Recently, I have had the privilege of moving into a new home, an intentional living community, with two other girls and my cat, Binx (pictured below). Soon, we will be adding a dog to the mix! Her name is Scout. (Get ready to hear about the new adventures!)
Every Wednesday night, we open our home to friends, family, homeless friends, and anybody who wants to stop by for a delicious bite of food, good conversation, and a warm welcoming space where everyone can express their humanity and share in life together. I have only been living here for about three weeks now, but I am already in love with the place. Getting to know my roommates and the people in the community is awe inspiring. There is so much passion, love, warmth, and openness surrounding us. I feel myself becoming a better version of myself and learning to grow into areas that are unfamiliar and full of potential. Sharing in and witnessing everyone's stories and perspectives is transformational. I am beyond thankful for this opportunity and all of the wonderful people my life has bumped up against and will continue to bump into. This place is changing me, permeating my soul, and working its way through me in profound ways.
Ironically, without meaning to, I created the perfect logo for this community and my life in this space. I hadn't even noticed until my roommate pointed it out to me. After creating an instagram for this blog (https://www.instagram.com/beautifulmessylives/), I wanted to create an image that summed up what this blog means to me. In my mind, this blog is about what it means to be human. Through sharing my own stories, processing things that life throws at us, and hopefully, engaging in honest and vulnerable dialogue, I hope this blog can be a source of inspiration or hope for others. The image that came to mind was that of people and animals together in harmony. What I created was an image of three people, a cat, and a dog with the words "Our Beautiful Messy Lives"strewn across the middle (See photo below). What I didn't realize is that this is literally a snapshot of my life at the moment. It is beautiful and messy and full of life.
Hopefully, the lessons that I learn and grow into, living in community, will translate and bleed over onto these pages. Hopefully, as you read these posts, you are encouraged to love yourself, lean into deeper questions, and let yourself be human. While the logo captures my life at this moment, I also want it to represent what community can look and feel like for everyone. Here is to leaning in and being in community.
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