Still Becoming: Joy, Intention & the Life You Desire

Here we are in August. There are plenty of warm days ahead—and likely a few hot ones sprinkled in—while September is beginning to come into view.

I can already sense the change around us. School supplies have returned to the stores, schedules are beginning to shift, and fall will soon bring its own pace. For now, I’m still enjoying this part of the season and the quieter pleasures that come with it. An evening at home with a little music, unhurried time with someone I love, or just being outside can become one of those precious memories that stays with us long after the moment has passed.

At the same time, I find myself paying attention to what life is showing me.

What feels good? What is nurturing me? What would I like to experience more often? And where might a different choice support the life I desire to live?

Listen for What Life Is Showing You

The more intentionally I live, the more I recognize how much we can learn from the ordinary moments of our lives.

Our mind, body, and spirit have ways of communicating with us. We may notice when something feels aligned, when rest would serve us well, or when an experience leaves us feeling more fully ourselves.

This awareness is part of how I embrace energy hygiene. It is less about adding another practice to my day and more about noticing how I am responding to the life I am already living.

Sometimes caring for my energy means creating a quiet space for prayer, meditation, reflection, or simply being still. At other times, it may be stepping outside or spending time with someone whom I feel safe enough to speak honestly and be myself.

Discernment also helps me recognize when something needs to change. Perhaps my body is asking me to slow my pace, or a commitment deserves another look before I give it more of my time and energy.

Reflection creates room for those messages to become clearer.

And once we begin listening, self-care becomes less of an idea and more of something we can practice in the choices we make.

Self-Care in Action — In Real Life

Part of caring for myself is recognizing what may create unnecessary stress and then deciding what I can avoid, reduce, or eliminate.

That often begins with a pause.

Before automatically agreeing to something, I can give myself enough time to consider whether it is something I truly want or need to do and whether I have the capacity for it in that moment. I can also consider whether stepping in will genuinely help—or whether allowing someone else to carry their part may ultimately serve both of us better.

That pause gives me room to respond.

When my answer is yes, I can still decide how that yes will look. Maybe I approach the task differently, give myself more time, or build in enough space to rest along the way. I can adjust when my energy changes and communicate what I need rather than expecting the people around me to understand and know what I need.

Boundaries naturally become part of this conversation too.

A wholehearted yes can feel wonderful when it comes from a place of choice. A loving no can be equally valuable when it protects the time and energy we need for what genuinely matters.

For me, that is self-care in action—responding to the life in front of me with greater awareness rather than moving through it out of habit.

That understanding took on even more meaning during a special experience this summer.

A Reminder I Brought Home With Me

The On the Ground Yoga & Arts Camp, a collaboration between Souljourn Yoga Foundation and Project Blue, gave me an opportunity to share many of these same ideas with a wonderful group of young ladies.

Through my presentation, “Becoming Her — My Vision. My Voice. My Future,” I invited them to reflect on who they are becoming, recognize the value of their own voices, and begin imagining a future that feels meaningful to them.

One of the most heartwarming moments was watching my daughter present “Self-Care in Action.” I loved seeing how attentively the young ladies listened, the questions they asked, and their openness to exploring what caring for, loving, and honoring themselves could look like in their own lives.

• 

• 

Seeing those moments unfold reminded me that insight becomes even more profound when we have an opportunity to do something with it. A conversation about self-care can influence a new choice. An idea about the future can become a word or image placed on a vision board. Sometimes being gently invited to imagine differently opens a door we had not considered before.

I came home with that reminder for myself as well. The wisdom we share with others also invites us to keep living it.

For me, Aging Gracefully means continuing to participate in creating a life that supports who I am today while remaining open to who I am still becoming.

Recently, that has meant rejoining the senior center in my own community, close enough for me to walk there, where I can participate in group exercise, chair yoga, and even dance. On other days, I may join my aunt at another center nearby. We can enjoy chair yoga together and, when the day invites us, walk along the shore of Lake Erie.

I like what these choices offer me. They support my body while giving me opportunities to enjoy nature, spend meaningful time with someone I love, and remain engaged in ways that feel right for me now.

It feels natural, enjoyable, and aligned with the way I want to live—another way of loving and honoring myself.

What became even clearer to me is that creating the life we desire often happens through what is available to us right where we are.

Make Room for What Matters

As September gets closer, that thought feels especially relevant.

A change in season can easily become an invitation to fill every open space on the calendar. Today, I am more interested in asking myself what truly deserves a place there.

Perhaps something you have experienced recently has reminded you of what you value. Maybe you have discovered a different pace that feels better, found something you want to continue, or realized that an old way of doing things no longer fits quite as comfortably.

We are allowed to respond to that awareness.

Aging with grace gives us room to learn from ourselves as we go. Sometimes that means asking for help or reconsidering a familiar way of doing something. At other times, it may mean giving ourselves permission to move at a pace that supports who we are today.

That is where intention and discernment meet.

Rather than measuring our days by how much we manage to fit into them, we can begin noticing how the choices we make help us experience the life we say we desire.

And before we move fully into September, I think there is still room for a little fun.

🎶 A Little Summer Encore

Before August gives way to September, I invite you to create your own Summer Encore—a chance to enjoy a little more of what has felt good while staying open to what may be calling you next.

• Savor: What is one experience from these past few months that you would gladly enjoy again? It could be something shared with people you love or a peaceful moment that was completely your own.

  
  

• Imagine: Is there something you would still love to try or experience? Give yourself a moment to picture it. How might it feel to actually give that desire some room in your life?

  
  

• Choose: What is one manageable step you can take toward it? Your step can be thoughtful, spontaneous, shared with someone you love—or entirely yours.

Let the encore be yours.

Enjoy what is here. Make room for what nurtures you. Love and honor yourself in the choices you make, and remain curious about what may be waiting just beyond the familiar.

What else might be possible?

Warmly,

Margo 🌹

With gratitude: Special thanks to Dr. Jordan Ashley of Souljourn Yoga Foundation and Ariel Granat of Project Blue for including me in the On the Ground Yoga & Arts Camp—a meaningful collaborative experience created to support, encourage, and expand possibilities for young women.