Our house is on the market, we’re preparing to move 45 minutes south, it’s the height of tax season, and Mike can’t lift anything while he waits for hernia surgery. On top of that, my 93‑year‑old father is recovering from a severe fall, and my heart is stretched across the world as people I love navigate frightening, unfamiliar events. In all of this, the practices that usually ground me — writing, reading, reflection — have been harder to reach. Some days it feels like the world is rushing by faster than I can move. I know I’m not the only one carrying a lot right now. If you’re in a season that feels heavy, disorienting, or simply full, you’re welcome to bring that here. This community is a place to show up as you are, steady, scattered, hopeful, overwhelmed, or anything in between. What’s on your plate today, and how are you holding it?

Fear doesn’t wait for an invitation. It doesn’t appear with a puff of smoke, ready to grant wishes or bargain for your attention. It’s wilder than that. Fear is a shapeshifter, docile one moment, ferocious the next. It can ambush you without warning, slipping in through an old memory, a familiar ache, or a story you didn’t realize you were still carrying. Relentless! Accidental! It has a mind of its own. ❤️ Here’s the part we forget: Fear isn’t here to punish you. And it’s definitely not here to grant your worst-case scenarios. It’s not a genie in a lamp. 📩 It’s a messenger. A signal that something in you is stirring, shifting, waking up. A reminder that you’re alive, that you’re growing, that you’re brushing up against the edges of what matters. When we stop treating fear like a threat and start meeting it with curiosity, we get to choose how we respond, with breath, with presence, with awareness. When fear shows up in its unpredictable form, what helps you stay rooted instead of swept away?

Woo hoo! I reached level 3 in The Clarity Collective community! 🤩

For most of my life, if you asked me, What’s your favorite time of year? I would have said Fall. It was an answer I adopted long ago, and I never paused to ask myself why. Why Fall? For years, Fall felt like closure. A chance to wipe my hands of another year, finished, done, survived. I’d look at my list of what I hoped to accomplish, celebrate the wins, and ache over the failures. If I’m honest, Fall carried a heaviness: sadness, unmet goals, and the exhaustion that comes from pushing through another twelve months. By year’s end, I wasn’t just tired, I was worn out, bracing myself for the pressure of a new beginning. Several years ago, something shifted. I can’t point to a single moment, though the years leading up to it were full of what I’ll call adventures. Not the glamorous kind. Some of them made people angry. Some looked reckless from the outside; emotionally, financially, even professionally. And layered on top of everything, I was pursuing a master’s degree in an “emerging” discipline that sat far outside most people’s comfort zones. To some, it looked like I had gone completely off the rails. But for me, the longings finally outweighed the discomfort of being misunderstood, and the fear of making “yet another” mistake. So when I turned 59 and realized I was stepping into my 60th year, something in me said: mark this differently. Celebrate the becoming, not just the surviving. So I threw myself a launch party. I invited a small circle of family, friends, and colleagues; people who had shaped my life in both beautiful and complicated ways. We gathered at a local restaurant, and before dinner, I introduced each person to the group. In the background, Fight Song played softly, and something in me sparked. That January night rekindled a light that I believe first flickered the day I was born, January 31, 1960. Ever since, I’ve found myself looking forward to the new year; curious, hopeful, energized by what might unfold. Yes, I still arrive at year’s end tired. But now, I can say I’m satisfied.

@Rhimah Ajlouni @Serena DAfree @Lori Rogers 📣 We are so happy you are here. 🪴 We are a growing community of ambitious women. 🙉 We welcome your input and suggestions. 🔎 Take a look around and introduce yourself, if you haven't already. 💕 We look forward to getting to know you.