If you find yourself in that place today, I want you to know there are advocates for you too. People who will go to bat, people who will look after you. There are people who want to help, who will stand firm next to you. You are not alone — that is the truth.

And yet, this bench, it could carry them all. Nothing was too much or too heavy for it. It welcomed unbearable joy and gladness. Anguish and anger. Hope. Madness. It could carry loads of laughter, the deep belly kind. Loneliness, the feeling of being left behind. Ugly secrets, that are being kept in the dark. Confidence, beaming from a filled-up heart.

This was a big year. In so many ways. Some of which are public and obvious to the onlooker. But most - tender, sacred, and unseen. I’ve done some deep, deep heart work. Daring myself to get down to the core. Going after questions like Who am I? Where do I find my worth? What was it that I was made for?

There are no shortcuts to where you want to go. No shortcuts to a life that is truly full. There are no life hacks. Secrets. Fast tracks. No 10 steps. Must-haves. Come on, hurry up, go fast. No, where you are trying to go, towards a life that is truly full, is a long pursuit.

It’s the new year. And with it comes a list of goals. Improvements. Exercise and meal prep plans. Habit trackers. Crisps pages of new planners. Early morning alarms. Dedicated time to our dreams, tasks, and ambitions. A blank slate, that we are determined to fill in strategic, logical, productive ways.

A rainy day reminds you that if you can find delight, goodness, joy even, in this storm, then you can find it in your own storm too.

For the one who sits in the tension, between utter joy and inescapable grief. I pray this season you may nestle down, finding a soft place to rest your head. A place where you can feel the peace. May you let yourself hold the extremes, yet feel every single thing in between.

here, this puzzle gave me a blueprint for how to come out the the other side. How to come back to me.

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.

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.”

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.

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.