Hey friend.

 

I've been unable to share as many resources since venturing to Alaska for 6 weeks as I'd like (i.e. guided meditations and video content). Writing has been most easily accessible to me lately, so it's what I've been able to share. I hope to share more with you later on when my life slows a bit. But here is what I have to offer for now. I hope you enjoy.

 

 

WAITING IN THE UNKNOWN

There are spaces in life

that are held apart by the unfolding of time. There’s no way to move through the space than to let time carry you forth. You can’t force answers or decisions in those moments. They are spaces of unknown and they must be respected with patience. It’s like casting your line into the water and waiting for something to bite. Some opportunities can only reach you on their own timeline, and their arrival asks nothing of you but patience and attention. But patience isn’t synonymous with inaction. So while you wait, cast your line over and over again into the river of possibilities. Then allow there to be time.

 

 
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photo I took in November, 2020 on the Oregon Coast

 

 
 

WRITINGS | SUCCESS

Success for me often feels like

 

a distant, undefined, and thus an unreachable concept—a breeding ground for dissatisfaction and anxiety.

 

So the other day I asked a new friend what he defines as a successful life. I like to ask this question from people who perceive life differently than me and pursue different goals, which he does. He recently told me he’d be perfectly happy cleaning cars for a living, yet I can’t even seem to find complete fulfillment in my most adventurous pursuits.

 

He paused for a moment before responding, as if he hadn’t thought about it before.

 

“Well, I guess success is being happy with your circumstances.”

 

It was a simple yet profound answer. It framed success as an outcome of perspective rather than attainment.

 

By that definition, I know very few people (myself included) who are successful—people who chase financial and career achievements but are never quite fulfilled with their circumstances despite accomplishing various goals.

 

If his definition of success is true then it wouldn’t depend so much on reaching particular benchmarks in life or acquiring anything in particular, but on shifting one’s internal perspective to find joy in whatever one’s circumstances are.

 

Life could still be full of goals, but not defined by achievement of them. Success would be accessible in the here and now and not dependent on future circumstances.

 

It wouldn’t depend on anything other than one’s choice to embrace what life has to offer, today, as good enough.

 

“Huh,” I said.

 

As I took in his relaxed and content demeanor sitting in the sun, reading a book, and soaking in life’s passing minutes, I thought: I have much to learn from people who are different than me, and I have new definitions to write about success.

 

What does success mean to you?

How will you know when you've “succeeded?” 

 

 

QUOTE BANK

"As far as I can tell, it’s just about letting the universe know what you want and working toward it while letting go of how it comes to pass. Your job is not to figure out how it’s going to happen for you, but to open the door in your head, and when the door opens in real life, just walk through it. And don’t worry if you miss your cue because there’s always doors opening. And when I say life does not happen to you, it happens for you, I really don’t know if that’s true. I’m just making a conscious choice to perceive challenges as something beneficial so that I can deal with them in the most productive way."

– Jim Carrey

 

 

Samantha Case

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