Patty Atkinson

The body knows. The mind overrides…and the delay starts sounding like wisdom. I usually feel it before I understand it. A drop in my belly. A low hum of inner turbulence that begins the second I think, I still need to call so-and-so and have that conversation I’ve been avoiding. And what do I do with that feeling? I move the call down the list. Tomorrow. Next week. After I finish this errand. It’s too late in the day now….I’ll do it first thing in the morning. I tell myself I am being...

This week, the letters make space for the song. I'm back in the place where Sacred Traveler was birthed, and I feel compelled to let it breathe here. Listen to it first, then keep reading. Or read first, then listen. You'll know which one. In March of 2021, I was on this island in the colder months. I couldn't fit my guitar, so I walked into Island Music and bought a tiny travel guitar. And on Martha's Vineyard, with that tiny guitar, I finished writing Sacred Traveler. I didn't know it then,...

The body knows. The mind overrides...because the crowd is louder. At the end of Letter #4, I asked, "What are you using to numb, distract, delay, or avoid the thing your body already knows?" There are many answers. None are right and none are wrong. For many of us, one answer can land hard, and you're not even aware you're doing it: outsourcing the decision to other people. A note before we go further. This letter is about everyday life choices. The career move. The unconventional purchase....