Katie Miller
I was on my way to a friends house and decided to stop at a new place to get some food so I yelped vegan spots and saw a restaurant called Powerplant Cafe. My intuition said ‘that one!’ so I drove there. After I finished ordering I turned to the door and saw this woman walk in beaming. Her smile radiated warmth and I said, “You have the most beautiful smile. I feel good just seeing you happy!”
“Thanks!”
“My name is Dijon.”
“Katie. Nice to meet you. Dijon did you say?”
“Yeah, like the mustard.”
“Love Dijon mustard.”
“Yeah, it’s not too spicy, not too plain.”
“Yeah, it’s very flavorful. And kinda has a little grit to it.”
“I feel like I’m integrating the grit. The light and dark aspects.”
“That’s nice. I like that metaphor.”
“It could be a projection, but your smile seems like it comes from a deep place of joy and I’m curious as to how you actualized that joy. It seems like that comes from a deep level of self-awareness.”
“Yeah…well I definitely don’t feel that way all the time. But I’ve been through a lot in the past couple years. I went to grad school right after both my parents passed away. I guess I just really savor the moments that are good because that’s all you have. So I try to keep myself in that mindset. And when I walked in…I don’t know, sometimes I think it’s easier to be in that space when you walk into a room full of strangers because it’s full of possibilities. Anything could happen, you could meet anyone, and that openness brings out that deep joy…for me.”
“Yeah, I also feel like I’ve been going through a lot. It seems like that kinda time for everyone.”
“Definitely.”
“And a lot of my instinct was to go inward, and that’s been healing, but I’ve been getting reflections that it’s time to go out. To show up for life every day and go out to explore.”
“That’s beautiful. That’s all you can do right?”
“What’s one thing you’re excited about creating for yourself this year?”
“I’m excited to create space for a time when I can do whatever I want that’s extremely luxurious. I’ve been saving up to take 2 months off and I’m going to explore nature as much as possible.”
“Any specific nature?”
“Yeah, I bought a pass for all the national parks and I thought it’d be cool to map out where land art around the United States is and have that drive some of my touring. I’ve traveled a lot alone and I’m hoping to find friends to go with so I can stay relational and connect.”