Friday night, my lover took me to see my boyfriend.

😉

See, I have had a ridiculous crush on W. Kamau Bell for *years* (and he totally loves me back, see?) and like all good husbands, Keith took me to see my swoon-mate in a convo with the inimitable Roxane Gay.

One of the best questions of the night came from a dude in our row, and it was — essentially — “How do we live in our joy at a time when so many others are suffering?”

Roxane kicked off the answer segment for this with a very similar list to what I would’ve made, were this question posed to me (and as with all good Brandprov opportunities, I was answering the question while hearing Roxane say, “Yeah. Wow. That’s a really good question. It’s an interesting time…” and so on).

She said that at a time when so much of our attention is focused on the pain of the struggle, she finds herself the most joy-filled she’s ever been when it comes to her personal life, her career, and her overall sense of being.

And she keeps pretty damn quiet about all that because it looks pretty bad to be so filled with joy while so much around us is… not.

Me on the other hand? I shout my joy from the rooftops. And here’s why:

I know I’m serving more members of my creative community by sitting fully in my happiness. I know that it is precisely because I am unapologetically joy-filled that I am my most powerful to create change in the world. And I also know that the feeling comes first, as with all things.

Meaning, the feeling leads to the manifestation of everything we’ve ever wanted in life, not the other way around. It’s not “book the co-star and then feel good,” or “land the killer agent and then be happy.” Nope. Not at all. The feeling leads.

Which is why feeling like shit — wallowing in the suffering — creates nothing more than lack of achievement, feeling stuck, being overwhelmed, and ultimately turning bitter or giving up altogether.

Y’all know I loves me some Abraham-Hicks and this is probably my favorite talk on this topic. (It’s also a really great share for your friends who may be a little new to the woo-woo.)

But the reason being so OUT about our joy is so important — especially now — is because creatives (and all the creative creations we create) are HERE to bring relief to the world through our stories. We’re meant to make a difference with the work we do. And when we’re NOT living fully in our joy, we are not delivering our gifts to the world to our greatest potential.

How can you lean into your joy so that you do more good in the world with your storytelling gifts? What are some choices you can make today that support your vision for the best life for you and for everyone whose life you touch? What support can you give to the feelings that WANT to be most in focus but that often get snuffed out by all the noise of the rest of the world?

(Again, I am asking myself these questions as I present them to you.)

Here’s one of the things that *I’m* gonna do!

(And my delightful SMFA Tune-Ups All-Access members!! Please remember!! Our monthly call is tomorrow [a day earlier than usual] due to this particular bit of awesomeosity in my life.)

Y’know I’ve been talking a lot about building up my intuition recently. Really leaning into my instincts and the messages the universe is whispering at every turn.

Welp, when I received an email a while back that my intuitive healer (y’all remember Bree from our collaborations over the years in clearing blocks from your creative path) that she’s running an intuitive entrepreneur retreat on a teeny island that requires a seaplane flight and a ferry ride to get to from Vancouver, and that this retreat starts on what would’ve been my mother’s 84th birthday and ends on Mother’s Day, it was like a nice little jolt from beyond saying, “Hey girl. Get yo’ self booked on this action.”

So, I’ll be spending four days immersed in an integration of business growth and spiritual growth and I am elated that there are such opportunities to weave woo-woo into the real world (especially because, for this chickie who grew up in a New Age household, they’ve always been one and the same)!

What that means to you is this: Instead of my usual Friday inbox love, you’ll notice me NOT there. Nor will I be in the Facebook group for a while. And — just like my joy is lived out unapologetically — my absence from these tech-tethers is also unapologetic. 🙂 Because I have more goodness to provide to you on the *other* side of this experience than those little bits of contact could match.

How can you be more unapologetic in your joy? Your boundaries? Your creative pursuit? When we idle in a place of apology for our riches, we teach the universe to stop delivering them.

I look forward to reconnecting next week and of course sharing some of what I will have learned as a result of this most amazing experience I’m about to have in Canada!

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Big yummy love!

Bonnie Gillespie is living her dreams by helping others figure out how to live theirs. Wanna work with Bon? Start here. Thanks!