Easy Like Sunday Morning V. 79
a question, an activity, an intention
Each week, I send an email to help you connect, even during your busiest seasons. Read it to each other in bed or take it in the car with you. It’s made to be easy, like Sunday morning.
1 question to check in with each other
1 activity to get closer
1 intention for the coming week
The State of Things:
First things first… let’s check in about how things are going overall in your relationship.
Q. “What’s a recent shift in your life that feels both empowering and bittersweet?”
Relationships thrive when we can hold complexity…when we learn that two seemingly opposite things can be true at the same time. Growth doesn’t always feel good, and progress doesn’t always feel clean. Sometimes, we’re becoming stronger and feeling more tender. Sometimes, we’re moving forward and quietly grieving what we’re leaving behind. In long-term partnerships, making room for this kind of nuance can be one of the most generous things we do for each other. It means allowing space for the whole story, not just the easy parts.
This week’s question invites that kind of space:
“What’s a recent shift in your life that feels both empowering and bittersweet?”
You might be stepping into a new season, letting go of an old version of yourself, or finally doing something you’ve been working toward, only to realize there’s still some sadness mixed in with the joy. Sharing these layered moments helps your partner understand where you are internally, and it reminds you both that growth and tenderness can walk hand in hand. You don’t need to fix anything; you just need to listen, with curiosity and care.
Getting Closer: [Emotional, Experiential, Intellectual, & Relational Intimacy]
Explore Contradictory Art Together
Spend time with a piece of art that holds tension. It could be a painting that blends softness and chaos, a sculpture that feels both grounded and off-balance, or a collage that places clashing images and textures side by side. You can do this by:
Visiting a local museum or gallery
Browsing abstract or surrealist art online
Or making your own art using colors, patterns, or shapes that don’t “match,” but still create something meaningful when placed together
As you view (or create), ask each other:
What emotions come up as you take this in?
What feels disjointed? What feels connected?
How might this piece still feel complete, even with contrast?
Much like art, relationships are made of contrast. You can be independent and want closeness. You can be in love and still feel frustrated. You can crave change and fear it simultaneously. Learning to see the beauty in contradiction helps you stop trying to “fix” tension and instead start curiously witnessing it together.
When you explore art that holds opposing truths, you’re practicing how to hold that same space in your relationship. It’s a gentle reminder that harmony doesn’t always mean uniformity. Sometimes, it means making room for contrast…and still calling it beautiful.
Setting an Intention:
"This week, I will let our relationship be a mosaic—not every piece has to match.”
Last week, you were asked the question, “What’s something your father or a father figure passed down to you that still stays with you today?” Most of you answered, “A quality I’ve adopted.”
This week, let’s reflect on the contradictions we carry and how two emotions can live side by side.
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