA Strong Constitution Author:Shellen Lubin
“I've written about persistence and perseverance and yet for those of us with patchwork lives (projects, earnings, caretaking, home-tending, playing, friending, loving, celebrating, hurting, grieving, healing, assessing, re-grouping) persistence and perseverance has to be allowed in patches, not what from the outside might be viewed as 'normal' (for whatever worth normal has, the top of that overused bell curve). So let me clarify. When I talk about persistence, it isn't about persistence of equal measure every day. It's about not giving up on whatever is important to you, and, especially, not giving up on yourself. Some chapters of your life may allow many facets of your being, others just cannot and the feeling of failure that can arouse is of no value. Sometimes all you can do is ask yourself: What must I do this week? today? next hour? to continue the process as healthily as possible? to accomplish the most? It may be deep immersion in one, or it may be an odd mix. And tomorrow may be different. And an unexpected gift may come and change everything. And a Mack truck may hit and change everything. Our answers to those questions may not look similar but what I hope is similar is the acceptance of what must be. Persist in your own patches. Make your own quilt.” HopeChangePerspectivePerseveranceGoalsPersistenceSelf CareGiftsDon T Give UpPatchquilt Persistence Author:Shellen Lubin
“It's winter but what winter is this? What would we do if there were no winter?” NatureChangeSeasonsClimateWinterClimate ChangeSnowIceWhat Winter Author:Shellen Lubin
“If you can't find an answer? If you don't know what to do?... Make a move.” PurposeChangeDecisionProgressMovementClarityAutonomyAnswerForwardMake A Move Author:Shellen Lubin
“We must take advantage of those moments of wonder-- those moments that stir up the creative juices, that foster belief and faith-- to re-imagine what is possible in ourselves, in our lives, in our world. And then we must make use of all that beautiful renewed energy, all that hope and determination-- to move, to effect change.” FaithHopeBeliefGrowthChangeWonderBeautyCreativityPossibilitiesOpen To The Possibilities Author:Shellen Lubin
“Do you see it? Do you get it? Are you clear on What's going on? White women are subjugated (as human beings) even when elevated (as muses and objects of desire). Black men are infantilized intellectually (to diminish power) and aged-up physically (to increase threat). Black women are subjugated, infantilized, and aged-up, expected to selflessly carry everyone else. Immigrants and people of color are supposed to dedicate their lives to the illusion--the lottery-- of the American Dream, by actually feeding the American Machine.” AmericaChangeHistoryProgressAwarenessEvolutionIllusionAmerican DreamJustin Time Author:Shellen Lubin
“Movement. Action. Curiosity. Discovery. Sometimes being stuck means going deep and deep discoveries are made there, but sometimes stuck is just stuck and some kind of movement is required to get things going.” TruthActionChangeMovementDiscoveryCuriosityDeepGetting Unstuck Author:Shellen Lubin
“Reaping what you sow is very different, and yet, it is the only thing that can be counted on ... that careful application of self to tasks, continuing to learn from the world and digging deep to learn more about the self, the investment of self in ways of being and doing, bringing about deep and fundamental accomplishments and changes.” CareChangeLearningInvestmentAccomplishmentAtonementRevelationReap What You SowYom Kippur Author:Shellen Lubin
“This is a critical year--maybe the last critical year if we get this wrong--when we are all challenged to recognize how we have benefitted and continue to benefit from unearned privilege (as well as how we have been denied and disrespected, even in ways that we have perceived as privilege, or as our right). We all must be willing to look, to acknowledge, to own the complex reality which is our history, our country, our lives. It is not enough to go to a house of prayer and ask God for forgiveness. It is not enough that we forgive each other, not enough to forgive ourselves. We must extend effort to repair damage in which we have participated and/or from which we have received benefit... We must do differently moving forward.” AmericaGrowthChangePrivilegeHealComplexityChallengeAtonementReap What You SowYom Kippur Author:Shellen Lubin
“We saw this sign at the low point of an Arroyo on the backroads of town in Española, New Mexico... 'When flooded Turn around Don't drown'... it seems so true on so many levels in so many situations, so many low points that threaten to wash us away. What a concept: When flooded Turn around Don't drown.” PainLife LessonsChangeDepressionAdversityMental HealthFloodSelf CareDrowningDon T Drown Author:Shellen Lubin
“Fly, even if for just a moment. You may land somewhere different. You may land somewhat different. Leap.” FaithChangeMovementDiscoveryMoving ForwardFreeFlyThe No New Normal New Normal Author:Shellen Lubin
“The tides are turning. Everybody else is waking up, becoming more awake, aware, seeking knowledge, challenging the assumptions. 'They' call it 'woke' and demean it... 'They' may be--may aspire to be--the authorities, may judge and smirk and wield their swords, but 'everybody else' knows what's really happening. And the forces of change, however resisted, will continue to awaken us all.” FearChangeKnowledgeDestinyPowerAwarenessAuthorityJudgeAssumptionsWaking Up Author:Shellen Lubin
“Be nice,' we're often told, particularly we women-- along with other populations under-appreciated and over-oppressed... Until recently, that has mostly been said to those without power... Because those in power didn't have to be nice, were never expected to be nice. Recently it's being said more often to those with great power, and there is value in that.” ValuesChangePowerSocietyExpectationsMinoritiesAccountabilityConditioningSystemIs It Nice Author:Shellen Lubin
“So don't ask people to be nicer unless they're abusive, unless they're the abusers. And if they are, maybe the nicest thing you can do in 2022 is kindly, gently, read them the so-called riot act. And warn them a riot may be coming their way.” KindChangePowerDemandAbuseLiberationGentleWarningIs It Nice Author:Shellen Lubin
“Trying to think. Thinking about thinking. Thinking about how we hear (and don't hear) each other. Thinking about how we make connection, have an effect on each other. Thinking about how that connection alters ourselves, each other, and the space between us.” ThinkingProcessChangeConnectionHearThinking Through Author:Shellen Lubin
“Trying to think. Thinking beyond. Going wide... Going deep... Going away, doing something else... Coming back, thinking more.” ThinkingProcessGrowthChangeCommitmentDeepThinking Through Author:Shellen Lubin
“How much of our independence is and has always been the exploitation of others, the abuse of others? Today I'm in awe of how women of color are leading the way to not accepting it anymore” TruthChangeHistoryDignityAbuseStructureInequalityExploitationRefusalInterdependence 4 All 4 Ever Author:Shellen Lubin
“...will those who seek power and resist change destroy our country before we get to make it better?... Will our entire world as we know it be destroyed before we get to make it better? Is there even a path to better...? The chaos may bring clarity, may breed heros and artists and empathy, but it also destroys. I think we are each trying to find how best to resist the despair that such evil breeds and relies upon, and find a way forward that finds (or makes) meaning, value, some kind of order. What else can we do?” OrderChangeEmpathyValueClarityMeaningHeroesArtistsBettermentExtended Chaos Author:Shellen Lubin
“I think there is a place where hopefulness and hopelessness co-exist, one of my beloved contradictory co-existing realities (what others call a paradox, but paradoxes can be mis-defined themselves, not owning their true contrari-ness and/or co-existence): something like joy-and-hope-in-the-process-of-being-and-becoming, something like awareness-of-distant-goals-without-attachment-to-getting-them, something like satisfaction-in-dissatisfaction. Like riding a roller coaster, being and feeling where it is and feeling where it's going all at the same time, since where it's going is part of where it is, and, whatever the now is, it will never stay there. Something like life.” LifeJoyHopeChangeSelf AwarenessGoalsHopelessnessBeingHopefulnessBalancing Act Author:Shellen Lubin
“Hope alone cannot create outcomes but having hope affects outcomes. Proceeding with hope makes more things possible, may just be what gets you up and out the door, making anything possible at all. But hope is an illusion, no? Yes, my love, but no more than fear and worry. They are all illusions because they are all about the future, and we cannot know the future. But ... hope is an illusion that opens us up, inspires joy, reminds us of possibility, gets us through trial and tribulation more easily (like singing in the rhythm of a labor-intensive task makes it easier to keep on going). Hope leads us to more, better, greater things-- maybe not the ideal, the fantasy, even the very thing you hope for-- but more, better, greater than would otherwise be.” InspirationPurposeHopeChangePossibilityPerseveranceOpennessTransformJoy QuotesPermission Slip For Hope Author:Shellen Lubin
“Change happens. Loss happens. With or without your input. Afraid you’ll fall, you’ll fail, You’ll flail, you’ll falter. The more you fall, the sooner you learn How to recover, repair, rebuild. The more you flail Or falter, the more you get How to regain equilibrium. The more you fail, the more you see Success demands—requires— Failure. Make a move. Now. Or now. Take a breath. Catch a breeze. Like riding a bicycle Your legs going round and round Will build strength Gain balance Find a way. Forward. Beyond thought. Beyond instruction. The internal systems Never forget. You just have to Make a move.” SuccessFallChangeStrengthMovementFailureBalanceRecoveryBreathMake A Move Author:Shellen Lubin
“We cannot do things differently, we cannot carve out different ways of relating to others, until we can take responsibility for what we have done and those we have injured in the process.” ChangeHurtResponsibilityHarmInjuryOwnershipAtonementReap What You SowYom Kippur Author:Shellen Lubin
“Control will kill you. Awareness will save you. And acceptance is part of awareness (Acceptance as in 'this is what it is' not as in 'this is the way it will always be'). Why? And why is acceptance the second step toward change? Because acceptance of where you are is necessary in order to move anywhere else.” RealityGrowthChangeProgressAcceptanceSelf AwarenessMeaningControlAwareness Not Control Author:Shellen Lubin
“Nothing is exactly the same for us all. And yet our lives are lived relationally, and so we must factor in others we love as we make plans, as we alter plans as we abandon plans. It's all so complicated, and in different periods different phases of our lives a different balance is required. There's no way to get it perfectly right. There's no one way that is absolutely perfect. If you measure them up against perfection, anything you do will be found wanting... Imagining, planning, doing, maintaining, re-assessing, altering. In the process of all, you carve out a self and the world in which that self resides.” LoveRealityRelationshipsChangeImagineIdentityPerfectionSeasonsIntentionLong Term Plan Author:Shellen Lubin
“We are all human, with evolving, never completely predictable thoughts and feelings. We are all complex, however much we do or don't acknowledge and express it. We are all human. We are all complex.” FeelingsRealityChangeHumanThoughtsComplexityOversimplificationConflictedReality Is Complex Author:Shellen Lubin