Today’s audio love gram is about … well, it’s about hard times and difficult feelings.
It’s about grief. It’s about tenderness. It’s about allowing ourselves to be human and to feel our feelings.
[Scroll down if you want to skip reading and listen to the audio instead!]
You’ll notice that up above there’s a photo of some art I bought. I purchased him from a wonderful artist in Ohio, Gail Trunick.
His name is Guardian and he just arrived this week. I bought him to put on top of my backyard studio, thinking it would be wonderful to be greeted each day by this muse or angel. However, until I figure out how to get him safely perched up there, he’s been hanging out inside my studio.
Since it often feels like he is waiting for me, I started talking to him when I arrive each day. And from there, I naturally started asking for his help. When I know someone in my life is going through a hard time, I just ask him to send some good energy their way.
I find that Guardian is so willing to hold it all. He’s darn good at not judging feelings as positive or negative.
In case you’re thinking, “Hey! What the heck does this have to do with celebration?!” I will tell you.
Celebration isn’t just about confetti and balloons. It’s not just for when things are “good.” We can celebrate being a human being who has a whole range of experiences. We can celebrate moments of connection to people that we love — even when we feel sad or upset. We can celebrate our feelings.
I think celebration needs to be redefined in our culture. When we allow ourselves to say what’s going on or to feel what we’re feeling, when we allow ourselves to reach out and ask for help or offer help, that’s really authentic celebration.
It’s being present in our lives and feeling it.
Take a moment and close your eyes after you read this paragraph. Then, let yourself feel everything you’re feeling. Are there hardships? Is there pain? Is there something joyful? Is there some connection to a person in your life that is bothering you right now or worrying you? Perhaps there’s a connection that you feel good about?
Let it all in.
Take a deep breath and experience it.
That experience is the celebration of being alive.
So, my LoveGram today is about tenderness for ourselves and for others. I hope that after you listen to it, if you’re someone who has a lot of energy right now, and things are going really well, that you will reach out and offer that vibrancy and light to someone.
And if you’re someone who is going through a hard time — I mean, we’ve been going through a year and a half of this pandemic, and there’s been so much loss of many kinds—maybe you’re feeling it. Maybe you’re feeling a physical loss of someone in your life. Or a chapter of your life. Or, maybe it’s about climate change or political upheavals or violence. Or it might be just your own personal “small” trauma — that isn’t small to you because to you it feels big.
If that’s where you are, reach out to someone.
Tell them what’s going on.
You could reach out to me.
Guardian and I will send you love.
Okay?
Here’s today’s LoveGram:
Download and listen on the go here: LoveGram 8-29-21
P.S. Here’s the poem I read to you at the start of my LoveGram.
P.P.S. Here is a link to artist Gail Trunick.