The sky’s the beginning

“I am frightened and I am fearless. I am weak and I am a warrior. I am uncertain and I am confident. And by learning to embrace the paradox in all of it, I am more myself.”—Alicia Keys

So I read an incredibly inspiring book this weekend. And, no, it wasn’t published by Hay House or any other self-help purveyor. The book, More Myself, is Alicia Keys’ riveting memoir that further proves there’s little this superstar can’t do.

Here are five reasons I now have a huge girl crush on this activist, Grammy-winner, entrepreneur and creative genius:

1. She knows that with every word and intention, she creates the masterpiece that is her life. That’s a quote, straight from the pages of her book. From the very beginning of her illustrious career, when she signed her first contract at—get this?—age 15, she has been aware of the universal energy that forms itself around her belief and thoughts.

2. She’s all-in as an activist. Her video, 23 Ways you Could be Killed if you’re Black in America is poignant and powerful and sadly, still as true as it was four years ago when she first made it.

3. She’s living proof that creativity is a synonym for spirituality. She has been using her art, expressing her truth to imagine a new world and design a new vision. As I write in my book, Art & Soul, Reloaded, the world will ultimately be bound back together not by politicians, but by thousands of individuals giving of their gifts, thousands of individuals becoming ambassadors of the possible.

4. She has been practicing meditation since 2015, using a Sanskrit mantra that translates to, “I bow to the Creative Wisdom, the Divine Teacher within.”

5. Like my gorgeous daughter, Taz, she eschews makeup. She even launched a movement (hashtag, #NoMakeup) that encourages women to be true to themselves. And I love that she freely admits that, like all of us, she stresses way too much about what other people think and has, for years, withheld parts of herself to make others feel comfortable. She details how all the photos of models and actresses and others we compare ourselves to have been heavily photoshopped. As she says, “I don’t want to cover up anymore—not my face, not my mind, not my soul, not my dreams, not my struggles, not my emotional growth. Nothing.

If that’s not a manifesto worth following, I don’t know what is.

Here in Lawrence, Kansas, I’ve been celebrating little things—like moonflowers (it’s so much fun to watch at dusk as they begin to pulse and shimmy and ready themselves to burst open and salute the moon) and neon green-throated hummingbirds who recently congregated around my hummingbird feeder as they prepare for their journey south.

No matter what’s happening out there, my friends, it’s important to remember that inside us all is a subtle, invisible wisdom stream that’s 24/7 available to assist with our journey.

Have a fab week, my friends. Sending love and 222 blessings from the heart of America.

Pam Grout is the author of 20 books including E-Squared, E-Cubed, Thank & Grow Rich and her latest book, The Course in Miracles Experiment: A Starter Kit for Rewiring Your Mind (And Therefore Your World).