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Lauren Shipley

@shipleyle

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“There isn’t a person you wouldn’t love if you could read their story”
🌍 @made51_unhcr | @wfto_fairtrade
📍 Nairobi

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Added to the long list of reasons I love 🇰🇪 + my best friend coming to explore my favorite country after a decade = bliss taken in Lamu, Kenya by @shipleyle

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a month ago

My girls heal & fill my heart 🫶 best friends are soul mates too✨🥰 taken in Nairobi, Kenya by @shipleyle

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a month ago

Never been more thankful to an airline for making me miss my flight - 24 hours till the next one was just enough time to explore ✨ unexpected wandering taken in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates by @shipleyle

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2 months ago

Experienced so many special parts of Rwanda thanks to the best host @flannery_erin 🫶
Swipe to the last slide if you’d like to see how well I hiked Mount Sabyinyo during rainy season 🥲 hiked is a generous term, my feet were often not on the ground🫣 taken in Musanze by @shipleyle

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5 months ago

These beautiful women are radiant joy!☀️ I felt surrounded by sunshine in their presence. Had the best day visiting the refugee-led cooperatives with @indego_africa - so inspiring to witness the 6-month vocational skills training in action & also meet some of the incredible women who have been a part of @made51_unhcr for years ✨ these groups are led by such inspiring women that not only lead with unwavering dedication, but also teach and invite others in so that they can expand their impact. The products they create are truly special & crafted with immense love 💕

P.s. friends in the US - they have an online shop & a showroom in NYC ⚡️ taken in Kirehe District by @shipleyle

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5 months ago

I’ve never yearned more for my mother in my adult life as I have this year - when it all crumbles down, there is no way to explain the deep longing for just ten minutes of curling up on her bed late at night & talking about everything - it’s the simple moments that are etched into my soul eternally. There’s a certain sorrow that settles in when you become the age your mother was in the main years you knew her, I somehow get to know her more even in her absence as the years pass. As Mother’s Day approaches for the 17th year since she left us, I remember all that she was & all that she continues to be in my heart. She is loved endlessly ✨

~ Grief is no longer a ghost that follows me uninvited everywhere I go, grief is a welcomed guest whenever she arrives. Where she used to feel like an intruder, now I pull out her chair & let her know she can stay as long as she needs. Where I used to fear her presence, I now welcome all the space she takes up. She’s not necessarily predictable, but she’s somehow reliable. Because she’s always teaching me. She’s the visitor that shows up unannounced. My life changed when I no longer expected grief to stop showing up. Her presence doesn’t mean I failed. 17 years & I have accepted grief doesn’t have to be scary or shameful. As I understand her more, I thank her for what she’s given to me over time. The fragility of life will never be lost upon me. 🤍 by @shipleyle

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5 months ago

Still reflecting on the magic of this weekend. Every moment was 💫 curated with so much love & intention by @nieveslahuerta 🫶 yoga is a gift that continues to teach me. Thank you @accrashalayoga for the life-giving & soulful experiences ❤️ taken in Accra, Ghana by @shipleyle

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6 months ago

📍 Adomi Bridge, Ghana
Favorite weekend getaway spot✨

a deep exhale for my Pisces soul 🐠 taken in Adomi Bridge by @shipleyle

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7 months ago

Even in the midst of the storm, we found some light 🌞✨
This past season reminded me of how many gifts can be found even in the darkest hours. I re-learned the importance of looking at each day, one by one as it came, & stopped letting the bigger picture consume my mind. This is the gift of presence.

We’re on the way to the other side & I’m beyond grateful for the glimpses of light we found along the way ❤️ We will never be immune to life’s difficulties, as humans they are a part of the experience here, but I’ve found that when I surrender my resistance to the difficulty - I realize there’s so much to discover in it. My resistance never changes the circumstance anyway, but it does rob me of growth & connection if I let it. The difficulties are a mirror in a million ways✨ taken in Daniel Island, SC by @shipleyle

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7 months ago

This is 31 🫶 my happy place is here in my auntie era, surrounded by all my littlest loves ❤️ taken in Hampton Park by @shipleyle

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8 months ago

I’ll forever be channeling the energy of Bangkok’s temple kitties 🐈

I’ve tucked these few days into a little box in my soul - one I keep returning to 🫶 In the midst of the past couple months of heaviness, these memories with my sweet Dela bring me so much joy.

It’s been an important reminder that life doesn’t wait for our plans. I’ve felt a lot of resistance to that truth lately, but there’s also something freeing in remembering that all that ever really matters is the moment right in front of us.

Still hopeful in the pursuit of peace - these temple kitties are a sweet (& yes silly) reminder. I hope to keep seeking peace even in the storms, it will never come from the external circumstances.. the pursuit is within ✨ taken in Bangkok, Thailand by @shipleyle

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8 months ago

Grandad - a man that had the right words in even the toughest moments, he wouldn’t lose a second to tell a witty joke in any circumstance, even from an emergency room bed. He was steadfast, fully present and always reliable. Though he was a military man and highly respected in his careers and volunteer work, he poured just as much into our family. He always included us in his daily life- there’s countless times he brought me along to events with his students, in highschool I volunteered with the Red Cross alongside him.. and as soon as I met the height requirement grandad was riding roller coasters with my brother and I. We’d go on every roller coaster we could find in an amusement park and we went to many of them on the east coast. That’s just the kind of grandad he was - he did it all somehow and had so much fun doing it.

He was a man of his word, a man of honest and loyal character - best represented in his love for his dearest and affectionately known to this day as his bride. His love for my Mema even after 60 years, was youthful, affectionate and always sacrificial. I learned so much about love by watching the two of them - there was nothing on this earth he treasured more than my beautiful grandmother✨

I’m so proud of him, what an honor and a privilege to be his granddaughter. I find peace knowing his daughters were waiting for him 🕊️ but we’ll be missing him here ❤️ taken in Charleston, South Carolina by @shipleyle

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10 months ago