“When Bob and I started One Bigg Island in Space in 2018 and took on the mission from BIGGBY COFFEE to be 100% Farm-Direct by 2028, we didn’t know what we were doing. And we certainly didn’t know how we were going to do it. But we got started anyway. It’s been like flying a rocket ship while you are building it in space.” ~ Michelle Fish Exploratory Trip
Expansive Opportunity Hello friends! When Bob & Michelle invited me along for their first “boots on the ground” trip to Burundi? This time, I did pause . . . at least for a moment. Truth? I wasn’t even confident I could spell Burundi, let alone locate it on a map. But, as I talked with Mike about my first-ever trip to Africa, my excitement grew. Within hours of the invitation I replied: “I’m all in!” That was only a couple of weeks ago, so the need to prepare kicked in quickly. I’ve been reading and learning about Burundi. I’m attempting to learn a few phrases in Kirundi. I immediately reached out to my Dr. asking about vaccinations and immunizations. This lead me to a Passport Travel Clinic in Grand Rapids where I learned a lot . . . including the fact that my body doesn’t love dealing in Yellow Fever nor Typhoid Fever. Thank goodness for the protection! It’s such a privilege to have this opportunity. Those coffee beans coming directly from Farm-Direct relationships? This is how it gets started. One exploratory trip at a time. Bob and Michelle have said they will follow any lead. While not all leads translate directly into a partnership, all leads do foster relationship building and new knowledge. I can’t wait to see all that emerges from this experience! I look forward to sharing more when I return! 💡 & ♥️ ~ m
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“To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.” ~ Oscar Wilde Internal Curiosity
Shifts Happen 🥰 Hello beautiful people, Gosh, this time of year reminds me how much I enjoy color! My rhododendrons bursting into bloom make me smile every time I catch a glimpse. I’m actually a little giddy that our transplanted iris beds have a few blooms with even more buds awaiting their moment. Every time I walk Javi, I take in the progress of my favorite bed of poppies in the neighborhood. It won’t be long now! Getting to see the spectacular Northern Lights show last weekend?! Well, that just about put me over the top. I had a difficult time settling back in for sleep after our Friday night adventure. 😀 Natural beauty is something so calming, and healing, especially when we are present enough to truly take it in. This brings me to something I’ve been meditating on lately. Our ability to be present and open to it all. The splendor and the wonder. The struggle and the challenge. Or, as one of my yogi friends says, “The happy and the crappy.” 😉 Here’s what I’m starting to know. It all keeps shifting. And, while we don’t have ultimate control, we can train where we direct our gaze. Where we place our own energy and what we give energy to. Easy example: I’m a little busier than normal these days: more on the calendar; a longer “to-do” list. The other day when I got in my car to tackle a list of not-so-fun errands, I took a moment to check in; I noticed my mindset and my internal language. I felt hurried. A bit stressed. It felt like I was, indeed, braced to “tackle” my list. 🤪 Guess what? I was doing that to myself. It wasn’t necessary. And, I could help myself shift into a different space. One that was more calm. More present. More kind to myself and to others around me. I even began to experience gratitude for the opportunities that have created this busyness. Because truly? That long list of errands? ALL rooted in privilege. When I can access this space, everything feels easier. Moves with greater flow. Less agitation. Less struggle. I noticed I also have more fun all along the way. And why not? I’m going to do the errands one way or another, so why not go the more pleasant route? Keeping our mind focused, or training where we direct our gaze, our energy, takes practice. But, the practice is simple. It starts with checking in. Creating a moment of pause. Settling into breath. Beginning to notice more about your own body and being. Then, if warranted, helping yourself create that shift. Maybe through a moment of stillness. Or putting on some good music. Or noticing something blooming near you. Or taking a short walk. It’s simply a practice of internal curiosity. This curiosity leads to enhanced awareness. Our enhanced awareness fosters the ability to shift. The shift changes everything. ♥️ So much goodness happening all around. I hope to see you soon, ~ m 
“The discipline of gratitude is the explicit effort to acknowledge that all I am, and have, is given to me as a gift of love. A gift to be celebrated with joy.” ~ Henri Nouwen Growing Our Gratitude
Broadening the Scope Hi friends! Any day on the water feels special to me, but this particular journey was remarkable. In so many ways. Sailing has been part of my relationship with Mike from the very beginning. In fact, he proposed to me on a VERY cold day in May on the Big Lake in Elusive . . . the sailboat he co-owned at the time. Now that I understand all that’s involved in sailing? I honestly have no idea how he managed to get out a ring, propose, pop open a beautiful bottle of wine, etc. all while sailing in Lake Michigan. At that point, I was of NO help in terms of the boat. He managed to do it all, and I simply got to say, “Yes!” 🥰 Fast forward nearly 24 years to the day. Mike and I continue to love one another, and we love being on the water together. Everything that happened last Saturday fills me with so much gratitude and joy. The beauty, the connection with nature, the celebration with family and friends when we arrived at our slip . . . it’s all so restorative and expansive. And, I know I am SO fortunate to have that day. Special thanks to those who helped make this day possible. You know who you are, and you are loved. Gratitude is a word that gets used a lot. Maybe overused? When any word is used so often, in so many contexts, I feel like it loses some of its potency. The quote above is challenging for me. I love the expression of gratitude as a discipline. In other words, it is something that must be tended to, and practiced, in order to change our lives. Some people avoid the word discipline because it may have a negative, punishing, connotation. Not for me. I think of it as steadfastness. Showing up. While I wish it were as easy as wearing a t-shirt that says GRATEFUL on it . . . if that’s the only thing we do for our gratitude practice? We probably aren’t going to create much of a personal shift. And, if we think being grateful means being happy all the time? I think we’re really missing the mark. Kristin Lin offers us a more complete perspective: “A practice of gratitude is not about dismissing sadness, anger, fear, or confusion. Rather, it offers us the opportunity to see that we often experience multiple feelings at once; to welcome joy into the same places where we hold grief; to turn our attention to what is quietly growing and breathing day by day, which, to our possible surprise, includes ourselves.” Yes! I love this. Permission to feel all the feelings. In fact, not just permission, but a big, full, "Welcome to the party!" When I become more attuned with my body and being then everything seems to soften and flow more freely. Awareness, growth, and evolution are happening one breath at a time. This is yoga in action and in motion. Let’s take a nice big inhale. And an exhale. There. That’s better. Thank you body. ♥️, ~ m 🦋 
“Keep inviolate an area of light and peace within you.” ~ Corazon Aquino Healing Community
Better Together Hello! This weekly ritual of writing to you is such a gift. I’ve known that, but it was never more evident to me than last week. I have rarely shared my Columbine story. Doing so in this format wasn’t easy. I cried a lot. As it turns out, writing to all of you, and the subsequent conversations that continue taking place, have taken some of the pressure out of my body and being. Like a long, slow exhale that needed to be released.. Thank you. Truth? I’m still settling into this new space. And, I want to be with it a bit more. Amidst the pain, there’s sweetness that emerges through connection and empathy. That’s what I want to savor. So, as spring bursts into bloom and everyone seems to get even more busy, I want to gift us all a reminder; “Be a lamp or a lifeboat or a ladder. Help someone’s soul heal. Walk out of your house like a shepherd.” ~ Rumi If you missed Corazon Aquino’s quotation in the middle of this newsletter, take another read. In fact, go ahead and read it again regardless. 👀⬆️ The word “inviolate” is not something I would have come up with. And it’s perfect. Same with Rumi wanting us to walk out of our house like a “shepherd.” The word, possibly the translation, hits my ear a little funny. But, when I consider its meaning, I understand the brilliance. Thank you for being a source of light. For yourself. For all those around you. ~ m 🦋 P.S. Speaking of LIGHT | Save the date | THE Summer Solstice event. Gentle yoga & soothing sound bath along Lake Michigan. ☀️🙏🏽 Thursday, June 20 | Oval Beach | Teresa VanEyk, Harvey Deutch, and Me 🥰 |
AuthorMichelle Shaw: Archives
September 2024
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