Focus on what's in your heart. | August 2020 Love Note

At a time when everyone pivoting, I have decide to lean further in to what has been at the heart of Love, Maaden all along. This movement is about overcoming life's challenges by deepening relationships, and about adopting practices, mantras, and rituals that help us to strengthen those relationships. Relationships with ourselves, with the individuals closest to us, with our tribe, and with others around us.

Self. Love, Maaden was built on the idea of healing through hospitality, and overcoming our fears through vulnerability and transparency, yet it starts with self. Self care, self control, self compassion. 

Mantra: I will focus on my relationship with myself and with my Creator. 

Relationships. How we connect with those closest to us is a direct reflection of the work we’ve done, or have yet to do, in our self relationship. Our triggers, our trauma, and our tendencies all reflect our personal story. 

Mantra: I will improve how I show up in my closest relationship(s).

Community. This has been the focus of Love, Maaden since its inception, these small groups of 5 and 6 women meeting around the table every month. While we have continued to meet using technology, there is so simply no replacement for a face to face conversation, a shared meal, or a hug. Our conversations in the digital space have been shorter and shallower than they once were. 

Mantra: I will reconnect with my people and deepen our conversations. 

Others. Paying it forward, amplifying the voices of others, and sharing our own testimony are all things that we can and should do. These are actions that not only bless others, but that give us purpose along our personal journey. 

Mantra: I will help others by using my voice and sharing my story.

Today, instead of a recipe for a meal, I am sharing the ingredients I’ve used over the last five months to work through this season by focusing on healthier relationships. Below are the steps I have taken to improve my relationship with self, my husband, my girlfriends, and my LM community. I pray that this these thoughts encourage you to do the same. Be well. 

Love,
Maaden