Yes, this journey has been both committed and challenging—4 years now, and I’ve come such a long way. I’m so glad you love the graphic at the beginning of the post—it’s part of my creative expression and a way for me to visually reflect the layers and vibrancy of this process.
Your encouragement means so much. Here’s to continuing the journey with curiosity and creativity!
When a person such as yourself decides to run all of life experience through a distiller so to speak, what is left is simply the very presence that you are. It’s a gift that you made yourself open to receive and then generously extended that from you to us.
Thank you for your remarkable ability to put all that into words. Your pride is on its way to you.
They deeply moved me and invited reflection. If I’m honest, though, it doesn’t feel like a distiller was my starting point. It’s more that I’ve finally let my wild little lion*ess loose—a part of me whose curiosity had been curbed for 47 years.
Now, that curiosity roams freely, exploring everything with openhearted wonder, dismissing nothing, and accepting everything as equally valid. Only after that hunger and thirst are quenched does this lion*ess start to connect dots, to make sense of it all, to distill and process.
This distillation, for me, is like single malt whiskey—refined but not yet matured. It’s in the maturing process, taking in everything from its environment, that the whiskey gains its distinct flavor, its character. Without that step, it would be undrinkable.
Your words reminded me of this unfolding process—the curiosity, the exploration, the distillation, and the slow, deliberate maturation. Thank you for reflecting back to me the beauty in this journey.
“Now, that curiosity roams freely, exploring everything with openhearted wonder, dismissing nothing, and accepting everything as equally valid.”
I’m excited for what sounds like a rebirth for you. To me what you described above is the height of a healthy human being.
If you live in that way of accepting everything coming in and dismissing nothing (and not trying to avoid anything) you must be living smack dab in the present. The present is where you can be inspired with accelerated creativity that comes it seems from somewhere else.
The impurities of past and future have been distilled out yet the liquor that remains has only started to mature?
For me that maturation process has no end point, I can always take it deeper, and a little deeper still, until I start to notice life is living me.
Thank you for the clarification! Here's the updated response reflecting your thoughts more accurately:
Hello Susan,
Your words continue to resonate so deeply—thank you for reflecting back such wisdom and insight.
This journey does feel like a rebirth in so many ways, and it is continuing to be a rebirth. It really accelerated with an event I’ve written about in an essay that will be shared around mid-January 2025 by QStack (https://qstack.substack.com/?utm_source=global-search) and Troy Ford. The essay will reveal how I finally became “Jay” in January 2021. So, for my 4th "birthday," as you might say, I’ll be telling the whole story then.
Living in the present, as you describe so beautifully, has been and continues to be a revelation. Yet, I don’t live there most of the time—I’m a human being, not Buddha or Enlightened. Still, I find myself there in more and more moments, and those moments are a gift—free from the weight of what was and the pull of what might be.
I love your reflection on the maturation process being endless. There’s something profoundly comforting in knowing that this growth and deepening never stop—that life can keep unfolding, revealing new layers and depths. The idea of “life living me” or "being breathed" is a fitting description of surrendering to that flow.
Thank you for celebrating this freedom with me, fellow wanderer. It’s a joy to walk this path and share these reflections with you.
Thank you, Susan, for your kind words and thoughtful reflections. I’m grateful for your encouragement and so glad my words resonate with you. Living the present truly is a journey, not a destination—and one I’m honored to share with you. I look forward to connecting again!
You're on a journey. Committed and challenging. I love the graphic at the beginning of the post.
Thank you, Nancy!
Yes, this journey has been both committed and challenging—4 years now, and I’ve come such a long way. I’m so glad you love the graphic at the beginning of the post—it’s part of my creative expression and a way for me to visually reflect the layers and vibrancy of this process.
Your encouragement means so much. Here’s to continuing the journey with curiosity and creativity!
Warmly,
Jay
Hello Jay,
When a person such as yourself decides to run all of life experience through a distiller so to speak, what is left is simply the very presence that you are. It’s a gift that you made yourself open to receive and then generously extended that from you to us.
Thank you for your remarkable ability to put all that into words. Your pride is on its way to you.
Hello Susan,
Thank you for your thoughtful and generous words.
They deeply moved me and invited reflection. If I’m honest, though, it doesn’t feel like a distiller was my starting point. It’s more that I’ve finally let my wild little lion*ess loose—a part of me whose curiosity had been curbed for 47 years.
Now, that curiosity roams freely, exploring everything with openhearted wonder, dismissing nothing, and accepting everything as equally valid. Only after that hunger and thirst are quenched does this lion*ess start to connect dots, to make sense of it all, to distill and process.
This distillation, for me, is like single malt whiskey—refined but not yet matured. It’s in the maturing process, taking in everything from its environment, that the whiskey gains its distinct flavor, its character. Without that step, it would be undrinkable.
Your words reminded me of this unfolding process—the curiosity, the exploration, the distillation, and the slow, deliberate maturation. Thank you for reflecting back to me the beauty in this journey.
Warmly,
Jay
“Now, that curiosity roams freely, exploring everything with openhearted wonder, dismissing nothing, and accepting everything as equally valid.”
I’m excited for what sounds like a rebirth for you. To me what you described above is the height of a healthy human being.
If you live in that way of accepting everything coming in and dismissing nothing (and not trying to avoid anything) you must be living smack dab in the present. The present is where you can be inspired with accelerated creativity that comes it seems from somewhere else.
The impurities of past and future have been distilled out yet the liquor that remains has only started to mature?
For me that maturation process has no end point, I can always take it deeper, and a little deeper still, until I start to notice life is living me.
I’m so happy for your freedom, Lion*ness.
Lion*ess
Thank you for the clarification! Here's the updated response reflecting your thoughts more accurately:
Hello Susan,
Your words continue to resonate so deeply—thank you for reflecting back such wisdom and insight.
This journey does feel like a rebirth in so many ways, and it is continuing to be a rebirth. It really accelerated with an event I’ve written about in an essay that will be shared around mid-January 2025 by QStack (https://qstack.substack.com/?utm_source=global-search) and Troy Ford. The essay will reveal how I finally became “Jay” in January 2021. So, for my 4th "birthday," as you might say, I’ll be telling the whole story then.
Living in the present, as you describe so beautifully, has been and continues to be a revelation. Yet, I don’t live there most of the time—I’m a human being, not Buddha or Enlightened. Still, I find myself there in more and more moments, and those moments are a gift—free from the weight of what was and the pull of what might be.
I love your reflection on the maturation process being endless. There’s something profoundly comforting in knowing that this growth and deepening never stop—that life can keep unfolding, revealing new layers and depths. The idea of “life living me” or "being breathed" is a fitting description of surrendering to that flow.
Thank you for celebrating this freedom with me, fellow wanderer. It’s a joy to walk this path and share these reflections with you.
With gratitude and wildness,
Jay
Thank you for taking the time to clarify everything.
I look forward to your mid January essay. And the celebration of your 4th birthday. Thanks for the link.
Living the present, living the gift, or the given, is something to move toward if it is seen as valuable. I don’t claim Buddhahood.
You have the gift for expressing yourself so well. It’s a soothing and exhilarating adventure to read your letters.
Susan
Thank you, Susan, for your kind words and thoughtful reflections. I’m grateful for your encouragement and so glad my words resonate with you. Living the present truly is a journey, not a destination—and one I’m honored to share with you. I look forward to connecting again!
So do I. I’ll be reading your mid January essay.
Monty! 🐈⬛ happy new year, Jay!
Right back to you, ✨🌌
Thank you for all your wonderful comments Jay. xcoo
Mary Beth, you got me there with xcoo—curious, what does it mean? Sending xoxo back to you in the meantime! 😊
xxoo
Typo, happens, thanks.
Beautiful cat! 🐈 Wishing you a beautiful 2025 ❤️
Yes, he is a Sweetie. Thank you and to you too.