This Month's blog is inspired by the monthly reading from Pause at the Well.
Let's hear it for Less Effort and More Release for Evolving into Living a Life You Love
Standing in the liminal passage between what has been and what is becoming - growth is no longer about adding more. No more adding insight. No more adding effort. And, no more fixing and changing.
At this point in our journeys, our evolution requires release. Letting go. This is especially true now, in 2026, as we transition from the year of the snake - and we shed our skin of the past. In this vulnerable space, we stop and stay with ourselves to heal and integrate. To bloom into a values-based, intention-aligned, purpose-driven life that you genuinely love, we find there are old ways of being, doing, and having that must gently, but finally, be laid to rest and brought to completion. Not because they were wrong for being in existence. Not because you were wrong for being, doing, or having them. But because they belong to who you were before when they were necessary for your survival. The question to ask yourself now is,"Do these ways of being belong to who I am becoming?"
What are you carrying that can be laid to rest?
What are you forcing that can simply be allowed to flow into flight? Released?
What are you fixing and changing that can be radically accepted - as is?
Stop Being: Armored and Braced
Many of us have learned to survive by being strong, responsible, or vigilant. Perpetually “on.” We carry seriousness as a form of protection. We stay braced against core pains such as rejection, disappointment, loss, or instability. We armor up - and stay that way - to protect against pain.
Being called back to our innate innocence and childlike levity in the wonder of life - this is not naïveté, but pure openness. A willingness to meet life without gripping so tightly or grasping so desperately. It’s remembering that joy, curiosity, and laughter are not indulgences; they are key signs of aliveness. Blooming requires bold softness. You cannot blossom while clenched, and it takes strength to open to the light.
Stop Doing: Forcing and Pushing Through
There is a difference between aligned action and anxious effort. Stop and notice this distinction. Stop pushing for certainty before it’s ready. Stop over-planning from fear and the need to control safety. Stop forcing momentum when patience is required.
When we live from intention rather than urgency, we allow the path to reveal itself through reflection, responsiveness, and choice. Sometimes the most powerful action is pausing long enough to listen - stop and notice your listening… A life you love is not built by force. It’s shaped by presence, and whatever is in your listening is driving this.
Stop Having: Carrying Burderns
Many of us are still carrying burdens we no longer need, deserve, enjoy, or want. These come in many forms, and these are some suggestions to get clear on yours:
- Burdens of outdated narratives about who we must be to survive, which usually meant fitting in.
- Burdens of pressure to have it all figured out and “know” to be safe and in control.
- Burdens of emotional weight inherited from past seasons, regrets, or resentments.
Burdens were never meant to be permanent. When we set down what no longer aligns with our values and where we are in our journey, we free energy for imagination, creativity, and purposeful movement. We make room to live from what matters now, not what once kept us safe.
In summary, rather than striving, fixing, or forcing change, try softening and shedding what no longer serves. Then, trust the wisdom of letting go. This reflection explores how true transformation often arises not from doing more, but from releasing old patterns, expectations, and identities, thus making space to live a life that is genuinely aligned, nourishing, and deeply loved.
I invite you to consider, what am I being invited to release right now? Where might ease, trust, and alignment replace effort and striving? Allow this reflection to meet you exactly where you are—and take one small, intentional step toward living a life you truly love.
