I don’t know about you, but I am already welcoming the season of fall. In rhythm with the season, which could be a time for letting go of something, or a time of looking into what is next, what are you dreaming of and looking ahead to, or what do you want to give birth to next? Maybe for you fall is a time of relishing and cherishing this very moment. Or maybe this season inspires in you a time of reflection, of looking deeper into your heart to see what you might need or what you might want to be nurtured, to be held. Maybe you are looking forward with questions and curiosity.

Roger and I have had a year of beautiful and hard transitions in our family. We moved “home” to Texas and are getting settled into our home in Dallas, TX; we moved away from great and cherished friends in Des Moines; we moved my parents to Dallas to be nearby; we welcomed Justin and Callie’s second daughter into the family; we are looking forward to Jill and Brent’s wedding in Nepal in March; we have walked a cancer journey with Roger that was very difficult AND has had a positive ending at this point; we are LOVING being grandparents; and with much anticipatory hope, we are looking forward to many meaningful conversations and connections and opportunities ahead!

In this note, I wanted to share with you the personal things regarding both the delight and difficulty of transitions—of the changing seasons in life, in pieces of life that look quite different than we expected! I am sure there are times you have felt these things as well, and we can share a deep, knowing sigh of community and the common humanity of the challenge of transitional changes. Together we can say, “Yes, I know…it can be hard and beautiful.”

This past holiday season, my daughter, Jill, noticed this stop sign and insisted that I take a photo because of my affinity for stop signs (due to my book, Stop Breathe Believe: Mindful Living One Thought at a Time). As I looked at this artsy stop sign, I would sometimes think the word “enjoy” seemed shallow and frivolous. But as I contemplated sending the pic to you with this invitation, I thought more of the word “enjoy.” After looking up the root word and definition of “enjoy,” I discovered the origin to be “taking in of joy.” I then thought, what better word to put on a stop sign than enjoy? Inviting joy in? THAT is an invitation worth looking into!

On hard days, it may feel more like a Joy Scavenger Hunt. I get that! One of my values is to be intentional about finding and experiencing joy.

When you think of the picture above, what would stopping and enjoying your life look like for you? For me, it is to look intentionally at what is going on within me, to aspire to live life more authentically, to bravely walk through difficult days allowing courage and fear to do their dance...and leaning into courage. What is it for you?

As you may know, I am ever so grateful for the influence and work of Dr. Brené Brown in my life, personally and professionally. I LOVE being a facilitator and consultant for her work, The Daring Way™, and having the honor of sharing the practices with you! This fall I will be offering several opportunities for you to participate with me in workshops featuring two of the curriculums, Rising Strong™ and The Gifts of Imperfection™. We would be so honored if you would join us. And, as always, I am a strong advocate of teaming with others and so very excited about opportunities of working with other Daring Way™ facilitators in bringing you these workshops. Hope you can join us for one of these workshops!

fall and sneakers.jpg — *What are you stepping into this fall? Need some calm? Time to reflect? Check out our upcoming workshops.*

Rising Strong™: The physics of vulnerability is simple: If we are brave enough, often enough, we will fall. Rising Strong™ is a curriculum about what it takes to get back up, and about how owning our stories of struggle gives us the power to write a daring new ending. Struggle can be our greatest call to courage and the clearest path to a wholehearted life.

*Pensacola, Florida – Fri, Oct 18th - Sun, Oct 20th Rising Strong™ Workshop with Regan Hager, LMHC. Check out https://risingonthecoast.com to register or for more information.

*Dallas, Texas – Fri, Oct 25th - Sun, Oct 27th Rising Strong™ Workshop with Dr. Sally Falwell, Psy.D. and Dr. Mary Beth Covert, Psy.D. Check out https://rising.legacyacc.com/RSOCTDALLAS to register or for more information.

Gifts of Imperfection™, Letting Go of Who You Think You are Supposed to Be and Embracing Who You Are: Featuring the Guideposts for Wholehearted Living, which are benchmarks for authenticity that can help us establish a practice for a life of deep and honest beauty—a perfectly imperfect life.

*Dallas, TX – Fri, Nov 1st – Sun, Nov 3rd Embracing Gratitude and The Gifts of Imperfection™ Retreat with Veronica Welch, LMSW. Check out www.diannemorrisjones.com to register or for more information.

As always, I am truly interested in what is new with you! Please shoot me an email and let me know how things are rolling for you. How are you journeying through the transitions you are walking through? What does this next season look like for you?

May your heart be full of grace and compassion towards yourself and towards others.

May we—
Stop – invite these moments of not knowing and uncertainty in
Breathe – invite a deep breath in and a deep breath out
Believe – the world is the best and most encouraging place to be
when we can show up as our most authentic me.
And Enjoy!

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Dianne

Stop.....Breathe.....Believe.....

Check out the beautiful mosaic artwork of Sonja Devaney - I cherish the art and the beauty of her work!

Daring Hearts, Connectedness, Stop Breathe Believe, I’m Fine, Nature and Marbles - A Marble Jar Friend that Sees Me

The books, I’m Fine, a real feelings journal and Stop Breathe Believe, could be pathways to exploring your emotions as you step into fall. I invite you to learn more about these books here.