Some days...
Some days it’s all just too much.
The hustle and have-to’s, the injustices and tragedies, the little stuff and the big stuff all add up and bring us down. Sometimes, way down.
Personally, I can get really stuck in circular thinking... trying to figure out what I can do, what's big enough to make a difference, how I can justify taking up space with my work when there are *real* issues in the world.
And then I remember.
This is no time for us to go small.
This is our call to shine brighter, to laugh harder, to make more money, to love fiercer, to have a bigger presence, and to take up more space.
And so I engage in something simple and delightful. I get out of my head and I commune with life.
Beauty is medicine - 2 minutes with me, my camera and a beautiful flower and my pulse slows a bit, my breath deepens a bit, my whole system comes back on-line and I can once again step into the ring of life with a little more power.
In the same way daily microaggressions make up so much of the worlds pain, it's the small shifts, the sometimes seemingly less important business ideas, the little creative practices, it's the change of daily habits and language and conversations that can make the difference we know we need in this world.
This is my invitation, this is one teeny list of the medicine I believe we need right now.
Self-care - take the time know what you need and make your needs a requirement. This is no time to go light or small when it comes to loving on yourself and while I'm all for a good mani-pedi - look deeper, I'm guessing you're craving something more.
Do not remain quiet or passive when race or gender-oriented jokes and comments occur in your presence. Speak up, be that ally you want to be - that ally you’d want to have, and if you feel uncomfortable for a minute let that be a sign you're on the right track.
Feed your creative self. It’s in times of tragedy and overwhelm that this will often fall to the bottom of the list (if it’s even there, to begin with) and yet it’s in the hard moments that we need our creative selves most of all.
Share your work, shine the light on what you’re up to. Take up space, we need you.
Listen to the novel, silly, bat-shit crazy idea’s that float through your mind. Write them down, give them a voice - maybe even make them “the thing”.
Listen, it takes a certain amount of aggression to be a self in this world. To say “I’m here” my needs, desires, wants, pursuits - they matter as much as anyones.
So rest up, my loves, feed yourselves well, and indulge in simple and complex practices that lift and inspire you. Take good care, and know that you are so incredibly valuable.
Much love,
Danielle