Recently, many conversations I've been in seem to circle back to a key theme:

Authenticity. Courage to live as who we truly are at this point in our lives. Choosing ourselves — even though most of us were conditioned not to.

This topic hits close to home, so I’m noticing it everywhere. Power of perception and all that. Something is shifting for a lot of women right now, especially in midlife, and the conversations feel like they're getting more honest. Definitely more vulnerable.

One thing I'm hearing is that many women are finding it hard to be their authentic selves with people they've known for years, like in their friendships.

At some point, we feel like we are performing a version of ourselves inside relationships that no longer fit. As we change, some friendships may start to feel less resonant, simply because we are evolving and changing at different speeds. So of course in some cases there will be a shift.

This goes for our intimate relationships, too. If we aren't giving space for our loved ones to be fully themselves in who they are today, that is going to feel like a hard path to stay on together.

At some point we have to ask: am I willing to keep abandoning myself?

Every time we lower our energy just to match someone else's. Every time we don't say how we feel about something. Every time we shape-shift to keep the room comfortable. Every time we make ourselves smaller, easier, more palatable, we are abandoning ourselves.

There's more to this — including a lost lamb, a Shadow, and a near-death experience that reframes the whole thing. This isn’t just a personal thing, it’s spiritual, too. 👇🏻

KEEP READING THE FULL PIECE→

🎥 The joy of sharing — all wrapped up in this perfect little story. “Joy is a concept that is hard to pin down, but you know it when you see it.”

🗣️ Stefanie Mullen and I went live to talk about The Savoring Dispatch — and ended up talking about slowing down, reinvention, and giving ourselves permission (not waiting for it)

📖 Spirit Daughter: Own Your Power, Change Your Life: I haven't read this yet, but I've been a Spirit Daughter (Jill Wintersteen) fan for years — even got to chat with her on my first podcast back in my home design days. She knows intention, energy, manifesting, and how to build a soul-led business.

🧘🏻 It really does come down to the breath. Here's a 5-minute box breathing exercise for whenever you need to drop back in and feel grounded.

😁 LOL. Me. 🙋🏻‍♀️

I met Dre through a string of synchronistic events that led me to one of her circles, where the theme was based on the book Signs. We also know each other from the Carissa Schumacher community..

Dre is a true light-holder. She leads beautiful circles through The Art of Circling (and teaches other facilitators how to do the same), hosts the Circle This podcast, and gathers women in a way that feels both grounded and expansive. Her passion for circling is palpable — she holds that space with so much presence and patience, never rushing or forcing anything. There's something about her that just draws you in — she's warm, connected, and the real deal. And to add to her magic, she's currently training as a death doula, which feels so aligned with the kind of soul-deep work she's already doing.

She's one to know! — definitely one for your spiritual rolodex.

LEARN MORE ABOUT DRE →

→ Cute & cosy: these Knitting Nanas are helping animals in need.

→ Two pandas on the blind date of a lifetime. (Traveling 8,000 miles to meet!)

→ Hummingbirds in slo-mo feels like a form of meditation.👇🏻

A small thing that’s part of my (almost) every day: the Hold the Light cap.

I wear mine everywhere. Trader Joe’s, the dog park, the airport, coffee shops — and people often stop to ask about it. Sometimes it turns into a real conversation with a stranger who, it turns out, is holding the light too.

The logo is on the front. Hold the Light on the back. One size fits most, and it’s soft enough to wear every day and sturdy enough to survive being shoved in a suitcase or bag. Comes in forest green, army green, gray, and navy blue.

If you want to reflect what you stand for — and possibly make a new connection along the way— order yours here. 👇🏻

xo, Laurie

P.S. Forward this email to one person you think might like it. That’s how this grows — one light-builder at a time. And if someone forwarded this to you and you’d like to keep receiving it, sign up here.

Find me between issues: Instagram · Substack · Hold the Light podcast

Build the Light is your weekly dose of proof that something good is happening — and a nudge to keep adding yours. We bring spirituality into the mainstream through the people, stories, and ideas meant to activate the light-holders building a better world, inside and out.

Hold the light. Reflect the light. Build the light.

This edition was written by Laurie Gunning Grossman.

Build the Light is part of Hold the Light Collective — where this work goes deeper, in community.