welcome to the unfolding, a bi-weekly(-ish) newsletter curated from the heart with reflections on living fully, offerings, and gems.** thank you for unfolding with me. ✨ view past newsletters here. (4 minute read) |
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reflections on living & unfolding |
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hey y'all, as i mentioned two unfoldings ago, i'm on a change hiatus (be back in September!). this unfolding is a guest reflection from Dana Escamilla, a talented brand strategist that i've had the pleasure to work with in focus session & more! as you read it, notice what resonates with you & your unfoldings. enjoy! |
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hi there! i’m dana. nice to be here with you and have the gracious opportunity to share what’s been unfolding for me. the word that came to mind when yasmin posed the question “what's unfolding for you?” was “discoverability”. what does that mean? the literal definition, “the degree to which something can be found”. what does that mean for me lately? the degree to which parts of me can be found that have been feeling lost, buried or perhaps yet to be revealed. one of the labels i carry is solopreneur and discoverability has shown up as “where am i in all of this?”. when i quit my job four years ago, i thought i had to do it all on my own with the notion that there is a “right way” to start and build a business. although i’ve thrown the beliefs around “right way” in the trash, i still find myself getting caught up in the “should” shaming ways to be “successful”. the detangling and detoxing from remnants of my time in corporate America. the constant push and pull to be visible in social media. the fears and frustrations surrounding income and what that means in this capitalist society. in a cultural over glorification of “self made”, what i’ve been able to discover is that nothing is ever truly a solo endeavor. where i have been able to locate myself in all of this is in community. this past year and a half as we’ve all been more isolated, i sought out values-aligned communities and connections. experiencing the beautiful process of unfolding with others who show up differently in their acts of service. one such connection is with yasmin. she opened my eyes to ways to forge connections while opening space in presentations and workshops. we worked together 1:1 as she helped guide me to include my own story in a presentation rather than hide behind a heap of information. she helped me discover me in an aspect of my work. and it has been a powerful reminder on how we make and discover ourselves is more expansive when co-creating with others. self-practice: if you’re feeling alone or that you have to do it all yourself, perhaps considering one thing that may welcome community into your life that may be in service to you. send a message to folks to ask for support in finding resources or referrals or make a call to ask for help? or are there changes to your social media feeds that may lead you to new spaces? with gratitude, dana |
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dana is a brand strategist and web designer based in Los Angeles. under her business, stargazer, she helps service providers create digital spaces for clients to genuinely tell their stories and share their offerings in a way that calls in the people most aligned with the vision and values. she finds joy in hiking, taking nature photos, and getting immersed in a movie or tv show. Website LinkedIn |
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- the one and only adrienne maree brown wrote this piece that literally cracked me open. excerpt: “I only see one way. If I define love as the willful extension towards spiritual growth that bell hooks and M. Scott Peck told me about, then when I come across all this resistance to the miraculous and collective aspects of our species, I willfully extend my energy towards the necessary and inevitable growth evidenced by that resistance." - also this juiciness from my brilliant friend Jane's newsletter, the hypha: “The problem isn't working too much, but more that the work culture I've been in has meant doing too much of the kind of work that is stressful and draining, rather than nourishing, and that trying to complete a work project with constantly shifting parameters left me unable to complete stress cycles (see the wonderful book Burnout by Drs Emily and Amelia Nagoski for more on this).” |
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& with that, may you be empowered always all ways. yasmin đź’› |
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thought of someone lovely while reading this? share this love to a friend by forwarding this to them want to send some love my way? buy me a chai here :) |
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