How have I grown?

Hello hello,

This week’s question was sparked by a story Bernadette shared on last week’s Thursday call. Bernadette is one of my dearest friends, my partner’s sister, and a beloved co-creator in so many things.

She told us that her 19-year-old son had recently gone to the doctor.

As they were taking his height and weight, the doctor asked him, “How tall are you?”

Without hesitating, he said, “5’8”.”

The doctor laughed and said, “That can’t be right. I’m 5’10” and you’re taller than me.”

He hadn’t realized how much he’d grown!

I’ve thought about that story all weekend. All the ways we grow without noticing. All the ways life stretches us and deepens us and softens us, while our old sense of our own size hasn’t quite caught up yet.

So that’s what I’m writing with this week.

Question #3 of 13: How have I grown?

One of the ways I know I’ve grown is that I can feel, from the inside, when I’m clear in myself and when I’m not. And I’ve grown in knowing what to do when I’m not.

Mostly, what I’ve learned to do is write.

I ask myself questions, put pen to paper, and write my way toward clarity. Not usually all at once, and rarely in a grand lightning-bolt moment. More often, one honest sentence at a time.

That, in itself, feels like growth. Knowing I don’t have to force clarity. Knowing I have tools and practices that keep me in conversation with myself so clarity can emerge. And trusting the felt sense of clarity when it arrives.

That’s what we’ll be sitting with on Thursday’s call.

How have I grown? What has shifted? What has deepened? What can I see now that I couldn’t see before?

We’ll gather tomorrow, Thursday, at 12 pm ET. Everyone is welcome. I’ll send the link in the morning.

And while I’m here, I want to remind you about Summer Clarity, because this is exactly the kind of thing it’s here to support.

It’s a three-part series I’m offering this summer for anyone who wants a simple, steady place to return to themselves in the middle of real life. The second companion guide is now inside the course, and I really do love this one.

It’s for when summer starts summering. When things are beautiful, and when things are wobbly. When people are tired, hot, hungry, screen-y, prickly, tender, or all of the above. It’s full of simple, useful reminders for coming back to yourself, your people, and the moment you’re actually in.

If you’d like to join us, you can do that here:
https://carriecontey.thinkific.com/courses/summerclarity

You’ll get immediate access to the first two calls and guidebooks, plus our third call on July 17th.

I’d love to have you with us, in whatever way feels right.

With love,
Carrie