From Falling Back to Springing Forward
Valerie Livesay Valerie Livesay

From Falling Back to Springing Forward

[In image: “Tick Tock Theater” with photo from the “Particular” montage. Rachel Phillips’ Ghost Light Theaters.]

When I was in the midst of my dissertation research, attempting to articulate a theory of fallback, it was autumn in the United States. At the time, developmental researcher, author, practitioner extraordinaire, and one of my research key thinkers, Jennifer Garvey Berger, lived in New Zealand where they were just emerging from winter. There was a period of that research season, as we wrangled our calendars trying to find a date and time for our next interview, that Jennifer and I were actively in the discussion of the precise days that I would fall back and she would spring forward. And for those of you who may doubt that these occurrences of falling back and springing forward are predictable but who may also have your interest piqued in how they could be possible, let me clarify…

Read More
The places we go to be seen
Valerie Livesay Valerie Livesay

The places we go to be seen

How often do we find ourselves in spaces with other humans where we are invited to discover them in their fullness and in that process find ourselves? I suspect for most, this experience is woefully scarce. Yet, it is immensely needed.

Read More
It’s the most wonderful (& fallback-inducing) time of the year
Valerie Livesay Valerie Livesay

It’s the most wonderful (& fallback-inducing) time of the year

It’s the most wonderful (and fallback-inducing) time of the year!  What with both my kids’ birthdays and holiday happenings, our family and inner circle that gets swept up in the madness now refers to this month as Livecember.  There are a whole bunch of expectations for December to be magical…and there are parts that are... But, even that expectation that I should find joy in every moment this month when joy is often at the farthest reaches during the holiday season can send me tumbling back.

Read More
To be tended to
Valerie Livesay Valerie Livesay

To be tended to

There’s something about this being tended to that allows us to sink into ourselves, into the primal experiences of our being, to reminisce about the journeys we’ve had before, to dream about those that we hope are to come, and to be present to the experience of the now.

This is the place where we reveal our secrets to each other, try out new things, share, and be, and allow together. Here, the tears spill from the corners of our eyes, we experience unbridled joy and longings met.

*The image is from the series “Sculpture” by Rachel Phillips. It is also featured on the cover of Leaving the Ghost Light Burning: Illuminating Fallback in Embrace of the Fullness of You.

Read More
Finding Grace on #FallbackDay
Valerie Livesay Valerie Livesay

Finding Grace on #FallbackDay

Today is #FallbackDay in North America. As in the day our clocks fall back for daylight savings time. It’s also the day I’ve claimed to reflect on our fallbacks – our unceremonious falls from our normal capacities to show up bigger…to ourselves, to those around us, to the world at large.

Read More
Cultivating Wild
Valerie Livesay Valerie Livesay

Cultivating Wild

When I was a child, I was a good girl, a rule follower, in truth, a full-on goodie two shoes. I don’t know that I would have opted in for that role given the full array of choices. But, I was the second of two children, and my sister, Stephanie, had already claimed the bad girl by the time I arrived and got my wits about me. And because early childhood and adolescence is a time of differentiation and black-and-white thinking, I chose the opposite path from Stephanie at almost every turn. The better path. The right path. And, I was rewarded for it.

Read More
rehearsing for summer
Fallback Valerie Livesay Fallback Valerie Livesay

rehearsing for summer

Months ago, I served as a chaperone for my daughter’s field trip. I took this picture as a way of congratulating myself for recognizing what scaffolds I would need to support me showing up aligned with my intention – to be in the moment with my daughter as she experienced her first ever field trip…as I entered into her space with the companions who fill her daily life. I was quite clear that a 45-minute ride on a school bus with 100 first-time-school-bus-riding third graders was not going to support me in meeting my intention. I opted to drive myself. Yay, me!

Today, on the first day post my kiddo’s school year, I sit on the cusp of another potentially fallback-inducing experience – summer.

Read More