The call of loneliness #Life#breakups#grief#Shitshow To Afterglow#spirituality Updated Nov 19 2020 (Posted Feb 22 2019) Ariel findyourafterglow Dancing at Daybreaker Seattle. Photo by AJ Apuya. Last week I was invited to share some of my writing at Daybreaker, a morning dance party that happens in Seattle (and worldwide). I decided to step out of my comfort zone and write something new, something that I guess could best be described as spoken word. After an excerpt on instagram, several folks asked for the full piece, so here it is… UPDATE 2020: This writing has been migrated to The Afterglow, my members-only private publication. Join today and get instant access to this post, and so much more. Ariel Author of three editions of the Offbeat Bride book and the brand-new From Shitshow To Afterglow, Ariel Meadow Stallings acts as the publisher of all the Offbeat Empire websites. She lives in Seattle with her son, and if she's not reading or writing books, chances are good that she's dancing or happy-crying. To follow her latest work, join join The Afterglow, for exclusive access to essays, videos, online courses, and more. PREVIOUS Asexuality and queerness redefined sex for us (& how we're making it work) NEXT Throwback style for days with these retro roller rink party photos (with an engagement shoot!) Show/Hide comments [ 7 ] That serenade sounds like the perfect ending! It was totally ridiculous, which was my goal — the reading itself was a little heavy (uh, y'think?) and I wanted to end it with a little pop music acapella karaoke surprise that folks could sing along with. Please come hang and dance and read at Daybreaker LA!! Aww, I wish!! I keep trying to convince my favorite Angeleno Meggyfin (former Offbeat Home editor, current friend) to go, and she hasn't bitten yet… maybe if I was in town and dragged her there… 😉 I love the line about love and grief being two sides of the same coin. That's profound and poignantly true. Thank you. For a while I thought about pain/loss/grief and joy/growth/love as two ends of a spectrum, but they're really the same thing. I can't really tell the difference between them any more… moments of loss feel tinged with joy and love, and even my most joyful moments these days feel tinged with a sense of loss, or more just an awareness of how things always shift, which gives an added layer of appreciation onto the joy. tl;dr life feels different when you have a visceral awareness of how temporary it all is. DayBreaker is such a great environment for bringing out these thoughts in us.There’s nothing like dancing, good music, and positive vibes for bringing out our best thinking. Comments are closed.
It was totally ridiculous, which was my goal — the reading itself was a little heavy (uh, y'think?) and I wanted to end it with a little pop music acapella karaoke surprise that folks could sing along with.
Aww, I wish!! I keep trying to convince my favorite Angeleno Meggyfin (former Offbeat Home editor, current friend) to go, and she hasn't bitten yet… maybe if I was in town and dragged her there… 😉
I love the line about love and grief being two sides of the same coin. That's profound and poignantly true.
Thank you. For a while I thought about pain/loss/grief and joy/growth/love as two ends of a spectrum, but they're really the same thing. I can't really tell the difference between them any more… moments of loss feel tinged with joy and love, and even my most joyful moments these days feel tinged with a sense of loss, or more just an awareness of how things always shift, which gives an added layer of appreciation onto the joy. tl;dr life feels different when you have a visceral awareness of how temporary it all is.
DayBreaker is such a great environment for bringing out these thoughts in us.There’s nothing like dancing, good music, and positive vibes for bringing out our best thinking.