When something keeps NOT working, do you listen?

I had plans for yesterday.

Soft Conversations was supposed to happen again. I went out there ready to gather, eat, talk, connect, and create the kind of meaningful community I’ve been envisioning.

And once again… it didn’t happen. There were a couple of cancellations. Some no-shows. 

And then, because apparently the day needed one final plot twist, I got food poisoning.

At some point, you have to laugh. But once I got past the disappointment (and the food poisoning 😩), I started thinking: Is there a message here for me?

Soft Conversations is something I’ve wanted to create because I believe deeply in the need for spaces where women can gather without performing, networking, fixing, or being anything other than themselves.

I still believe in that. But maybe the way I’ve been trying to create it needs to change. Maybe it needs a different format. A different setting. A different rhythm. Or maybe it needs to become something I haven’t thought of yet. I don't have the answer today.

And strangely, that feels like the perfect place to be on the eve of our 30 Days of Ritual Challenge. Because this is part of ritual, too.

We often think of rituals as the things we do.

• Light the candle.

• Make the tea.

• Journal.

• Meditate.

• Take the walk.

But ritual also creates space for us to notice.

• To notice what keeps showing up.

• What keeps falling away.

• What feels nourishing.

• What feels forced.

• What we keep trying to make happen.

• And what might be asking us to loosen our grip.

Sometimes we are so busy executing the plan that we never get quiet enough to ask:

Does this still fit me?

That is part of what I want these next 30 days to be about. Tomorrow, September 1, we begin our 30 Days of Ritual Challenge. Every day, I'll share one small, intentional practice designed to help us reconnect with ourselves through our mind, body, spirit, surroundings, relationships, and everyday lives.

 But underneath all 30 rituals is something even more important: Listening.

• Noticing what you need.

• Paying attention to what feels good.

• Recognizing what doesn't.

• And trusting yourself enough to adjust accordingly.

So perhaps yesterday wasn't another failed Soft Conversations event. Perhaps it was information. I'm going to sit with that for a while. And maybe somewhere in these next 30 days, the answer will find me.