Hold yourself close

“The way you treat yourself sets the standard for others”  Sonya Friedman 

Here we are, in the midst of the holidays.

This time of year, regardless of what you celebrate, can bring up equal feelings of joy, sadness. Feelings of stress and overwhelm intertwined with love and gratitude. For many, it can be a complex emotional time.

No matter what you’re experiencing this week, it’s a time for you to hold yourself close. To tune in, listen to what you’re feeling, and let those feelings move through you without judgment.

Be at peace with you, right now in this moment.

Eric and I have had an enormously busy week as I rushed to ship out last minute orders and as we prepped for the holidays. Even still, I can feel myself expanding recently with a new perspective, letting go of the sickness that held me last week, settling into a stronger routine of sharing my art and feeling the blessing of sharing my work with others.

The release of leaving my job is still ongoing, but thankfully I can feel the edge of that transition softening and fading. I finished unpacking the last of my box from work this weekend, and finally the move is complete.

When I was sorting through the papers I took home from work, I also made the best little discovery:

This is a message I wrote to myself in 2010 when I was starting to feel lost creatively, and it’s been tucked away in a folder all of these years.

Amazing.

I love that a little post-it message can resurface after so long, offering the simple reminder I’ve needed to be strong. I want to reach back and hug that younger self, who understood that it’s okay not to have all of the answers as long as you hold yourself close in love, even through the uncertain times.

I’ve now taped this onto the wall behind my painting desk, so I never forget to be proud of who I am becoming.

And for all of us: after all of the shopping and stress that tends to accompany this time of year, here is our reminder to hold, protect, and love ourselves throughout the holiday season and into the new year.

Feel love, in whatever form it arrives.

Experience your feelings, in whatever form they arrive.

Be proud of you.

I hope you have a beautiful holiday!