Dearest reader -

I hope this email finds you very well, wherever it may find you.  Let's talk pressure. Josh Allen, end of game pressure. Wide right pressure. Woah. I'm stressed just saying those words. 

For those of you who don't follow football, my hometown Bills have a storied history of tough losses. Most famously, the Superbowl that ended with a missed, wide right field goal. Nevermind that it was a pretty tough kick to make. It's been a curse of sorts.

Then, this past weekend, the sweetheart Bills team, with Taylor and Jason Kelce watching, caved under the pressure. And even had a wide right field goal at the end that would have tied the game. Painful.

We live in these patterns, apparently to help us learn something that we didn't get the first 5 times the universe brought us this challenge. Who knows what the Bills need to learn to break the cycle - they probably need a shaman. But for the rest of us, what do we do?

My vote: jump right into it and then examine. Again and again. Until the lesson is learned. Is it painful to get excited about your hometown team again, thinking this might be the year they finally go all the way, only to have your dreams crushed? Yes, it is. But if that's your thing (and that's a different question) then apparently there's a lesson for you to learn, that you didn't learn last time.

What is my lesson right now? Guess what, I’ve written about it to you before. Allowing some rest. I have been cranking out songs, and really happy with so much of the work that I’m doing.  And this week, I get to take some time, sleep in, recharge. Because I’m going to do it again next week, so I should be ready. During the cycle of this pattern that I’m in, I learned that I have no choice but to listen to my body, and fighting it just makes it harder.  Cheers to rest!!

Sending you love for all of your patterns, always,

Lauren

THANKS FOR READING!