š§ Lil Treasures #63: It's Impossible to Function, But We Live in a World with Bird Murmurations
We're talking spinning plates, middle parts, and weighted blankets
Well. This is a week that we had. It was compiled of days and hours, and we did things within it.
I reached a point this week (it was on Wednesday) where I think my body was like, hey, love your whole energy of just pushing through until youāre sitting on the floor of your shower cranked all the way to the hottest temperature scalding your back with your phone in a plastic bag so as not to get it wet while you play a makeover game your kids downloaded that youāve somehow become addicted to when you should actually be attending to real problems and issues in your life or just doing laundry, BUT weāre gonna give you a migraine so you go to sleep, you absolute NUT JOB.
I keep having to tell myself: none of us is equipped to handle this. This beingā¦everything. I do not have the tools to be a person who thrives in the middle of a global pandemic, while also dealing with family and friends and work and a calendar and spirituality and bills and not snapping at my kids and cooking dinner and keeping up with laundry and trying to have a middle part. So since I do not have the tools, I am using whatever is available BE IT CHICKEN MINIS or the Peloton hack or the weighted blanket that Ben has taken to calling āErinās Best Friendā1 or CHICKEN MINIS. I really have exactly zero advice or helpful content surrounding this [screams expletives into the void] pandemic we are all dealing with, other than:
The fact that some things suck and some things are okay doesnāt mean itās not all taking a toll on your various categories of health.
Just because itās not as bad for you as it is for some people doesnāt mean you canāt grieve it.
Itās impossible to function right now.
People who look like they are functioning right now probably arenāt.
You have to give grace to yourself, and you have to give grace to the people around you. Sometimes grace looks like just disengaging from the things that rile up your self-preservation hackles.
Weāre getting closer to Lil Swipe Camp actually being a thing we can do and not just a dream.
But hereās what I realized a long time ago and strangely it tracks now: everyone is spinning plates. Some are beautiful heirlooms and some are just regular plates you get at Wal-Mart and some are paper plates. Everyoneās heirlooms are different and everyoneās paper plates are different. If you drop the paper plates, itās fine. Pick it up, start again. If you drop the Wal-Mart plate, itās also okay. I mean itās messy and annoying, but again, in the grand scheme of things, not the worst. You drop that heirloom plate, itās almost always fixable but itās harder to repair. It means more. Donāt let your paper plates stay up at the expense of your heirlooms.
OKAY SO LETāS DO SOME TREASURES, yes?
āļø Lent begins this Wednesday! My Lent study for this year, Memento Mori, has officially dropped and I canāt wait to get started this week. Iām feeling the heaviness of Lent more than I ever have before - this post from my friend Alissa of Little Way Chapel really helped me process through why. Iām even more thankful for the added community aspect of the study this year because of this - I need others to walk alongside me in the heaviness. If you havenāt grabbed your copy yet, you can do so here. Donāt forget to use the code LILSWIPES for 20% off! [And of course, as always, if you donāt have room in the budget for it, but you want to join, just email me at hello@erinhmoon.com and weāll get you set up!]
š§ Guys look at this video of bird murmurations. I would watch 100 hours of this.
šļø I had the absolute pleasure of being a guest on a couple of podcasts this week - Front Porch with the Fitzes, Determined to Disciple, and Your Enneagram Coach (this one has multiple episodes). Add them to your favorite podcast app this week if you donāt already subscribe! Also, I have an episode coming out next Monday with the universally beloved Kendra Adachi of The Lazy Genius podcast where we talk about what to do when you have a faith crisis. I REALLY loved this conversation (and it sparked in me what I want to do for my next project), so if you arenāt subscribed and that sounds interesting to you, smash that button there as well. (I am a Lazy Genius acolyte and love everything Kendra does, so I might be slightly biased but WHO CARES?!)
š Iāll tell you what has given me a lot of joy this week: seeing all of you post about your Galentineās Lil Swipe Swap. I seriously cried over it. I remain convinced the kindest and loveliest people have gathered here. You are all my Galentines and I mean that.
šŗšøĀ The marine who escorted Lady Gaga at the inauguration ceremony took to the internet and shared his experience. It was honestly so wonderful! You can read about it here.
š§āāļø Have you ever wondered what Christian denominations would be like if they were Hogwarts Houses? If so, this video is for you.
š¦øāāļø This mashup of High School Music + Avengers is *chefās kiss* perfect.
šØš»āš« How freaking cute is this kindergarten teacher? Dana posted one of his videos (Dana you are my meme queen) and I went down the rabbit hole.
Okay are yāall ready for the good tweets?!
Let it be said that I love Gen Z, but this is accurate
Petty tweetš
Okay team. Imagine me in a sparkly gown on the Star Search stage, belting out Josh Grobanās āYou Raised Me Upā to all of you while a single tear rolls slowly down my cheek. Canāt to read your treasures!
Itās an affiliate link, my loves.
I gotta know, whatās the āPeloton Hack?ā
Hi! First time commenter here! (Also I might have commented but then it was like, NO WAIT LOG IN okay now so lol weāre learning here)
Just wanted to say there used to be an exhibit in the St Louis Art Museum where you could sit in this little dark room and watch a giant projection of bird murmurations on an endless loop and it was my happiest place :)