Maryn is Here is now Here is Good

It's a new dawn! It's a new name! It's a new life!

Today is the day! Moving forward, this space is now called Here is Good.

In case you missed it, in my last post I wrote about why I’ve been feeling the need for a rebrand for some time. It mostly boils down to this: I want to use this space for more than reflections about my life. There will absolutely still be reflections about my life because I can’t help myself! But I also I want to use it for community-building and exploring concepts much bigger than me. What that looks like will continue to evolve as I experiment and find what feels good.

behind the name

My struggles with mental health started when I was about 14. Ever since then, much of my life has been a journey of figuring out how to live less in my head and more in my body; how to be present, how to be grounded, how to be here.

Meanwhile, I’ve had an unhealthy obsession with what “good” means for my most of my life. Until a few years ago, I was a black and white thinker with very strict moral rules of what “good” and “bad” means, and I lived my life accordingly. Thankfully I’ve since deconstructed that and now try to live a life with much more nuance and ambiguity (I’m always working on it thanks to my OCD).

There are a lot of definitions of “good” though. While I’ve moved away from focusing my life on attaining impossibly perfect moral goodness, I’ve always felt a pull towards seeking out other forms of goodness in my life and in the world — and sharing them when I can.

I was flipping through my journal and found this excerpt of a letter I wrote to myself in May 2022:

Know that you are good. That’s it. Period. You are good. What you are doing is good. Where you are now, where you are going is good. Not good in the ‘you must be good’ way — but in the way that the universe is full of goodness and you are part of that goodness.

The universe is full of goodness and you are part of that goodness.

So. Here is Good. It’s a reminder to me that here and now, in this moment, there is goodness. And being here and now, in this moment, is good.

what’s with the tree?

I’ve always had a thing for trees. You know how it seems like everyone has their own nature-y thing that they’re most drawn to and that calms them down? Trees are that for me. (My partner Freddy’s is water, yours might be mountains, etc.)

It just so happens that trees are often a symbol for goodness too. And! I’m going to change the tree with the seasons! Because bringing awareness to seasonal transitions is good for the soul. (I don’t think I’ve said the word “good” enough in this post.)

I’ve 100% overthought all of this and I’m ending that now by sending this out into the world.

Here we go.

Thanks for being *here.*

Kicking myself for not getting a screenshot of all our cute avatars sitting together!

virtual craft night update

In my last post, I invited folks to a virtual Craft Night. Craft Night happened last week and it was a magical hour and a half spent creating in excellent company. I adored every minute and I’m so grateful for those who took a chance on my experiment.

There will undoubtedly be another virtual Craft Night, but next I want to try something else that has been on my mind for a while…

Tarot Newbie Night!

Monday, September 30th from 7:30-9pm ET

No witchcraft included, just good vibes and connecting to our intuitions. I’m going to teach everyone how to do a tarot reading, then do a reading for each person or guide each person through doing their own reading (depending on who has their own deck).

If you’re someone who is curious about tarot but hasn’t been sure where to start, this will be perfect for you. If you have some experience with tarot, we'd love to have you too (just know that we'll be working at a beginner's level). If reading the word “tarot” fills you with horror then… I’ve been there, let’s chat about it.

I’ve hosted similar tarot gatherings with friends and they’re always meaningful, powerful experiences, so I’m especially excited about this! This will be hosted virtually on Gather with a limit of 10 people (just like Craft Night).

I have a dear, TikTok-famous friend, the effervescent Em of @emdoodlesandstuff, who is brilliant at using her platform for good. She is doing a Harris-Walz t-shirt fundraiser on behalf of Everytown for Gun Safety, and y’all, LOOK AT THIS SHIRT. Loons! Majestic loons! I ordered mine immediately.

emdoodlesandstuff

A post shared by @emdoodlesandstuff

Freddy and I spent the first week of September in Chicago! Here are a few photos (click to enlarge):

What does “here is good” mean to you or make you think of? I asked friends for feedback on the name and it cracked me up how we all can perceive a phrase so differently.

Also, how are you feeling as a human being in this moment? We just took Monet for a nighttime walk and it felt like fall outside. We had an exceptionally hot summer and the transition into fall feels exciting and hopeful!

See you next time,