Some Birthday Invitations
The festivities, a wish, a Santa Fe workshop & STILL update
Last Saturday I turned 44.
44 sounds fun. I like it. I’m ready for it.
I somehow managed to have my birthday celebration span four days. Perhaps it was because the more time I’ve been spending around death and dying as a hospice chaplain, the more I’m feeling compelled to celebrate life—including my own! Regardless of the motivation, 4 days is pretty impressive… And, actually, I figured that since my birthday was already stretching into this week, I might as well keep the festivities going by saying hello here on STILL and offering a few birthday updates, invitations, and requests!
1. The Festivities
After visiting some hospice patients on Friday morning, I kicked off the celebration with my first facial (glorious!), writing at a local coffee shop (working on my second book!), and meeting up with my dad for a cocktail.
Saturday (my actual birthday) was for sweating, bookended by morning hot yoga with Cherie and an evening sauna experience with some dear friends. The latter also involved breathtaking cold plunging in the Milwaukee River. It’s not exactly a clean river, so the jury is out on whether the experience will contribute to lengthening (cold!) or shortening (polluted!) my life expectancy. Between the sweating, I had brunch with my family and took care of a few homeowner things, or at least tried to.
On Sunday we joined some friends on the beach for a soon-to-arrive baby blessing. Such a gift to see a community surrounding a family in this threshold moment. Next we watched the Green Bay Packers beat the Chicago Bears in typical yet dramatic fashion. Cherie and I closed the day out by hosting one of our favorite bands, S. Carey (the number two guy in Bon Iver) for an intimate “living room” show at my brother’s brewery. It was a magical night!
On Monday, after a full day of work and school and sports practices, we had tacos for dinner and Cherie and the kids game me some sweet cards and gifts, one of which may or may not have been a small karaoke machine that I now use at random times during the day.
It was a lovely few days!
2. Birthday Wish
Besides world peace, which really starts with inner peace, I do have a birthday wish I want to share. And I’d be grateful if you felt inclined to answer it!
As of yesterday, my book The Way Home: Discovering the Hero’s Journey to Wholeness at Midlife has been in the world for 9 months. Crazy!
For my birthday, would you help me get to 100 ratings and reviews on Amazon?
Here’s how:
Go to The Way Home's page
Scroll down to where it says "Leave a Customer Review."
(FYI, if you do this in your web browser, you can edit your name to remain anonymous or create an alias.)Rate the book (5 stars please!) and leave a brief comment (optional)!
Oh yeah, if you haven’t checked it out yet, order your copy today and then rate and review!
3. See You in Santa Fe
Next year, from January 27 to February 1, I have the incredible opportunity to co-facilitate a workshop with Chip Conley, three time TED speaker, author of Learning to Love Midlife (and other books), hospitality industry veteran (former AirBnb Head of Hospitality), and founder of the Modern Elder Academy (MEA).
The “Discovering The Hero’s Journey in Midlife” retreat will take place at MEA’s world class retreat campus in Santa Fe, recently named to TIME’s 2024 World’s Greatest Places to Visit list. I’ll be a “guest faculty” member, joining the likes of previous luminous facilitators like Elizabeth Gilbert, Father Richard Rohr, Mirabai Starr, and Mark Nepo. I’m so honored and so excited!
If you are looking to chart your path forward towards wholeness and purpose, and achieve your quest of living a joyous, meaningful, and deeply fulfilling life—and in an incredible and restorative setting—look no further! Would love to have you join us. Scholarships are available.
Learn more and register here.
4. The Status of STILL
As previously mentioned, that I’m taking some time to figure out the next steps for STILL. It’s been about a year since I launched this newsletter and I’ve really been enjoying it. I like writing on the Substack platform. I’m grateful for the connections I’m making here.
And also… I’m sensing that it might be time to take this in some new directions. Specifically, I’m leaning towards reframing the name of this newsletter and what I write about here. It won’t be a dramatic departure from what I’ve already been doing, but I’m interested in focusing in a few themes and connecting with more readers who want to get deeper into those themes.
Super cryptic, I know. But while I don’t have a timeline yet, I do have a new name and concept I am leaning towards. Of course, you’ll be the first to know!
Any thoughts on what you enjoy here? I’d love to hear from you in comments and messages!
It means a lot that you spend time in this little corner of the internet. Thanks for your subscriptions. It also would be a huge help if you jumped in as a paying subscriber for the year ahead!
5. Soul Support and/or Meditation
I’ve been thrilled to take on more coaching clients and private meditation students lately as more people have been finding me through my book. Honestly, I’m not sure that “coaching” actually captures the soul-level work I do with people (and my personal website needs an overall, but that’s a whole other story), but that’s what it is for now.
If you are looking for accompaniment and guidance as you navigate life’s liminal space, I’m here for you. I’ve got room for a couple more clients. If you are interested in connecting and learning more, please reach out to set up a free 20-minute call. Can’t wait to hear from you!