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Receiving the harvest

There is a point in every season of growth when the work begins to show.

We spend so much of the year focused on what needs our attention next. We set goals, make decisions, adjust our plans, solve problems, and keep moving. Especially in our careers, it can become second nature to look ahead before we have fully acknowledged what has already taken root.

August offers a good opportunity to do something different: notice the harvest.

What have you been cultivating this year that is beginning to produce results? Where are you experiencing greater ease, clarity, opportunity, confidence, connection, or momentum? What is working now that perhaps was not working six months or a year ago?

Sometimes abundance arrives as the opportunity you hoped for. Sometimes it is financial or professional growth: a new client, greater recognition, a successful project, or an unexpected invitation. Sometimes, the bounty even arrives in a way that brings with it a bit of surprise and delight.

It might be having better boundaries than you did last year. It might be trusting yourself more quickly when a decision needs to be made. Perhaps you have become more selective about where you spend your time and energy. Maybe you have finally stopped trying to make something work that simply wasn’t right for you. These are forms of abundance, too.

Let Yourself Receive

For capable, accomplished people, receiving can be difficult. We are accustomed to producing. We know how to work, contribute, organize, plan, lead, support, and make things happen. When something goes well, we may enjoy it briefly before turning our attention toward the next responsibility.

There is, however, so much value in actually receiving what you have worked to create. Receiving means allowing yourself to recognize that your effort mattered. It means acknowledging that your decisions mattered. Those difficult conversations mattered. The course corrections you made…those mattered, too. The days when you kept going mattered; and so did the days when you wisely decided to stop, reconsider, and move in another direction.

You do not have to minimize what is going well simply because there is still more you want to accomplish.

You can appreciate the harvest while continuing to cultivate the field.

Remember Those Who Helped Till the Soil

Very little that we accomplish happens entirely on our own. Someone may have encouraged you when an idea was still fragile. Someone made an introduction, shared useful advice, recommended you for an opportunity, listened while you worked through a difficult decision, or simply reminded you of your capabilities at exactly the right moment.

There are also people whose contributions may have been less visible. Maybe it was a colleague who quietly made your work easier. How about that one friend who gave you room to breathe? Can you be appreciative of a mentor who offered perspective years ago that you still use today? What about those who supported you through a demanding season?

Part of appreciating abundance is remembering the people who helped till the soil. This doesn’t diminish your own effort. Quite the opposite. It gives you a more complete picture of how growth actually happens.

Take a moment this month to think about the people who have contributed to what is thriving in your life and career today. And when it feels appropriate, tell them.

Make Room for More

A harvest isn’t simply the end result of what was planted. It also provides ample fruit for what comes next. Abundance does not require us to constantly chase more. Sometimes it asks us to recognize what is already working and give it the conditions to continue.

That may mean protecting a successful habit. It may mean strengthening an important professional relationship. It may mean continuing to make space for work that feels meaningful. May you continue to say ‘yes’ to those opportunities that build naturally on what you have already created.

For Your Consideration

As you move through August, consider where you can see evidence of your own harvest. What has grown because you consistently gave it attention? What opportunity, relationship, habit, or decision is producing benefits now? What are you receiving that you might have overlooked because you were already focused on what comes next?

Then consider the people who helped prepare the ground. Who encouraged you, supported you, opened a door, offered advice, challenged your thinking, or made your path a little easier?

Finally, ask yourself: What is thriving in my life right now, and what would help it continue to thrive? You don’t need to reinvent everything for the remainder of the year. You may simply need to recognize what is already bearing fruit and continue tending it well.

Before this month gets away from you, take a few minutes to name your harvest.

Write down three things you are grateful to be receiving in your life or career right now. Then name three people who, in some way, helped you till the soil along the way.Reach out to at least one of them and say thank you. And then give yourself a little credit, too.

You have been cultivating this life all year. Some of what you planted is beginning to bloom, some is still growing beneath the surface, and some may have taught you what you no longer want to grow.

For now, appreciate what is already here. Receive it. Enjoy it. And keep tending what you desire to grow.

Okay, your turn:

Where in your life and career are you seeing the fruits of your labor?

I invite you to share your observations, feelings, and experiences by leaving a Reply in the Comments section, below. Soul-to-soul!

© 2026 Lori A. Noonan. All Rights Reserved.

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Rooted Strength for a Sustainable Year

The Dara Knot: Rooted Strength for a Sustainable Year

For this new moon, ask yourself this question: Are you building this year from your roots, or from your adrenaline? For this moon cycle, let’s allow the Celtic symbol of the Dara Knot to guide us.

Derived from the Irish word doire, meaning oak grove, the Dara Knot symbolizes strength, endurance, and quiet authority. The oak’s roots grow deep before its branches reach wide. It survives storms not by flailing, but by anchoring. Its interwoven lines have no clear beginning and no obvious end. The knot is continuous, and the symbol of the oak tree indicates it is grounded and stable. And, think of the power and strength held by an entire grove of oak trees!

This is the energy we desire for 2026. Rather than frantic ambition, let’s stay steady and sustained. Let’s not accept depletion disguised as productivity.

The capable, intelligent, mid-career professional women who read this do not need more force. They need steadiness. The Dara Knot reminds us that true confidence does not shout. It stands. It trusts its foundation.

If January was about vision, February is about structure. If January was about possibility, February is about sustainability. You do not need to sprint through 2026. You need to root into it.

And here is the reassurance you may be quietly craving: you already have what you need. Your experience is not accidental. Your wisdom is earned. Your resilience is proven. You are not starting from scratch this year. You are building from depth.

There is a difference between intense motivation and steady confidence. Motivation fluctuates. Steadiness sustains. The oak does not wake each morning wondering if it feels inspired enough to hold its ground. It simply stands.

Instead of asking, “Can I keep up this pace?” try asking, “Is this pace rooted?” Instead of “How much can I accomplish?” ask, “What can I sustain?”

Strength is not all about how much you can carry. Sustainable strength can be all about how well you are anchored while carrying it.

Anchoring looks practical. It looks like setting realistic boundaries, conserving energy for what matters, saying no without over-explaining, structuring your week so you do not resent it, and building rhythms instead of impulsively reacting to chaos.

Sustainable success is not built in frenzied bursts. It is built upon healthy patterns.

A few friendly reminders:

You have tools now that you did not always have: self-awareness, emotional intelligence, professional competence, discernment, and the ability to evaluate before committing. That moment of reflection allows your wisdom to rise to the surface from deep roots. It is the moment where balanced professionals choose purposefully instead of acting reflexively.

This February new moon is not asking you to add more. It is asking you to strengthen what is already working. Where are your roots strong? Where have you already built stability? What systems are quietly supporting you? Build there. Reinforce there. Trust there.

The oak does not compare itself to the pine. It does not rush its growth. It does not apologize for taking up space. It grows slowly, and that is precisely why it endures.

You do not have to prove that you can do hard things in 2026. You already have. Now the work is refinement., and conservation. It can mean expansion, too. But allow it to be wise expansion. Be aware of those instances when you may fall prey to allowing expansion at any cost.

Let February be the month you shift from urgency to steadiness. Let it be the month you stop gripping and start grounding. Let it be the month you decide: I will build this year in a way that I can live from a place of quiet, humble strength.

This way, strength is not dramatic. It is consistent., steady, and sure-footed.

For high-achieving women in demanding careers, dramatic strength often looks impressive on the outside. It is the late nights, the crisis management, the heroic over-delivering, the reputation for always being the one who can handle it. Keep in mind, though, that dramatic strength is exhausting. It relies on seemingly never-ending spikes of adrenaline and the constant pushing at maximum capacity.

Consistent, steady strength looks different. It is meeting your deadlines without sacrificing your health. It is preparing thoroughly so you do not have to panic. It is choosing projects that align with your values instead of accepting everything to stay visible. It is building a reputation for steadiness, clarity, and sound judgment.

Consistent strength fosters sustainable authority. It allows you to remain powerful without running yourself ragged. It creates a career you can inhabit for decades, not merely survive in short seasons.

As you move through this month, remember: you are not behind. You are not lacking. You are not fragile. You are rooted. And from that place, you can be resplendent, radiant, and true.

For Your Consideration:

Where in your life do you already feel rooted? What commitments feel sturdy, and which feel brittle? If you reduced your pace by ten percent, what would lovingly fall away, and what would quietly improve? What boundary would make you stronger, not weaker?

Where are you underestimating the depth of your own experience?

The Dara Knot does not unravel.  It holds onto its life force. So can you.

Okay, Your Turn:

Close your eyes and picture yourself at the end of 2026. What rhythm allowed that version of you to thrive? What did you stop tolerating? What did you protect? What did you build slowly?

I invite you to share your observations, feelings, and experiences by leaving a Reply in the Comments section, below. Soul-to-soul!

© 2026 Lori A. Noonan. All Rights Reserved.

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Abundant with possibility

Abundant with possibility

August is a threshold month. We find ourselves no longer in the full bloom of summer, not yet fully immersed in the crisp call of autumn. It is a space that could be thought of as the in-between—a time of somewhat longer shadows, more subtle mornings, with little hints of change on the horizon.

And isn’t that what much of our professional and personal lives are, too? A series of in-between spaces: transitions, pauses, and waiting rooms of the soul.

This August, may you embrace—not resist—the in-between.

Welcoming the In-Between

Career professionals are often conditioned to measure life by achievements: promotions earned, goals completed, deadlines met. Yet the truth is, much of life is lived in the liminal spaces—the stretches between what was and what will be.

These are not wasted intervals. They are fertile ground.

Think of August itself: the gardens ripen, but harvests have not yet fully taken their course. The air still holds summer’s warmth, but autumn whispers its approach. In the same way, the in-between offers ripening—quiet preparation for what comes next.

Instead of rushing to the finish line or clinging to what’s fading, what if we leaned into the mystery of the middle? What if we trusted the in-between?

For mid-career women, the in-between often shows up as:

  • Transitions at work: shifting roles, changing teams, or stepping into leadership.
  • Inner realignment: realizing old definitions of success no longer fit, yet not fully knowing what the new version will be.
  • Seasons of recalibration: caring for family, health, or personal projects alongside professional growth.

These are not detours. They are part of the path.

Sinking in with ease into the in-between doesn’t mean losing momentum—it means honoring the recalibration that ensures the next step is aligned and focused, not forced.

Here’s a brief but powerful way to honor the in-between space you find yourself in.

  1. Find stillness. Sit comfortably. Place your hands gently on your lap, palms up. Close your eyes.
  2. Breathe deeply. Inhale through the nose for a count of four, exhale through the mouth for a count of six. Do this three times.
  3. Visualize. Imagine yourself standing at a bridge. Behind you is what has been—perhaps a project, a role, or even an identity. Ahead of you is what has not yet arrived. Beneath your feet is the bridge—the in-between.
  4. Illuminate. Picture a soft lantern in your hand. As you stand on the bridge, lift it and allow the glow to illuminate the path just enough for the next step—not the whole journey, just the step you need right now.
  5. Affirm. Whisper to yourself: “I am safe in the in-between. I trust the timing of my life.”

When you’re ready, open your eyes. Carry the calm and clarity forward into your day.

For Your Consideration:

August reminds us that beauty exists in transitions. The sunsets lengthen, the cicadas sing, and we realize: life’s richness isn’t only in beginnings and endings—it’s in the becoming.

This month, give yourself permission to honor the spaces that don’t yet have a name. Trust that even in the uncertainty, light is present. You don’t need to know the whole map. You only need to carry the lantern that lights the step you’re on.

The in-between is not empty. Rather, it is abundant with possibilities.

Okay, your turn:

Where in your life or career are you in an in-between space right now? How do you tend to respond to the unknown—by pushing forward, or by embracing the stillness? What gifts might be waiting for you if you chose to relax in the “not yet” instead of anxiously rushing ahead?

I invite you to share your observations, feelings, and experiences by leaving a Reply in the Comments section, below. Soul-to-soul!

© 2025 Lori A. Noonan. All Rights Reserved.

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