Hello, dear readers! I hope you're all hanging in there. June has, thus far, been a month of exploration, expansion, and tension between anxiety and joy. I continue to be unemployed, and finances continue to feel uncomfortably tight. But there have also been so many things that have felt really good this month, and I want to celebrate that. I also did a tarot reading for myself on Thursday based on a spread posted to Instagram by Meg Jones Wall (you should absolutely follow Meg's work if you're at all interested in tarot – they are a fabulous human and I learn so much from them!):
The spread, which Meg titled "You Could Be Weirder," involves two cards: the first is "Knock This Off," and the second is "Do This Instead." I felt thoroughly sassed by my deck when I pulled this pair of Justice and The Fool. It felt like a very clear message to quit taking myself so seriously and to have a little fun.
So, without further ado, here's a joy list for the month so far:
- My birthday was at the beginning of the month. A few days before, I went bowling with my partner three of my closest local friends. While we were playing, I asked everyone to pick a random page in a little pocket notebook I'd brought and write me a sweet note. I knew it was a distracting environment, but despite that, everyone really delivered – I've been re-reading the notes almost every day when I need a little boost.
- Over the winter I bought us a bird feeder with a camera. It has mostly been a squirrel feeder (we have collectively named the squirrels in our backyard Chester, and the feeder camera has been nicknamed "Chester's Fan Cam"), but the reason I bought it was that I really wanted to befriend our neighborhood blue jays, who I regularly heard when I'd take our dog for walks. Just in the last month, they've started to show up, and I am thrilled! I mean:
- Last Friday I got to run a session of a homebrew D&D game for a few of my favorite people. It was just our second official game session and we hadn't played in a couple of months, so I wasn't sure how it would go. But it was so fun! We got to pretty much everything I had planned and everyone enjoyed themselves, and it felt really good to settle in together as a group.
- On Sunday, I did my first public tarot event! A local vintage shop was having a festival, and my friend Aster had a table booked for the weekend where he was planning to read tarot. He offered me the last half of his Sunday slot, and the owner of the shop agreed, so I got to sling cards for a couple of hours. I did five readings (including two for kids!), and got to use the stunning cloth another friend gave me as a birthday gift. It was my first time reading in person for strangers, and it felt really good overall!
- Despite the stress that unemployment is bringing in some areas of my life, it's also given me the freedom to really show up for people that I really care about in ways that I couldn't when I was working. It has felt so good to be able to show care in tangible ways that aren't connected to money.
Thanks for reading! And now, for some business news: I've put together my first service bundle! If you know anyone who's feeling adrift or in a period of discernment, please share this with them – I'd love to help.
The Wayfinding Toolkit is built to support individuals who are in periods of discernment, transition, or stuckness who are looking for a supportive space to find their footing and reconnect with themselves. It includes two spiritual companionship sessions, a live Wayfinding tarot reading, and a copy of my Wayfinding journaling game at a discounted rate.