Isn't it strange how one word can mean so many different things? The word "brave", for instance, means something different depending on who you ask. Sometimes it even means something different depending on the context it is used. 

My daughter was brave today. She faced one of her greatest four-year-old fears, going to the dentist. The new dentist made all the difference and she had a great experience this time. She bounced out the door feeling happy and brave. 

Brave can be facing something scary and trying anyway. Brave can be taking a risk, like a new job or moving to a new state. Brave can be saying goodbye to what isn't working anymore. Brave can be the willingness to be unique and let your true self shine. Brave is not just one thing.

I believe the more we encourage ourselves to do little acts of bravery, the more brave we become. The more successes we have help us be more willing to try bigger bravery situations. 

Sometimes the need to be brave comes out of the blue. There isn't a warning or a scheduled date on the calendar. It just shows up at our door. These are key moments in learning about our bravery. Hopefully in these moments we can look back at our successes and choose the best, brave way to proceed. 

Take a moment and think about all the brave things you have done in your life, big and small. How did they turn out? Would you be more willing to be brave if you knew a bunch of people were standing with you? 

I think our country is at a point where we need bravery. We are the land of the free and home of the brave, right? 

Mostly I do not watch the news. I prefer to read the news or hear it second hand through my husband so the images don't haunt my dreams. It feels like the stories have made pretty clear by now that our country needs some big changes. We need some big changes in power, infrastructure, and beliefs. We need to make big changes to bring us beyond the racism, imbalances, and injustices. 

Can you be brave? Can you stand up for those in need? Can you speak up to those who are too afraid, too stuck to move past these old prejudices? Can you do it if we do it together? 

I'm grateful to know I can be brave. I'm grateful to be finding ways to try to help my community shift to something better. I'm grateful for each of you that is willing to be brave and stand with those who are suffering. I'm grateful to know that we as a country are strong enough and brave enough to overcome racism, injustice, and gross imbalances that some are suffering. I'm grateful to know we can do this. I'm grateful to know we WILL do this. I'm grateful for my daughter's bravery today as she builds her confidence. I'm grateful to know she will do great things as she grows. 

It's time to move forward. It's passed time to make these changes, so let's not keep dragging our feet. Big change is needed and we are brave enough to handle it. Thank you for the difference you are making each day to make this world a more loving place. Have a beautiful day!

Determination is great! It allows us to talk up what we are going to do and commit to getting something accomplished. Yet determination is only powerful if we put it to action. Without the action of actually doing what we say we're determined to get done, nothing happens.

Tomorrow is the inauguration of a new president. As with many presidents before him, he has made big promises and is facing quite a few big issues, from the very basic principles of human rights to an exponentially growing pandemic to huge environmental issues. He speaks with determination and I look forward to seeing what actions come from these big promises. It is my sincerest hope that they are actions that bring our country to a place of balance, love, and respect.  

How many times do we speak up determined to make a difference? How many times have we made a commitment to goals in the new year only to let them fade six weeks later? How do we keep our actions as strong as our words?

Part of my practice of becoming aware of when I complain is also making me aware of my determination. It has made me listen deeper to my words and my tone. In doing so I have to ask myself if I am just "preaching" or if I am ready to take the steps I speak of to truly make a difference. 

I'm grateful for this time of awareness and reflection. I'm grateful to see where my words and my actions are not lining up. I'm grateful to see which places my words need to change and which places I need to commit to more action. I'm grateful for the hope I feel in having a new president. I'm grateful to believe that change can happen and that progress can be made to heal the major rifts that have been torn in our country. I'm grateful to believe that words can be the beginning of action and that both have the power to make the world a better place. I'm grateful for change.

May today bring renewed hope for a better world. May we work together to bring equality, love, and respect into every aspect of our lives. Have a beautiful day!

The other day I was reading a news article about the alignment of Jupiter and Saturn in the night sky. It was saying that this alignment only happens this close and at this time of year once every 800 years or more. The bright "star" is creates in the night sky is referred to as the Christmas Star or the Star of Bethlehem. 

I have been very drawn to the Christmas story this year. I cannot remember any other time in my life since childhood that I have been so interested in the story of the birth and feeling a connection with the religious aspects of the holiday. As I wrote yesterday, I am feeling a particular connection to Mary.

It was so interesting to me that the Christmas Star, this rare alignment, would be happening again this year. As I look back over the year, I can see how, more than any other year, the story and the star are needed. 

On the one hand it has been a year of upheaval, pandemic, death, fear, fighting, and injustice. It offered up the shadows we had chosen to ignore in a way that let us know it is time to face it and FIX it. It took loved ones too soon and reminded us how important it is to tell the ones we love how we feel while they are here. 

On the other hand it has been a year about focusing on what is important. I was not the only one saying "if only I had time..." and BOOM, granted. The shutdown gave me nothing but time. I often wished I had more time with my children rather than so much time running around in the car doing drop off and errands and pick up, BOOM, wish granted! I am home more than any other time aside from maternity leave in over four years, my husband is home, and my children are by my side nearly every moment of the day. Time together has been granted in abundance. It has been beautiful.

This year has offered up the reminder to prioritize. For us that meant grandparents over in-person school. It has offered the reconnection to nature. It is the one safe place to enjoy and get some fresh air. It has offered a slower pace, IF we choose to accept it. It has offered so many services of convenience, curbside everything to keep us focused on the important stuff. 

And as the year draws to a close, as Christmas nears, the will be a bright light in the night sky. It is a promise that light will always win over darkness. It is a promise that we will move forward from this moment and be better for it. It is a reminder that we are strong and that we bear our own light to shine in this world. 

I'm grateful for the return of this special alignment. I'm grateful for the divine timing and symbolism in its return. I'm grateful for the connection I feel this year. I'm grateful for all the blessings that have come from this year. I'm grateful to look back at how myself and my family have not only stepped up but adapted to the challenges this year tossed us. I'm grateful to feel pride, it wasn't perfect but we did it as a team. I'm grateful to allow this child-like eagerness to wash over me as I await the "star" in the night sky. 

Will you be looking up this holiday season? Will you take the time to gaze at this alignment? Will you allow awe to wash over you? Will you accept the blessings of this year? What changes will you take from this year into the years to come?

May we continue to prioritize what is important even when the pandemic is over. May we allow ourselves to find inspiration and awe in the beauty and gifts that this season has to offer. Have a beautiful day!

I have really been making a push to keep up with my self-care lately. It is often the first thing to fall off the schedule if there is too much to do, but not this time. Even with the long list of stuff to get done this week I have made sure I am getting the care I need, aside from some missed hours of sleep courtesy of my girls. 

Yet today I find myself still feeling lacking. My cup is not overflowing. I am in need of a vacation, a change of scenery, some fresh air, even just a small break. 

While the pandemic numbers are rising and kids need taken care of, there is not the ability to just hop on a plane and take off for the beach. But I can take a few days off work. I can take a few days off my blog and bring my gratitude daily practice back to my notebook, taking it a little deeper and a little more brutally honest. I can give myself elements of a vacation, even if I am right here. 

Today is not the day for it as I still have lots of prep for my daughter's birthday party and schooling. But I am mentally preparing that next week is my vacation. It is also my oldest daughter's 4th birthday and I'm sure she will be more than happy to have some hammock time out on the deck with me. 

Sometimes we just need to change things up. There has been plenty of change lately but I am in need of having some form of change that I feel some control in, not just in response to a bigger change. I am ready for some time that is soothing to the soul.

I'm grateful to be making self-care a priority. I'm grateful to sit and honestly look at why that isn't filling my cup right now. I'm grateful to see the need and honor it. I'm grateful for this blog and to be able to put something positive out into the world. I'm grateful to honor myself and take next week off and tune back in to gratitude on a private, deeper level. I'm grateful for my family. I'm grateful to celebrate four years with my daughter and four years of being a mom. I'm grateful for my beautiful rainbow girl, even on her spicy days. I'm grateful for two girls who fill my heart more than they know. I'm grateful to take a vacation and get back to the basics.

What are you needing today? When was the last time you took a day off?

May we listen to our needs and do what we can to meet them. May we live in a place of cups overflowing and abundant love. Have a beautiful day!

Tonight I find myself in need of a mental redirect. I am facing a week ahead of lots of to do lists, yes multiple lists of multiple categories of what needs done, and it is easy for me to think that the list items outnumber the hours in the days. 

I recently listened to a podcast about stress and how we react makes all the difference. Some people meet stress with anxiety and compounded stress so that it feels heavy and crippling. Other people find stress as a challenge to conquer and meet it head first with a gusto. 

If I am being honest, most kinds of stress I tend to react in the first way mentioned rather than responding to the challenge. After listening to the podcast I was reminded I have the choice in how I choose to respond...but this is the first real test to that. Time to put it to practice.

I can do this. I can manage my time well and have a very productive week. This is my chance to really dig in and see what all I can do when I use my time intentionally. I also get to use this opportunity to decide which things on the to do lists are important as I cross of the most important things first. And in finding this balance I also get to make sure my priorities are still intact with my family coming first. 

Thankfully I have a lot of help this week as well! My work schedule is light. I have an amazing husband ready to help. My girls have been doing a great job playing together which allows me a few extra minutes here and there to get things done. I have one evening of help from my parents already planned. I have my mother-in-law coming to help too. As a team, we've definitely got this.

I'm grateful to use this blog as a good mental redirect. I'm grateful for the podcast I heard that reminded me of my power to choose how I respond. I'm grateful to put this to practice tonight and all week. I'm grateful for my awesome team and all the help I know I have if/when needed. I'm grateful for the fun week ahead and everything great that will come from all this effort. I'm grateful to trust and remind myself that I've got this.

Which type of response do you tend to have to stress? How do you direct your thoughts to a powerful response instead of reaction? 

May we always seek to claim our personal power and positive perspective. May we meet stress with a gusto and meet the challenge. May we give ourselves grace if it doesn't quite go as planned. Have a beautiful day, you've got this!

Last night I stayed up later than usual so I could watch the tribute to John Lewis. He was a great man and I wonder why it is that we celebrate people so much more in death. I knew some of the great things he had done but I learned even more last night. He modeled what it means to be the change we wish to see. He didn't just speak it, he acted!

I have good ideas. I have a good heart. But I will admit that up until a few months ago I was incredibly naive to all the ways racism is ingrained in our country. I have been learning. I have a long way to go in the learning process and I will never fully understand. I hope to educate myself so I can raise my girls to be better, know more, and have those blinders removed. But is that it? Is that where it stops? Is educating the next generation enough?

Isn't that just saying that they will fix it? Are we really going to leave our messes for our children to clean up? And would we really be okay letting injustices go on in the meantime?! 

I realized last night from my place on the couch just how little I have DONE. I talk about being the change and I try to put positive messages out int he world and help those who come to me. But when I really break it down, the people I help are either paying me or friends and family. There are very few instances of deep help that I have given just to give and this awareness hurts my heart. 

I could say it begins with me but to be frank and honest that is complete b.s. It doesn't start with me because the crusade has been going for decades. The mere fact that it hasn't gotten further is heartbreaking and angering all at the same time. I will not let these feelings be pushed down and placated, I will put them to use. I will quit merely talking about being the change and start acting. 

John Lewis was a brother and friend to this country. He saw the ways it could be better and he acted. We owe it to him to keep the fight going. We must not let his efforts stop just because he is gone. Our children deserve to live in a country that is free. Everyone deserves to be free and until every person can be treated with equal respect, dignity, and rights, we are not free. 

Please stand with me. Don't let the sign in the yard be "enough". Don't let a couple shared Facebook posts be the end of your effort. Look in the eyes of every child, of every color, of every background, and of every orientation and see the divine child there. This has gone on long enough. It is time to stand. Who out there is willing to throw away your blinders, apologize for not seeing it sooner and stand for what is right?

I'm grateful to feel this passion surge through me. I'm grateful to have watched this special tribute. I'm grateful to witness the guilt I feel and know that I can start making changes today. I'm grateful for John Lewis and everyone who has been fighting this battle longer than they should have had to. I'm grateful for their persistence and their willpower. I'm grateful for the ways they made change happen. I'm grateful for a model to strive toward. 

Rest in peace, Mr. Lewis. Know that we will win this fight. There will be freedom.

What will you choose? Silence is a side. 

May we fight for the country we were promised, with freedom and liberty for all. May we let go of white privilege knowing we only win when we have true equality. Let your passions spark and find a way to make change. Have a beautiful, powerful day.

When I feel that familiar vibration of anxiety coursing through me I frequently breathe through it and push it aside. A lot of times my anxiety is fed by wanting to control or change something I cannot. So I focus on my body and breathe or meditate or jog until the vibration evens back out. 

Often times I even find myself feeling negative towards anxiety, as if it is a personality flaw. In reality it is just a guidepost like any other emotion. 

At the same time I brush off this emotion I also feel like my intuition is strong and trustworthy in most situations. If I feel uneasy in the presence of someone or in a new location I trust my gut. It is a deep knowing inside and does not usually have the same resonation as the anxiety I spoke of a moment ago.

Last night I lay awake for over three and a half hours. Something was not sitting right with me and I tried every technique I knew to brush it off, breathe through it, and just go to sleep. Nothing worked. In fact, every time I tried to rationalize to calm or even pray about it, I got more anxious. It wasn't until I explored the idea that maybe, just maybe there was more than anxiety going on that I began to relax. When I finally let it go and changed my plan, listening to the anxiety, I fell fast asleep.

I'm grateful for the persistence of intuition. I'm grateful to listen. I'm grateful to get a new perspective and open my eyes to the negative ideas I hold toward anxiety. I'm grateful for all the times my intuition has served me well and kept me safe. I'm grateful for all anxiety has taught me too. I'm grateful to move forward with a more open mind and commit to paying more attention to what my emotions are telling me. 

What are your emotions telling you? What does your intuition tell you? How can we all find a balance at this time of change?

May today allow us to have strong intuition and faith. May we listen to the anxiety while not allowing it to overrun us. Have a beautiful day!

Amid the escalating and constantly changing situation outside it was nice to finally get some clarity for myself. I will admit that I have let my anxiety control me for several days. I've felt wishy-washy on what to do and how to respond, hoping someone would make the hard decisions for me.

Last night I could not sleep between a baby that was wide awake most the night and my own anxiety running rampant through my thoughts. I tried to sleep in this morning but as soon as my sleep had a minor interruption it was no use. Even a guided meditation could not derail and reboot my thoughts. 

We decided to go ahead and celebrate my mom's birthday. Being around my family helped tremendously. There was a lot of talk about what is happening with Covid-19 but also some good laughs and distractions. It was nice to see them and allow things to feel a little bit "normal" again as we enjoyed family lunch.

After leaving I felt more clear in what directions and steps I would take. I started by making a mental list of all unnecessary risks that I could easily spare my family. I then composed a message to my clients setting clear boundaries and reminding them to think of the community in making their own decisions. It got a very positive response which gave me more reassurance that I was not the only one seeking some direction and initiative. 

I'm grateful to step up. I'm grateful to stop looking to everyone else to tell me what to do and do what makes sense for me and my family. I'm grateful to mentally preparing the next steps in my head. I'm grateful to be finding my voice and my path amidst the uncertainty. I'm grateful for laughs shared with family as well as good sounding board chats. I'm grateful to get other perspectives to take into account. I'm grateful to follow what feels good to my heart and know that it will help my mental state as well as my sleep.

What is right for you? What precautions would help you feel confident and secure? How can you take the steps you need to find your inner peace and calm amidst this "storm"? 

May today remind us to think not only of our loved ones but those in our community. May we make the decisions we feel are right for the greater good and for our own peace of mind. Have a beautiful day!

Today was a rough, dark day for me. I hit a low and felt those familiar fingers of depression pulling at my thoughts.

The current stage my oldest daughter is going through is really taking a toll on me. It's just a stage. Everything is just a stage at this point. And yet days and weeks of being yelled at, hit, and called names have worn me. The constant boundary pushing has drained me. Her assertion that I am a terrible mom drove the nail home today.

My response was that I was sorry she felt that way because I loved her very much. After leaving her room and retreating to the safety of the basement I allowed a private tirade followed by complete sobbing mess. 

My family always called me Tender Heart growing up. I may have aged but my skin is only slightly thicker. 

I know my daughter loves me. I know this will pass and I hope I weather it with enough grace that we have an even stronger relationship coming out the other side. But in the meantime I need to seek the light to keep me out of that darkness. For me, the best way to do that is to focus on gratitude, seek laughter, and collect as many hugs as possible.

I'm grateful for my husband that takes a "shift" with the girls while I go to work. I'm grateful to have a job that takes me away for just a short while. I'm grateful for kind clients. I'm grateful to have a job that lends itself to self-reflection. I'm grateful for my mom. I'm grateful for my amazing network of friends and family that have my back when I need to vent and can reassure me it is truly just a phase. I'm grateful for baby snuggles. I'm grateful for some time to just sit in silence.

Depression and stress do not look one way. Anyone could be struggling and you may never even notice. What are your signs? How do you find light when stress is building? What is your self-care routine?

May we all know who to reach out to when we need a hand getting back to the light. May we monitor our thoughts and fight the darkness. And may we all know we are loved no matter what. Have a beautiful day!

​(But if you are not having a beautiful day, reach out to me or someone.)

For the last several years we have used the Christmas tree I bought nearly twenty years ago for my first apartment. It looked small in the room and the fake needles were beginning to shed but it worked well enough.

This year we decided it was time to pass the tree on to someone who could not afford a tree and buy ourselves a new one. My husband and I (with baby in tow) went last night to look at some of the options while our preschooler was spending the night at her grandparents'. Yet after looking and getting an idea of what we liked and our price range we decided to get our preschooler's input.

This evening we let the baby stay with her grandma for a bit and made a special trip with our preschooler to pick a tree. We showed her a couple at one store and then went back to the store we had gone to last night. I walked over by the two we were trying to decide between and barely had the question out of my mouth when her eyes lit up. For all the trees we had seen this was the first one that made her brighten. "That one!" she exclaimed. 

It was the one my husband and I were leaning toward anyway but her reaction sealed it. My husband got the ticket number and went to the back to pick up the tree while my daughter and I continued to watch the colors change on the tree. Her eyes twinkled.

Christmas has been a challenging time for me in the past. When I was a young adult my mom had told me that one day I would have children and find the joy in Christmas again. It has been true to some extent, though I have also done a lot of work to heal and find gratitude in the season for myself. 

Standing there holding my three-year-old and watching her eyes twinkle I felt my heart swell. These simple joys are something I can identify with even as an adult. I even felt a little excitement for the season.

I'm grateful to have let our daughter have the final say on the tree. I'm grateful to witness her joy. I'm grateful to have a new tree. I'm grateful for all the options and creativity this tree offers with its lights. I'm grateful to head into a new Christmas season with anticipation and joy. I'm grateful to still give Thanksgiving its due. I'm grateful for my beautiful family. 

What brings you joy? What renews your love of the Christmas season? Who reminds you of the little twinkle of childhood?

May this season bring love and joy. May those needing extra love and comfort this season find plenty. May those who find joy in this season share it. Have a beautiful day!