Let Your Light Shine: Personal Gifts as Radical Acts

What are the gifts you have to share with the world? This is a question I've been asking myself a lot lately. In part, it is the nature of this time of year: the solstice, the new year. I begin to reflect around December 21st and ask myself, what is my light that shines in the darkness?

I am making an effort to more fully dedicate myself to pursuits that I love, to the things that really serve my life’s purpose. For me, this means sitting down and getting the words out through the pen, the images out through the brush. Creativity had always been high on my list of values, right there alongside intellect, playfulness, and beauty. Lately I've been contemplating how I can bring more of this into my own life, which is how I've come to this place. This is what I'd like to share with you:

Having a daily practice in this time is a radical act of self love, not only for my current self but also for my future self. In the moment, writing and creating is meditative, relaxing, and fulfilling in a deep, soulful way. I am nourished when I create. And by having a daily practice, I give the gift of this habit and all of its benefits to my future Emma.  It is also an act of self love and self acceptance for my multitude of past selves. My little Emma who sat outside in the yard for hours by herself in wonder of all the tiny creatures. My teenage Emma who felt the weight of the world and lost herself. My 20s Emma who tried not to feel. My late 20s Emma who emerged again, renewed, and found herself—she awoke, sleepy headed, from a decade long trance and learned to live and feel, cracked open.

My daily practice is for all of us. It is love, grace, tenderness, vulnerability, and courage. It is a prayer for a world that is more connected and in tune with nature, a world that is big enough for all of us to live in, where all creatures may prosper and truly feel the beauty of being alive.

I want to offer a way forward (one of many ways, but that is uniquely mine)—through my actions and the life I lead, through my art, my writing, and my work as an herbalist. I hope you will join me, and let the brightest parts of yourself shine through.

#selfcare #herbalism #creativity #selflove #thankgodthesunisout