Many of you have sat with me in retreats or painted beside me, and you know—there is nothing, I mean NOTHING, better than music that bubbles up inside and resonates when you step into The Flow of creation. Or maybe that’s the musician in me, fifty-three years strong, and rhythm/music is as natural as my next breath.

So a few months ago, when I saw that tickets were for sale to one of my favorite bands in concert just an hour and a half away, I whooped in my living room and did a little jig right there. That’s the bubbling up I talk about so often in daily joy practice—the quick spark of happiness that rises easily when you commit to simple ways of caring for yourself every day!

The band: Rising Appalachia. Two sisters, Leah and Chloe - who play, sing, and harmonize with such effortless beauty and flow it feels ancient and flowing, like something carried through bloodlines. I know many of you are empaths too, and their energy, their vibe, is like medicine to my soul (and my ears).

I’ve been navigating a pinched nerve in my cervical spine that results in numbness and pain down my shoulder, arms and fingers, limiting how far I can drive. But I was determined to get to this concert. So, I planned carefully for breaks and self care, and I had backup to come rescue me if needed. Saturday morning I packed light, loaded Bibi with a few essentials (food and my travel art supplies), and set out. The weather was perfect - late summer tipping into early fall, a soft breeze, cooler air, and a golden ticket tucked safe in my pocket. I stopped every thirty minutes, stretched, breathed, took it easy, and then carried on.

You know that feeling when you do something that just makes you feel good? This was one of those times.

The sisters were as down to earth as it gets. The street in front of the venue was blocked off for another festival going on, so I meandered past some of the booths - and there they were! Banjo in hand, strumming soft as they walked through the crowd, just two women, unguarded, real, and geniune, who happen to carry voices like wind through the pines and drums in the distance.

The concert was stomping, hair-down, sweat-shining, free-dancing, body-moving good. People pressed shoulder to shoulder, strangers - but not strangers; we were a tribe joined in rhythm, raising the vibe together. It was one of the top two concerts I’ve ever been to. I left expanded, invigorated, free, and joyful.

The rest of the weekend unfolded like a gift. I parked Bibi in a safe spot and stealth-camped overnight. On the way home, I chose backroads only—pausing at creeks and waterfalls, slowing for golden fields, tall ridges and hills that showed off breathtaking views, and laughed at a farmer’s fence strung high with shoes of every shape and size! I love the hills of Kentucky and the quirkiness/creativity of the people who live here.

But here’s the truth I want you to get down deep: the concert, the singers, the road, even Bibi weren’t the source of my joy, and they weren’t the source of me feeling good about the weekend. The source was ME. It was the BEing of myself—authentic, unmasked, free, and truly me. It was me remembering to build a life around the things that expand me rather than shrink me. That’s the real bubbling up, and it happens on the daily.

So l’m asking you:

Now hold those two side by side. Where they match, you’ll feel that same bubbling up of joy I did this weekend. Where they don’t, there’s an invitation: to shift, to soften, and to realign. To change lanes into what you more of what you want, and less of what you don’t. The smallest adjustment - even one tiny 5-minute choice in favor of what expands you can begin to bridge that gap.

✨ Journaling Prompt for You ✨
Take a few minutes today with pen and paper.

The gap is a compass. Every small choice that moves you closer to your true values is a step into alignment—into that bubbling joy you’re meant to live in.side by side. Circle the places where they match. Star the ones that don’t.

That gap is where your next act of self-care and alignment is waiting. Start with one small shift this week toward what expands you.

Yours in The Flow - AND I LOVE YOU BIG!
Debby

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