love freely, give wisely.

love freely, give wisely.

perhaps that it has taken me two weeks to write the post in my head perfectly illustrates one of the sentiments i mean to convey here: if any time is the time to put on your oxygen mask first, it is now.

i am now realizing that i used the ‘oxygen mask’ phrase in my post from exactly a month ago. overlapping concepts between then and now, infinite vantage points. i don’t think it’s a mistake that we return to such spaces.

you are not less for being unable and/or unwilling to give right now. you are managing a lot— yes, you. don’t compare. personal challenges are relative to each individual. remember that giving includes giving to yourself. a healthy you is an even more meaningful service to society right now.

while caring for others during crisis can sometimes require personal sacrifice in some way, be mindful of your healthy boundaries when making this calculus. individual capacity, how we give, when we give, if we give— is entirely different for everyone for countless reasons and that’s okay. you don’t owe anyone your reasons, by the way.

giving until or while you are totally spent is not love. giving when you’re out of alignment is not love. giving indiscriminately is not love. giving out of guilt or obligation is not love. giving because you want to be “good” is not love. giving because you think you’re the only one who can save the day is not love. giving with the intention to “fix” somebody is not love. giving to others because you don’t know how to give to yourself is not love.

your love for all beings can be abundant, infinite even, while simultaneously disciplined in its active expression. you feel me?

please, let’s give up our conditioning of piling expectations onto ourselves and others. our ability to love is endless when we have healthy boundaries. practicing discernment in giving is not selfish— it is a wise, boundaried practice. you deserve your own energy. you can genuinely *be* in love with all of creation at all times without always needing to expend.

fill your cup. that, too, is a gift. <3

begin again.

beginning again is an act of love;

start over as many times as you need.

picking yourself up off the floor, whether for the first time or the hundredth, is a significant victory. every. single. time.

self-compassion, self-forgiveness, self-regard, self-belief, self-worth. betting on you, honoring you. beginning again is all these things. it is reinvesting in yourself.

i will not give up on myself, no matter the road ahead, because i love me in a way that transcends understanding of the mind. i don’t need to get it all right now to know that i am supposed to be here and that my light is important.

starting from scratch. honoring failure and adjusting course. throwing out the thousandth draft and hitting pen to paper once more. a new outlook on romance. reinvention. giving that talk another try in the morning. one more treatment. another application. a clean slate. giving yourself permission. forgiveness. choosing to wake up each day. tearing down the system and building a new one. iteration. perspective. divorce. the seventh business. a new city. blowing it up and starting over. a reimagined friendship. a new, totally different dream. ending the hiatus. digging through the archives. remembering who you were. who you are. trusting them, even though it stings.

we begin again in so many ways. love you love you.

living inside yourself

home is everywhere

when you live inside yourself.

i release all attachments and call my energy back from people, places, spaces, times, dimensions, and things where i’ve given my energy away. i call *all* of my energy back and return to my body. i am in my body. i am home, i am safe, and i am whole.

your relationship with self should be the sweetest one; find ease, knowing, and love within yourself, and your cup will run over with more of the same everywhere you go.