What if as I go through life and stumble upon my shortcomings and flaws, I was no longer disappointed or appalled? What if instead, I found peace, and excitement even, that I’ve discovered another opportunity to grow? A new way to be formed into who I am meant to be?

I knew instantly in my heart, this was an answer to my cry. A simple truth — start with what’s in front of you. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed, weighed down by the problems and pains of the world. Hopeless about your part. But it’s always simpler than what we think.

Hope can be seen in the small but mighty mustard seed we carry that keeps fighting to believe that, in spite of today, goodness will always have the final say.

I realized that the best thing you can offer the world does not actually come from what you say, what you do, or what you produce. No, the best thing you can give the world today is YOU.

We are so eager and excited to climb towards mountaintop moments. Yet, when we get there, we forget to stop and savor the moment. We forget to take in the view. We forget to reflect and to give thanks. We often are just ready to hurry onto the next thing.

While all those things surely added to this moment, I dug a little deeper and found the true root of his joy. He was happy because he was generous.

As I finished the sentence, I burst out into tears. This children’s lesson that I was about to teach, had totally rocked me. Because it wasn’t just for them, it was for me.

“You’re late!” my 80-year-old friend Gladimer said in his thick Russian accent. “I know, I know.” I sighed, “But at least I showed up.”

Today, I’m feeling grateful. The real type of gratitude. May you give yourself space, to get to the same place. To truly realize, the gift that is your life.

You’d be surprised how different things could be if for once, you just bet on your hopes + dreams.

So may you have 10 seconds of courage today, where you say what you normally wouldn’t say. May your vulnerability be met with a sigh of relief as you learn, you too, are not alone.

We remind them that their heart carries the power to do hard things. In fact, they are more than just a conquerer, on the other side of this battle will not only be victory but also an abundance of beauty + joy.

We often find ourselves in a wrestle. A wrestle between holding onto what we have known, or letting go + releasing control.

What if that crack was not actually meant for tripping you up, but giving you a new purpose + place to bloom?

NoNo taught me that when you hit rock bottom, you can choose anger or you can fight to find gratitude.

Who wants to be confident? Everyone. Many of us are just waiting for that day when we will wake up, look in the mirror, + love ourselves, feeling totally confident in our own skin. But what we don’t realize is that our confidence is like a garden that needs to be tended to.

Are distractions getting you down?

One brave step at a time.