An Update on Being in Love with my Life
How this journey helped me realize the evils of The Sound of Music
Dearest readers,
As some of you may recall, each year I guide a small group through a journey I call the Transformational Wheel. This year-long process involves declaring something we wish to invoke and release, then working with Spirit’s guidance and personalized archetype/tarot pairings to manifest our intentions.
For 2024, my invocation is "Being in love with my life."
In July, I shared an update about how Death herself helped me reach a significant milestone along the way:
During my conversation with Death, she cautioned me that I might spiral back into old patterns and that there would be moments when I’d struggle to feel in love with my life again. She was right. Lately, I’ve found myself in just such a pattern.
Not only have I felt disconnected from that sense of being in love with my life, but I’ve also been harshly judging myself for it, feeling like a failure. Despite all the wisdom and guidance I’ve been given on gilded platters, I’m still struggling.
Then I get even more frustrated with myself, because, really—what a first-world problem to have. If anyone should feel in love with their life, it’s me. I genuinely have very little to complain about. How can I possibly feel anything other than profound gratitude and love for every moment?
As I was journaling about this frustration this morning, one of my guides appeared and asked, What makes you think you’re not already in love with your life?
Because I don’t feel…what exactly? What is it I believe I’m missing?
That's when it hit me: I’d been poisoned by Maria von Trapp. (After countless childhood viewings of The Sound of Music, it was probably inevitable.)
Unconsciously, I’d been holding in my mind the idea that I’d know I was in love with my life when, in every moment, I’d look and behave like some combination of this:
Of course I’d fall short in comparison. Because, no matter how much I’d like it, there is nothing about either of these images that is remotely like me. I’m simply not hardwired to twirl, much less click my heels together.
With this realization, I asked myself: How do I, specifically, look when I’m in love with my life?
I thought of tender moments with my husband, where I wrap my arms around him in a natural, unhurried way. In those moments, I am open, warm, and affectionate. My pace is slow and lingering.
I also recalled lying on a sandstone bluff, gently pressing my cheek to its stony surface, feeling deeply connected to all of Life itself. In moments like that, I am still and profoundly present, observant and curious.
In none of these moments am I an unending font of boundless, ebullient energy.
This shift has been the most remarkable transformation I’ve experienced so far this year. When the criteria for knowing I’m in love with my life actually aligns with my reality, I can finally let go of the effort and simply step into what’s been here all along.
I’d love to hear about your experiences with this! What unreasonable standards have you held yourself to that may have been obstacles to your own fulfillment?
Exciting Opportunity: A Year of Transformation in 2025
For the first time in a decade, I’m opening the doors to my transformational wheel group, welcoming a few new souls to join us on this intimate journey for 2025. This unique offering is for those who are ready to explore deeply and embrace a year of growth, clarity, and transformation.
What to Expect:
✨ November/December 2024: We'll begin with casting your chart of origin, revealing the twelve primary archetypes that shape your life. Together, we’ll uncover the foundational energies that guide you the most.
✨ January 2025 and Beyond: As we move into the new year, we’ll dive into a private group dialogue where each week, we’ll explore our unique archetype/tarot pairings. This space will be dedicated to sharing wisdom, offering support, and reflecting on the invoking and releasing work for 2025.
✨ Monthly Gatherings: Toward the end of each month, we’ll come together via Zoom to weave our insights into a deeper understanding of the month’s overall message—one that will resonate uniquely for each of us.
Availability: There are only four slots available for 2025, ensuring an intimate, focused group experience.
Investment: I’ve set the price at $1500 (or $115/month for 13 months), striving to make this accessible while honoring the time, energy, and personal dedication I bring to each participant.
Who is This For? This journey is for those who are committed to deep introspection, open to sharing intimately within a small group setting, and ready to dive into the transformational work ahead. If this resonates with you, I invite you to reach out to me directly at jennahiott@gmail.com to schedule a time for us to connect and see if this is the right fit.
Oh how wonderful this is to read...I feel that I fall into both categories...sometimes I'm a bouncing bubble of rainbow light that is so HAPPY with life that I'm BURSTING with it...a waterfall that is overflowing with love that I have to tell people, move, skip, smile out to the greatness of life;
other times, I'm quiet, introspective, assured and calm, still and slow, attentive and mindful and still in love with life...
I am both...I am the calm stream and at times the flowing waterfall.
Jenna, I really love your inner question: "How do I specifically look when I am in love with life?" When I wrote this I also felt I wanted to add for myself "How do I specifically look when I am not in love with life and how can I hold myself in this space?" Because, sometimes I'm not in love with life in any form and to know what I need to feel safe in that opposite space is also for me an important step in self care and self realisation.
Much love to you dear one and thank you for this great post. 💖
Haha, the evils of the Sound of Music!
Just this morning I was dwelling on contentment and what that looks like for me and I went through a similar process to what you describe here only to realize that my contentment is everywhere and it rarely looks how I think it should look!
I think I may innately fall into the 'glass a little bit empty' perspective on many things (I blame this on my DNA but perhaps that's a cop-out) so it takes effort to pull out of this to see what's right there in front of me. Also, I think what you describe in this excellent essay is such a part of being human and the key is to fully accept that part of ourselves while at the same time not deciding to live there on a full time basis.