You are a warrior.

You are a warrior.

Jan 22, 2021 | Do The Hard Thing, Encouragement, Enough, Permission Granted | 0 comments

You are a warrior.
You’ve walked a
tightrope –
steady –
the balance
between
hope and grief,
joy and pain,
digging in and
letting go.
You’ve trusted.
And you didn’t fall.
Somehow you
found a way to
be present in the
midst of holding
so much.
How did you
manage to dance
on a tightrope?
You’ve learned
and relearned
who you are;
who you are
meant to be,
created to be.
You’ve discovered
both your need
and your strength.
May you see,
dear warrior,
the way
you’ve grown,
the way you’ve
been held.
Bloom for real

Bloom for real

Oct 21, 2020 | Becoming, Do The Hard Thing, Grow | 0 comments

I planted silk flowers

in my garden 

in my quest for beauty.

They don’t fool

anyone

for long. 

They look

garish and cheap

even when the 

sun shines.

When I make a show

and water 

their plastic roots with 

my polkadot watering can

they are still dead.

It’s not real beauty.

Counterfeit beauty

is an illusion

with nothing to offer. 

Real beauty doesn’t 

have a shortcut.

Real beauty 

has depth and grit.

Real beauty 

plants seeds, 

spawns life,

shares sustenance,

spreads joy. 

I will do the work.

I will bloom 

for real. 

#PermissionGranted

How will you cultivate real beauty within?

Set your permissions

Set your permissions

Oct 6, 2020 | Do The Hard Thing, Grow, Lead, Permission Granted | 0 comments

Have you noticed

that our world

requires us to 

set permissions?

In order for something 

to work for us, 

we have to 

to give it the go ahead

to work with the other 

things in our lives

so that it can do for us

what it is supposed to do. 

If we don’t set permissions –

the app, the program, 

the new high-tech watch 

will never work as they

are intended to work. 

We, as humans, also 

have permissions 

that we need to set.

Set your permissions for

what influences you,

who has access to you,

what you will give your energy to, and

how much disrespect is too much. 

Set your permissions so 

that what is in your life is 

working with you, 

not against you. 

#PermissionGranted

 

Feel the weight

Feel the weight

Jun 12, 2020 | Becoming, Community, Do The Hard Thing | 0 comments

 
I stood here in this
 
spot on the porch
 
and I had a lot
 
going on in my
 
heart and mind.
 
I know you can’t
 
tell from the picture…
 
but just trust me on this one.
 
I looked at the picture
 
that I made,
 
compliments of
 
the sun, and
 
I took a moment
 
to feel the weight of
 
what I was feeling.
 
Maybe you are in
 
that place, too.
 
Maybe you are
 
carrying heavy burdens –
 
for yourself,
 
your family,
 
your friends, and
 
for our country.
 
I feel it, too.
 
I am just one voice.
 
 
You have one, too.
 
 
I am just a little shadow
 
but please note from the picture
 
that I also have a stage.
 
 
You have one, too.
 
 
So let’s remember this
 
moment of being full
 
of righteous anger,
 
let’s allow it
 
to propel us
 
to take up our space
 
on our own individual stages
 
and speak truth.
 
Go ahead and be loud,
 
but please pace yourself.
 
Your stage may be leading
 
your kids to understand bias.
 
Your stage may be leading a
 
book club to discuss a book on antiracism.
 
Or perhaps you dive in and unlearn
 
and share what you are learning anew.
 
Perhaps your role is to
 
share your stage and
 
amplify another’s voice.
 
 
Don’t forget what you feel.
 
Don’t forget you have a stage.
 
#PermissionGranted
Sown in the Unknown

Sown in the Unknown

Apr 16, 2020 | Becoming, Do The Hard Thing, Grow, Trust | 0 comments

Somehow,

someway, 

something grew. 

I don’t remember 

planting, watering 

or fertilizing the

fruit I am holding.

At some point

something 

found good soil, 

put down roots,

grew green shoots, 

blossomed and now

I have fruit.

I am astounded 

to be holding fruit.

When did this germinate?

I trace back the 

origin of the gift 

of sweet harvest

and discover it was

planted during 

one of the hardest,

driest, most challenging 

seasons I’ve ever experienced. 

I am baffled and I weep

due to the friction of the 

joy scraping against 

grief and pain.

I was unaware 

there would be

a harvest.

There’s no way to know

what will be sown 

in the unknown.

#PermissionGranted

 

Friends, there will be growth, even in the middle of a pandemic, stay present and try to have an open heart and mind. Be prepared to be surprised by a harvest.