#brightsiding in June

Written while listening to the new Sylvan Esso song on repeat

Hey friends,

How's everyone doing out there? By the time this makes it to your inbox I'll be running around Denver, but as I write this I'm enjoying the last few hours in my apartment before leaving for Colorado.

I love the weird, bittersweet excitement that comes with getting ready for a trip. My apartment is never in better condition than before I leave, and there's something about the pre-vacation deep clean that fills my heart up with love and gratitude for the place I live. I wish there was a good word to capture the satisfaction of restoring order in your apartment, the melancholy of leaving your bed behind, and the excitement and anticipation of a trip. If you know of one, let me know.

Before I leave I always do lap around the apartment trying to burn every detail into my brain -- like I'm bracing myself to never be back here again. It's a silly ritual and probably a result of dorm-room inspections before breaks at boarding school, but over the years I've grown fond of the mix of emotions that comes with getting ready to leave a place you love and head off on a new adventure.

And it's a good exercise in making space for a spectrum of emotions, something I'm working on integrating into my day-to-day life more. Since I started therapy 3 & 1/2 years ago, the big "unlearning" has been that things aren't black and white. When I was younger I was really afraid of making space for "negative" emotions because I was convinced they'd overtake any positive ones, and that I'd get stuck in the "bad".

I've learned a lot about the power of the story you tell yourself, how multiple emotions can exist in the same space, and the important distinction between processing your emotions and not identifying with them.

I can be sad to leave my apartment behind in the same moment as being thrilled about an upcoming adventure. I can process the melancholy without becoming attached to it - in the same way that I enjoy anticipation and excitement, knowing that a new set of feelings will arise when I land in a new city.

What are your strategies for making space for a range of feelings? This is something I'm thinking a lot about these days and I'd love to hear your perspective. Shoot me an email.

I hope you're having a luscious summer. Talk soon.

Lots of love,

Bogs

Right: if you've seen a girl straight VIBING on the West Side highway recently, it was me. Bonus points if you caught me racing myself, mouthing all of the words to "Like That".

Left: Sunset from a recent trip home to the Blue Oar. IYKYK.

Smoothies are life this summer. I've got a $30 Target blender doing the job ... but tell me, will a Vitamix change my life?