Respond Rather Than React

"manage your reactions,
but do not suppress your emotions"
~ yung pueblo

Beautiful friends,

Hello! How's your holiday season so far?

• Festive and fun?
• Stretched thin and stressed?
• Incessant and indulgent?
• Quiet and calm? 

​Today, simply a moment for us to pause. And check in. Deep within. Right now, many lovely routines of my daily life have been interrupted. By our construction project. By our adorable puppy. By additional social activities, festivities, and family gatherings. 

I have chosen to spend my energy in these ways. I am grateful for the connectivity, the nourishing conversations, the full belly laughs, the delicious foods, and the sparkle of the season. 

Directly alongside the joy, I understand that my sleep has been impacted. My patience has splintered. My self-care has started to slide.

This brings me to the concise and powerful quotation above by yung pueblo. Please, take another look. 

For me, this message holds a lifetime of learning . 

We want to respond, rather than react. 

We cannot choose, nor control, how others engage, act, or behave.

We can only chose how we respond. 

We want to know ourselves fully. Feel all the feelings.
With full permission and an open heart. 

And, as we head towards Winter Solstice, I hope we all sit with both thedarkness, and the light, that makes up who we are. 

I know that I want to learn from it all, continue to expand, and love myself completely.

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Want to know more about how to continue shining our own light?
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