Here’s to slow and steady growth that matters even before you notice it.
Here’s to being gentle with your heart even when things don’t go according to plan.
Here’s to being gentle with your heart as you prepare to make new plans.
Even if you find yourself thinking back on everything that you should have done differently and how you “should have known,” consider that it doesn’t mean that you are not ever going to make progress in meaningful ways. At times, the things that set us back can cause us to look back on everything that happened as the final blueprint for how the future will be. But perhaps, even when we say “goodbye,” and even when we’re grieving very real things, there is grace and space to gradually find ways toward new new experiences, and new beginnings. When things don’t go according to plan, it might not be easy to see it that way in real time, and that’s alright. In that space, you are free to be kind to yourself in those moments where you find yourself reflecting.
When you find yourself looking back, allow yourself to pace yourself through what you’re feeling. Allow yourself to exhale wherever you can. Take time to rest and remind yourself that it is okay if it takes time to notice how you’re gathering wisdom from these experiences. The time will come. The time will come when you are able to look back and exhale. Not because you’re looking back and everything has been figured out perfectly, but because you’re looking back and realizing that when things didn’t go according to plan, you still learned to practice peace, even before you were able to make sense of things. Through everything, you were able to keep growing as you were meant to.
Growth doesn’t always happen in leaps and bounds; sometimes, it’s a slow, steady process that happens so gradually that you might not even notice it at first. But every step you take, no matter how small, is progress that matters. Be gentle with yourself on this journey. Pace yourself and discover: out here on the journey, there is room to learn, heal, and grow. – Morgan Harper Nichols
