welcome to the awe cast. this is our space to breathe, discover, play, cry, give thanks, laugh, sit a while, return, allow. you are automatically subscribed to the free version of this letter. to get the full experience and support this space, consider becoming a paid subscriber today.
Happy spring equinox to my fellow northern hemmies!
Inevitably during springtime I find myself slowing down, processing, letting my eyes wander longer than usual. There’s so much new growth to witness.
Over the past few years I’ve begun to notice how it doesn’t matter what city I’m in, somehow flowers of all types - fallen, fresh, dying, drawn, painted, and fake all seem to find their way onto my path.
It started first while visiting Miami in 2019. I was stressed by how my 9-5 was directly contradicting my core values and my desire to creatively contribute to climate justice and purpose-led work. Frustrated after a restless night of overthinking (considering whether or not it was time to quit and reclaim my personal creative pursuits), I prayed for a sign. I needed some certainty that I was in fact being led to pursue sustainability work full time.
As soon as dawn began to break, I threw on a sundress and began walking to the beach to clear my mind. I glanced at my feet and immediately stopped in my tracks - was I the only one seeing this? I looked around but folks were busy going about their normal morning.
No one seemed to notice the thousands of dew soaked red rose petals sprawled out on the grassy lawn.
They were perfectly placed in my path. Imagine flower-obsessed, last name Rosa ‘lil ole me finding roses on the route I took to go to the ocean, my safe space. It felt too right to not be my sign that I was on the right path. It wasthe reassurance I prayed for to pursue a career in climate.
I hope this message resonates with you too:
finding flowers at your feet is an invitation to honor who you are becoming in that moment.
Since that serendipitous moment in Miami, each time I happen to walk by flowers at my feet I stop to snap a photo. I’ve been developing this ongoing archive of flowers at my feet for a few years now and somewhere between living it and thinking about it often, I forgot that I never officially shared it with you.
I hope this lands in your inbox in the perfect moment. Let me know in the comments if it does:)
I’m grateful for the time it takes to build a thing and allow it to mature. It has shown me how to be tender with the process of becoming. These images are my proof that all is blooming and regenerating in its own time.
There are always flowers blooming somewhere and in turn, there are always dying flowers somewhere too. Decaying flowers, though less attractive, are seedlings. In their passing new life springs forth. And I mean that quite literally.
Did you know that every fruit was once a flower? 🤯 More on that in my next letter … I can’t wait to share about the fruits I’ve been witnessing bloom in my next letter.
flowers can find you anywhere
Flowers can find you anywhere; in backyards, on a birthday trip, crossing the street, in a parking lot, in the cereal aisle floor… endless.
Even when you aren’t in an environment conducive to flowers, they will still find you. Like that one time I walked into Target, steel-faced, and on a mission to get my stuff and get tf out. I’d planned a full day ahead and was determined to not get stuck wandering aisles. I step off the escalators and make a beeline to the shopping carts, but before I can even take ten steps, I’m warmly greeted by a cluster of freshly fallen orange rose petals.
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Rose petals in Target. Brooklyn, 2019.
The wonder of finding flowers at your feet lies in your ability to see them in the first place. But if you don’t see them, I don’t blame ya. The pressure of ambition makes it easy to forget to slow down. But if our lives don’t allow space to savor what’s here now, what are we doing all of this for anyway?
I want to see where flowers find you. Tag #flowersatmyfeet and @theawecast.co to show me. Send me your photo of flowers at your feet via dm or by tagging @theawecast on Instagram and I will include it in a future issue.
An invitation to my virtual masterclass on 3/20
If you’ve been a subscriber here for a while, you’ve heard me talk about my winding path to pivoting my career in advertising to a climate career in sustainability. It took me a while to find my footing in the sustainability industry. I learned lots of lessons along the way and I’m ready to share with other woc who are ready to invest in their purpose-driven creative careers.
To all my climate curious creative women of color: tomorrow I’m teaching a live masterclass on the 5 steps to pitching your value as a sustainability creative in 12 weeks!
I’ll cover how to find your place in sustainability, own your creative superpower, package your expertise, pitch your pov to an industry expert, and leverage your connections.
Join my virtual masterclass on March 20th at 6 pm EST. 👉🏾 Click here to registerby March 20th! (Replay available if you cannot make it live.)
3 Awe ‘Tings
a short list of awe-inspiring content to get you through the week.
📖 Braiding Sweetgrassa gorg book about the poetry of indigenous plant wisdom 🎧 Finding our Way podcast about the miracle and preservation of seeds ✉️These envelopes with embedded seeds that when planted, sprout flowers
