"You Are Worth the Effort"

Inviting someone to an event can be simultaneously no big deal and a very big deal.

There are still spots available for this weekend’s All You Need Is Water online workshop. If you’re interested in public speaking and writing, please consider joining us Friday PM (5/31) & Saturday. Learn more.

It meant a lot to be invited to TWLOHA’s Move For It 5K. As far as I know, this was the organization’s first in-person public event since the pandemic. The 5K also happened to be the first event hosted by TWLOHA since I left back in 2021.

I had not given much thought to this year’s statement prior to arriving, but the words now feel significant. Inviting someone to an event can be simultaneously no big deal and a very big deal. Showing up can feel the same.

I had counseling the day before the 5K and we talked a lot about it. My counselor asked what I was hoping for. I said I wanted to be present, to let go of ego and expectations, and simply show up as a person. If a moment is awkward, let it be awkward. If some exchange is great, let it be great. There is freedom in security, and so I hoped to attend without needing anything. (I needed water.) I said I did not want to be a burden.

When the 5K was over and the TWLOHA staff had finished packing up, it was time for a team photo. I’m no longer on the team and so I offered to take it. Which truly was okay. I’ve had a lot of time (and counseling) to process this transition. The team deserves a photo and I could take the photo. But TWLOHA Co-Executive Director Lindsay Kolsch responded instantly, inviting me to join the group. I said let’s do a bit of both. I would snap some pictures of the official team, the crew who worked on this event for months and woke up in the dark to make it happen. And then I would gladly join them.

Including someone can be simultaneously no big deal and a very big deal. This picture is a photograph of that. Which I suppose means it’s a paradox. (I have become a fan of those.) Which reminds me of some lyrics written by a brilliant friend who goes by Propaganda: “It’s complicated. But so is a star, a quasar, a friendship, a marriage. May we be refuge for the complicated.”

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I offered to take the TWLOHA team photo but then Kat had to show me how to work a camera. Kayla stuck to the original plan.

With my sister Jessica and our mama.

Playlist:

Go Easy, Kid by Monica Martin (feat. James Blake)
I Don’t Live Here Anymore (feat. Lucius)
Exit Signs by Noah Gundersen
It’s Complicated by Propaganda
Idioteque by Radiohead
Laurel Wreath by Bear’s Den
Garden Song by Wild Front
Every Colour by Luca Fogale
You’ve Got The Love by Florence + The Machine
The Long Defeat by Thrice
The Getaway by The Strike

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Collective Speakers (Let’s make an event happen.)

Coaching & Consulting (Let’s work together one-on-one.)

All You Need Is Water (My workshop returns this weekend.)