Moriah Norris-Hale: The Sky Inside

Things I’m remembering: the way you read me Rumi poems when I was in labor. The sky cracking open inside me, waves, the body already knowing. A thunderstorm in January, the unexpected way it wakes you up from your dreams. Smelling the coffee from the upstairs room. Books spilling open while we talked about the way it felt to feel alive. Fields of unpressed flowers in the sunshine. Rain that gives way to remembering. Pressing my face into the side of your ribs. The way we didn’t kiss each other, but we wanted to. Those days, like a lagoon that carried us. The sea salt licking us, the salted caramel ice cream after. The inside of the lighthouse. Camping against the dunes. Waiting for the stars to come out, so I could show you what it looks like when we remember to be free. A strawberry moon on your cheeks. I don’t know what I want more, you or another part of me, I said. You laughed and said, what does that even mean? and we both sighed and let the moment take us a while. I could live in this breath, you told me, eating peaches in the ripe part of the afternoon, your hair the color of milky oats, these pauses where I want you more than anything, gold tears, sweet half moons of light on your lips.









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I'm trying to drop into something, and some days it feels so close, like a ticket to somewhere you've already been and want badly to go back to. That beach you fell in love on when you were 31. That breeze between your thighs. I won’t go all the way there, but you know the place.
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I'm trying to drop into myself again like someone I've loved for so long but I haven't seen in ages. And then some days I can't remember if there's anything else except this very day-to-day-todayness: there is nothing to do except to keep going, to stay with it. I keep getting swept up in the things: the hard things, the soft things, the messy things, the unresolved feelings about things, the masks, the fear, the grocery store runs, the not going anywhere for days. All the things I want to do or don't, the banana bread, the waffles, the right measurments of things, the chicory dandelion tea, the long winter baths steeped in late winter sunlight that save you, this place that lets you float through buoyed for now, that unfurls the worry knots. The children still so up in me with their milky sweetness and their blue brown eyes. The bu****it hospital bill I never paid, the prescriptions I forgot to pick up, the never cleaning the kitchen, the ALWAYS cleaning the kitchen, worrying about the pandemic, saying f**k it already, is this over yet, what does it mean the numbers, what does anything mean? checking my phone in the night for something I'm not sure what I'm looking for though. I miss you, I feel that, like ghosts in a dream, I catch you for an instant, on the train or getting off. But we don’t text anymore, not lately, and anyway, this was the year everything changed.














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An entire mood. Craving things being slow, not like the very beginning slow but the way it’s slow when you’re in the thick of it when it’s so good and you’re in the journey with your dream and feeling it unfold the way the trees get caught up in the wind, the way your hands get caught up in my hair, the way the mystery feels when you can let it happen from deep down with yourself. When even the shadows make you want to dance 💃 inside them. To not rushing through this leg of your life. To things taking the plot twist you’ve been waiting for. To soaking it all in. Wait for it. Impatience kills the magic ✨✨✨










courageovercomfort

COURAGE 🦁 so I think the fall theme around here is going to be courage. Because the more I’ve been alive and engaged in relationships of all kinds, the more I realize courage is not something everyone has, it’s actually kind of rare to see real courage, someone who can really summon this from the depth. It is something that I truly admire, and as I do the deep working and cultivating of my soul + life, I am certain I want to cultivate this even more. Perhaps this is me saying goodbye to my maidenhood as I step more fully into my full grown self, but it’s something that’s coming up big time. I don’t think I’m all the way there, there’s still times I fall back into old patterns of being helpless/disempowered/frantic/in crisis/can a man or a parent just do it for me: but I’m learning the courageous parts of me are also getting stronger, hungrier, wiser. The descent into this time of year- fall - it is tempting to get cozy and comfortable (I want that too) and yet there is an air of rich, potent, life affirming courage if you tap into it. Witches and monsters come out this time of year for a reason. There is something calling to you right there under the surface, it is beckoning you. Pay attention! I’ll be talking more about this in my stories + also how my coaching can support you in knowing yourself - your courageous self- even more in the coming weeks. What does she know that she can teach you and support you in? Where is your courageous self guiding you?

Oh hey, how are how? I’ve been a little quiet over here. Pensive. Moody. But soft, like these August mornings. And you all know I like to talk :) and write. And share. But I’m in a process right now and giving myself grace with it. Giving myself grace with my body, with my feelings, with heart. With my husband. With my kid. With my friends. With my work. It’s been a full couple of years, and it’s like it just hit me. Sometimes grace looks really humble. Sometimes it’s saying and sharing all the things- sometimes it’s saying nothing. Sometimes it’s sending a prayer not knowing if you even really believe it will be received. Sometimes grace is forgiveness, and sometimes grace is letting there be some time and space before it all comes tumbling out again. Sometimes grace is just being with yourself. Staying with yourself. Staying with your body, your heart, your lips, your thighs, your belly. You know, it’s OK when you just need to be with yourself, in whatever way that is. (I did get this new bathing suit a little while ago, so I’ve been swimming in it but mostly just walking around in it as part of my self love practice. ) anyway, I think whatever way you can show yourself love and grace and beauty and forgiveness is absolutely some of the yummiest healing we can do. Big sigh. I miss you. I love you. Let’s forget the rest. Sometimes grace is letting go and trusting we will find each other, somewhere, on the other side. .
❤️❤️🙏

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Just me, mid/late summer after a swim, August rain about to pour, sky about to open, praying for forgiveness, for letting there be ease, for doors to open where they felt anchored closed before. For laughter, and dancing, and peaches and dandelion wine. It feels like things are both ending and beginning. I’ve waved goodbye to myself before. It feels like it’s OK to be in the waiting a little, to dip into the shoreline and rest awhile, while I watch the ship that was myself go out to sea, and I wait to see what new version comes back to greet me. I’m happy sad and hollow and OK here. I’ve been reeling through some of my own shadow places this past month- stuff I was CONVINCED I’d worked through - and bam, well, if I’ve learned anything over the past 10 plus years of healing and growth and marriage and motherhood and writing and friendship and creative blooms and grief and coaching others as well is that you are always cycling, but after each layer and each cycle there can be the gift, the jewel, the most profound possibilities, luscious blooms, tender hearts that show up, the most beautiful of longings met, the thing you thought would not or could not come true ... somehow it then does. Grief is creating as well. Grief is lo******ng, too. It’s magical and painful and ultimately always a blessing to watch yourself wash up again on the shoreline of possibility and then start again. I hope we can find each other here, like mermaids singing each other home. 🧜‍♀️ What longings are you calling back home? What version of yourself are you ready to meet here? What song does your mermaid sing? I want to know 💜💜 “true love will find you in the end” ❤️Moriah . . .







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@ Blue Ridge Mountains

Remember this. It’s Leo season. Tell me what you find in the Lion’s Den of your heart ❤️ 🦁




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Your wound is the invitation for the healing, my dear. Every time, literally every time I tap into my old hurts (self doubt, deep fear, overwhelm, feeling stuck, depression, anxiety) I have to slow down and remember what I need is to love those parts of myself, bring them in even closer, have some gentle, nourishing, heartfelt conversations with them. I have to get present just like I would with a toddler throwing an epic tantrum. I can’t scream and react to it or shove it in the room and lock the door (I wish I could sometimes!) I have to notice and show up. With love, attention, intention, and lots and lots of practice. (It also helps to have a person guide you through this: a coach, therapist, or someone skilled at holding space.) No, it doesn’t always seem logical when we are really feeling our hurts this will work. It’s natural to want to resist it. Yes, it’s uncomfortable to invite the hurt closer instead of run, avoid, resist, act out, drink, “stay busy”, zone out, freak out, or play out our old patterning. But practice makes practice makes deepening into self-love possible 💜❤️💜 What hurts inside you in just an invitation for more love.













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Small changes lead to big shifts, but you do have to change something, starting with the relationship to your own self. You don’t have to burn down your life and start again, you just need to shift your attention, your body, your breath. Throw out at least half of what you grew up believing was the truth, and start putting into place your own truth. (Ok sometimes you may have to burn it all down, but that’s another post!) Before you do tho, start by shifting something on the inside. And maybe tell you inner critic to S**U awhile you try.






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Beach exhale, inhale, sigh, cry, laugh, love, feel. Looking back, looking ahead. This time last year I was here as well, in this beautiful dream of a house by this blue wide ocean, getting ready to launch my coaching practice, and I was both pretty excited... and very anxious. At moments, totally afraid and insecure. I knew I had to lean into the fear, if I was going to move through it, and yet it was still so uncomfortable. (By the way, I still get that very uncomfortable feeling right before expansion!) What if it doesn’t work? What if no body says yes to working with me? What if I discover I hate coaching? What if I invest in myself and it’s all for nothing!!? (BTW I am still learning and growing and figuring it out, but none of my fears have turned out to be true!)



So here I am, a year later, still learning how to work with the fear because it is that potent of an opportunity, and perhaps even a necessary ingredient to create your dreams, to get what you want, to become who you are.



So here’s a reminder: Everything you want is just beyond your fear, or within your fears. That doesn’t mean overriding your fear, or putting on a blind coat of bravery, or pushing through at all cost. But it also doesn’t mean, “I’m not going to do what I want because I’m afraid.” When you feel stuck/afraid/anxious, or hear an old voice in your head, get *really* curious first. Try asking the fear some questions “what part of me is this?” Or “how old is this fear?” You can ask: “what does this fear need to feel safe, and how can I meet this?”.


Your deepest dreams, and biggest expansions sometimes come right in the midst of meeting your fears. I encourage you to get really curious, and lean in.



Love,
Ocean waves and being brave.





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I come back to this quote like at least once a year, when I’m in the thick of sadness, or changes, or transformations. Or just, when I want to really write. Or desire. When grief plus possibility cracks it’s yolk. You could say it’s almost like a mantra. I want my life to be white hot, fresh, and glistening : even if that involves finding myself in thickets of heartache and heartbreak, from time to time. Even if there’s risk involved, some discomfort. So many of you say “I love your writing “ and you know what, this is the place I write from. From the intersection of it all. It’s not an unfraught place. It’s not always about staying cozy, and calm, and comfortable. Don’t get me wrong- I LOVE my pleasures and chilling out - I am a beach bum through and through. I am also a Cancer Moon with a strong mother archetype that is in a long deep process of mothering my kid, myself, my family, my community, my clients... and she’s really skilled here. But this process includes the real story of motherhood too: anger, grief, disruption, a lot of sweetness and nurturing and a lot of churning and passion and ferocity, too. And do not f**k with me, or the wrath will prevail 😉I’m navigating how to integrate the want and need for safety and stability (and sweet full heartfelt love) with also my desire for a real, full, deep, exciting and dynamic life that includes ALL OF ME and ALL OF YOU and ALL OF IT because it opens me to SO much. And it’s liberating. I get to completely give up the idea that everything is always going to be peaceful and perfect. (Honestly, f**k peace and perfection, I think thats some kind of a myth to keep us all in our place and placated.) I think again and again when we can stay present with ourselves and our feelings and our bodies, we can hold more, cry more, laugh more, create more, say more, grieve more fully. Whew!









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Happy FULL MOON LUNAR ECLIPSE BBYS! I feel pummeled and also excited AF to see how this plays out in the coming weeks and month. I know it’s been intense but I’ve gotten some clear hits and it feels amazing. Check out my stories to see my take on how you can really work with the energy today and come home to yourself. MEET YOURSELF with full compassion and non judgmental presence right now. Reparent yourself like you never have before. The hurt you, the wounded you needs your LOVE and compassion so bad right now. Your inner child is ready to emerge but you need to show up for her fully. Be brave enough to resist leaving yourself in a ditch. The work we are doing right now is deep, inner excavation- and we need to join with our own self more than ever. 🔥🔥🔥 also- I have exactly 2 coaching spots left for July for those of you who know what is coming up right now is meant to be healed. This is the moment. Like, right now. I’d just go ahead and assume if you’re reading this and feeing this, then it’s time. I’ll be back on my stories tomorrow to flush it but DM me tonight if you’re already like, yes, I want to use this moment as a catalyst for my transformation, healing, deep self love, and radical awakening. If the wound is waking/tearing/sharing it is time to tend to it.Bonuses included for first person to scoop it up❤️💜💜 DM me. .


Image via .rewilding





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