Thursday Murmurings
Michelle Obama, the tough bits of aging and finding the light
Happy Thursday, ya beauties!
Kicking it off this week with the always incredible, Michelle Obama. I’ve been seeing clips of speeches from the DNC all week and Mrs Obama, as always, didn’t disappoint. She is such a powerful public speaker.
The line that really struck me in her speech, when speaking of Kamala Harris, was;
“She understands that most of us will never be afforded the grace of failing forward. We will never benefit from the affirmative action of generational wealth. If we bankrupt a business or choke in a crisis, we don’t get a second, third or fourth chance. If things don’t go our way, we don’t have the luxury of whining or cheating others to get further ahead. No. We don’t get to change the rules so we always win. If we see a mountain in front of us, we don’t expect there to be an escalator waiting to take us to the top. No. We put our heads down. We get to work.”
There are so many choice moments in her speech, but that part really fired me up. I think so many people will have felt seen and understood by that. And on such a basic level, it demonstrates the difference between Kamala and Trump. Trump is a man who could never conceive of the struggles regular people go through.
While it has felt like we’ve been watching the season finale of America for a while, seeing this renewed energy as people rally around Kamala’s run for President has given me hope that all may not be lost.
Also, side note; Michelle’s braid was serving.
Things that caught my eye this week
This piece about your moral compass altering dependent on your environment or the seasons was quite an eye opener. Definitely interesting in the context of politics, elections and when they’re held.
Food for thought
You can be in the depths of your darkness and still feel inspired to find the light. From the pit of your despair, you are still entitled to hope. It’s not a betrayal of your sadness to seek a way out of it. You can honour it while believing that the good you yearn may happen in the next breath, be around the next corner or find its spark in the next conversation. Because that is the human experience. To find yourself laid out on the canvas, assumed to be down for the count and still be able to find that voice within that whispers ‘I’m not out yet’ - that is where the best of you is born.
You should upgrade to the paid version of The Murmuration because….
In Monday’s letter I’ll be talking about this stage of life, in your 40s, that no one seems to prepare you for, where big life shit starts to happen. People around you are getting divorced, your friends are struggling with parenting or infertility or their parents are sick or dying. I have multiple people around me going through every variation of these things and it requires a strength and depth of friendship (especially friendships that span oceans) that perhaps none of us were prepared for and just have to know how to show up in.
There is so much power in hitting your 40s, where you find your stride and settle into your confidence, but there’s also so much heartbreak as life really begins to life.
So, how do we prepare?
Your Weekly Biggie (P)update
This week, Biggie wants to remind you to get your sleep hygiene in order. Get yourself a good night time routine. Perhaps trading phone scrolling for some journaling and reading, maybe a relaxing bath. Do what you can to ensure your slumber really slaps.
Until next week; smile at strangers, spread good vibes, be nice to people.