My Sunday List
July 20, 2025 || The twenty-ninth weekend of 2025 || A waning crescent moon in Gemini indicates a need for spontaneity and change || The weather in Nashville: High 94 degrees, Low 75
Words
“Attachment will ask our loved ones to stay the same, but this is impossible when the river of existence constantly flows forward. Human beings are changing, whether they are aware of it or not. Those of us who seek better lives will intentionally embrace change and use it to our advantage so that we can evolve in ways that generate stability, joy, and fulfillment. Even those who do not actively seek to change will slowly morph in their preferences, thought patterns, and interests over time.” —Yung Pueblo
Music
My sister and I listened to Melody Gardot yesterday on the porch. What a lovely voice and vibe. This song is tremendous. Who among us has never been a fool?
And I’m leaving this here in case anyone missed it last week.
SAINT SEVEN—Scout LISTEN HERE
Artists make art. Regardless of the state of the world, regardless of their lack of time and resources, and regardless of any maladies of the spirit or heart, they’ll find a way to twist the detritus of experience into some sort of form and share it. Sometimes it’s in real time, sometimes it comes well after, and sometimes it comes as a bellwether, but however it comes, the process is as fundamental as breathing.
Saint Seven is Kenny Greenberg and Allison Moorer. A veteran partnership, and a ripe representation of a soul bond that goes beyond timelines, these songs are a celebration of making for the sake of making because making, for Saint Seven, is being.
Joy
Good, deep, hilarious, meaningful visits with my sister. I feel so lucky to get to walk through the world with her.
photo by Shawn Camp
Another beautiful gift from Italy—this time a silk scarf from my dear Sarah. The colors are so incredible I couldn’t help but tie it on my handbag so I can see it everyday. It’s good to have one handy, anyway—I never know when I might need a splash of color or a way to harness my hair.
The way you do anything is the way you do everything.
Inspiration Card For the Week
From Tasya van Ree’s the Untamed Elemental deck.
Crystal. Self-healing.
Crystal is an instrument of transcendence, an iconic talisman of the journey inward. Forged deep in the belly of Earth, she emerges clear and brilliant, emanating form and balance through her highly ordered expressions of the infinite. Her sacred geometries hold the planetary codes and cosmic blueprints of universal existence. She responds to your intentions to conserve, direct, transmit, and transmute energy. She is a powerful healing ally.
Crystal sends the message that self-healing is under way. You can amplify this progress by visualizing your wholeness and aligning with the curative frequencies freely given by Earth. Self-healing is a powerful choice. When its visualization is married with intuitive listening and a commitment to self-kindness, improvement becomes inevitable. If you chose to work with a physical crystal, trust her purity and light to guide you home to yourself.
I have a favorite crystal. I got it in San Miguel de Allende and it lives on my altar. I don’t ask it for guidance unless I really need it, but it has never failed me. A rose quartz attached to a chain—like a diviner of the unknown known (see below). I think I’ll approach it today.
What I’m writing
Lately it’s been writing a bio for one of the 2025 Country Music Hall of Fame inductees. Contrary to popular belief, we at the museum have no say whatsoever in who gets in—the Country Music Foundation does that. The museum is in charge of the induction/medallion ceremony and houses the member plaques in the Rotunda.
It’s not easy to cover a fifty-year career in 1,100 words, but no one said it would be. I wasn’t looking for easy when I signed up for the job I’m doing now, anyway. I was looking to use my brain in a different way while bringing my experience, style, and idiosyncratic expertise to the table. So far, I think it was a good idea.
Gratitude
The ability to read. I’ve always read more than I probably do anything else. I trust books, particularly ones I’ve read before. Working on the Dolly Parton exhibit at the museum gave me a deeper appreciation for my education. Dolly started The Imagination Library with her father, Lee Parton, as a way to increase literary in Sevier County, their home county. He couldn’t read but insisted his children go to school, even though he never got the opportunity. I can’t even imagine who I might be without the ability to read.
Tenacity. The determination to move forward despite setbacks. What would we be without that little spark of belief in ourselves? That whisper that says, “keep going, you’re headed in the right direction, it’ll happen.” I think tenacity works best with a strong internal truth—I wrote about that last week.
Desires
To live somewhere with water nearby. It keeps coming up—seek a stream, a creek, a river, water that moves—maybe even as a metaphor for time. Water that moves never flows through the same place twice nor does it leave the places it goes unchanged—reminding me of the never-ending journey of life on earth. There’s no going back. Ever.
Growth. May I never get so set in my ways that it hinders my humanity. And may I be blessed with opportunities to stretch to the limits of what I think I can do, which is almost always wider than what I tell myself.
Prayer
Let me be good. Let me remember to talk to you and hear what you have to say to me. Let me value your divine knowing over anything and everything else, over anyone and everyone’s opinion. Let me be choosy about the counsel I seek. Let me be loyal, kind, and compassionate to my friends and family. Let me use good judgment and strength of character in every moment. Let me never forget that each breath is a gift from you, from this universe, from the miracle that is this moment of perfect combustion. Let me be strong in my faith. Let me receive inspiration. Most of all, let me love and be loved.
Intention for the week to come
May I be the best version of myself at every opportunity.
May I be patient. May I be kind.
May I have self-awareness.
May I clear clutter from my life.
May I welcome change.
May I love unconditionally.
May I slow down my emotions and keep them at arms length. They are clues—not answers, not truth.
Something I’m thinking about
Knowing and not knowing at the same time.
There’s a phrase—the unknown known—that I think of as a way to describe what we know in our souls that our minds won’t yet accept. That little feeling creeping up the back or that tiny unsettledness in the gut saying something…
Before enlightenment; chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment; chop wood, carry water. — Buddha
DO NOT EVER LET THE BASTARDS GET YOU DOWN.
Something Special!
You read this far, so you get the deal! If you’ve been thinking about going to a paid subscription, now’s your chance. I’m running a 25% off deal for a week (July 20–27).
Find out more here: https://allisonmoorer.substack.com/27b36596
Wishes
That we all receive the love we deserve.
That we all find comfort and peace.
That we all find time for the things that soothe us.
That you will forward this to one person you think might like it.
Have a wonderful, peaceful, joyous week. And thank you for supporting my work here at The Autotelic.
Peace. Love.
Allison
There are first edition copies of I Dream He Talks to Me and Blood in the shop. I will sign each copy that is ordered. If you would like it personalized, please send an email with your order number and the name you would like on the signature page to allisonmoorercontact@gmail.com.
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What you wrote about living by water is so interesting. I lived within walking of the sea half of my life, in England and later in Maine and I’ve lived close to a lake in Switzerland for the other half. I still miss the sea even though I have the lake. So when I die, I hope that some of my molecules with enter the lake and flow down the River Rhine to the English Channel. That way, my soul will be at ease as somehow the two bodies of water will be united.
Melody Gardot can take you places, can't she? She's a real gem. On a different note, if you get a chance, watch the film Sinners. It's a magical, mystical merging of music and film that left me speechless. A truly incredible work of art. Sending love your way as always. ❤️