Weekly Email November 15, 2020

Subject Line: Courage.

Inbox Preview: Learn to embrace your courage (yes, we all have it!), for it can change your life.

Hello GP (Gentle People):

This is probably the shortest blog and email I will ever write. I talk too much, interrupt often, and don’t listen as attentively as I should. I am working on changing that, and on mustering my courage while embracing a deep and genuine love for myself.

This week’s Divine Inspiration comes from Brené Brown:

“Courage, the original definition of courage, when it first came into the English language—it’s from the Latin word cor, meaning heart—and the original definition was to tell the story of who you are with your whole heart.”

I’m striving to live by this definition of courage—telling the story of ME with my WHOLE HEART. I have felt tremendous grief and loss in recent days and throughout my life, yet I recognize how blessed I am to have experienced the challenges, even the most difficult and painful ones.

I feel fortunate that despite the pain, I have FULL FAITH that all of it IS and WAS FOR A REASON. It doesn’t make it any less hard to go through or to heal from, but it gives meaning to my suffering, and I find solace and gratitude in knowing that EVERYONE HAS A STORY. EVERYONE HAS TRAUMA. It is part of the human experience. To learn to SURVIVE and THRIVE, to HAVE FAITH, and to experience LOVE and JOY—these are the gifts given to the human spirit.

May you find peace and comfort during your times of suffering and find joy in the love and laughter of those around you: Family, Friends, and Friends You Choose as Family (FCF)—a new acronym for the FCFs in my life😊. May you experience love in the faces of children, the companionship and loyalty of a beloved pet, the beauty of a sunny day and the peace of a rainy one, and whatever moments bring you that sense of wonder and AWE that is the grace of being ALIVE.

Well, that wasn’t as short as I thought! I’m still learning that sometimes less is more.

Wishing you peace, joy, and angel blessings😇.

With love and gratitude,

Michelle

Photo: Taken of me by my loving husband, Steve, symbolic of the “strong and beautiful tree” I am blossoming into☮️🌳.