Morgan Harper Nichols' Blog

Category: Daily

  • Letting go is a practice

    Letting go is a practice

    As you learn to let go, may you be kind to yourself if it does not seem to happen all at once. As the tides ebb and flow, so too might this experience of holding on and releasing. If “letting go” feels like too much all at once, let yourself consider one thing at a time. For some, this might be a whole area of life––such as a future plan that you’re reconfiguring or reconsidering. For someone else, it might mean taking a break from a certain kind of way of working toward an outcome so that you can reassess. Whatever it is, no matter how small or great, remember that this takes great courage to do and that is all the more reason to be gentle with yourself.

    No matter the number of times a day you must hear the words “schedule,” “plans,” or “deadlines,” you are allowed to seek out spaces in your life where you can let those things go. Let the idea of an ebb and flow remind you that there is also room in this life for “pause,” “rest,” and “breathe.” – Morgan Harper Nichols

  • Questions to Create Clarity and Space

    Questions to Create Clarity and Space

    Questions to ask yourself:

    Can I finish something else first and come back to this?
    Is anyone counting on me to finish this today?
    Will pausing this help me think more clearly about it later?

    Creating space for questions like this is a way to begin to explore how, where, and when subtle shifts might be possible. For even though every single thing won’t have an immediate, easy answer, you’re allowed to make space to consider where you might be able to take pressure off and create breathing room.

    Not being able to figure it out all at once does not mean you are a failure. Not being able to answer this in this very moment doesn’t automatically mean you might not be able to answer it later. Let the questions you ask become spaces you create to pause, reflect, and consider, even before the moments of clarity.

    For all of the questions that you must answer for everything else, allow yourself to welcome a gentle question or two. Create space where it’s possible. It matters, even when it starts small.

    -Morgan Harper Nichols

  • Growth can move in many directions

    Growth can move in many directions

    Notice what takes its time in nature. This will not be the case for all things in nature, of course, but there are enough things to observe, notice, and consider what you can learn…even when it comes to flowers. Even though many flowers spring forth each year in yearly cycles or less, there are other flowers that take much longer, even decades.

    This can be especially useful to remember when considering that stages of growth can coincide with stages of grief: like a seed nestled deep, breaking through layers of earth with quiet courage, in which you experience many of these different “stages” at once. When you start to wonder “how long,” it can feel extra heavy when you are in a field of other flowers blooming much more quickly than you.

    If you find yourself in a place where you cannot help but notice the poppies or marigolds springing up around you, allow yourself to observe the magnolias, the tree peonies, and agaves, too. And even if you are only observing them from photographs or internet searches from afar, let them remind you of the beauty and fullness of life that still springs forth at a force at a slower pace. While this might not “fix” everything, you can allow these things to remind you of all that grows slowly, yet still mindfully and meaningfully, one day at a time.

    -Morgan Harper Nichols

  • What starts slowly can still expand

    What starts slowly can still expand

    There may be times in life where new beginnings feel like nothing more than blank pages:

    How can you look forward to what’s new when so much remains unknown?

    How do you muster up the energy for what’s ahead when the previous pages have left you drained?

    It’s in these moments that it can be easy to forget: turning the page is a valuable act all on its own. It might feel like the smallest, most insignificant shift, but it still matters. So even before you find the right words to describe the feeling, figure out the details of what you need to carry on, and before you assemble the parts of a new dream, any moment from this moment forward is worth tending to even before it “becomes something.”

    Haven’t found the “right words” yet? The fact that you’re even curious is a valuable step.

    Still sorting out the details? The fact that you’re even aware that the details matter is worth acknowledging all on its own.

    Assembling the parts of a new dream? The fact that you’ve even allowed yourself to dream, after everything you’ve been through, is a miracle all on its own.

    Allow yourself to tend to new beginnings with care, right here. The seeds you’re sowing matter even before they start growing.

    – Morgan Harper Nichols

  • Write down a few plans in pencil

    Write down a few plans in pencil

    Take the pressure off by writing down a few plans in pencil. Make room to dream while also creating space for change. There is nothing wrong with desiring for a goal or plan to feel concrete and real, but at the same time, you are free to consider: that if something is started to feel like a lot of pressure, could this be something you keep on the list but know it’s okay if it changes later? This is not a way of ignoring all commitments but instead, recognizing that adaptability and flexibility can be a part of meaningful progress too.

    Questions to consider:

    -How can I celebrate small victories along the way, even if my plans change?
    -Are there any commitments that I can prioritize differently to reduce pressure?
    -Where in my life can I put up a lot of different ideas and explore options openly?

    Even if it’s nothing more than a mood-board where you allow yourself to move things around or a journal where you brainstorm freely, allowing yourself to have some free space is a way to create a little breathing room.

    -Morgan Harper Nichols

  • Courage comes in many shapes

    Courage comes in many shapes

    Courage comes in many shapes, and strength can look different day by day. So remember to pay attention to what this might look like in small ways. Sometimes courage is pressing “send” on that one message. Sometimes, strength is saying “no” and sticking to it. Sometimes courage is having a brief moment where you remember that you are proud of yourself for letting go or walking away. Sometimes strength is gentle, and it sounds like a single deep breath that you took today. May you never discredit the courage and strength that might appear more subtly, but still matters in significant ways.

    – Morgan Harper Nichols

  • Small Questions to Give Life More Breathing Room

    Small Questions to Give Life More Breathing Room

    May there be at least one area of life where there is room to thoughtfully say: “give it time, give it space”

    –

    If you have ever moved something around on your calendar, then you may know this feeling: the relief and clarity that comes from being able to experience the flexibility to adjust plans. Perhaps, even beyond the daily routine, it is possible to explore other areas of life where you can do the same thing. Amidst all of the things that require immediate attention, it is still worth it to look for areas to say, “I’m going to give this some time. I’m going to give this space.”

    This can look different for everyone, but here are a few questions you could consider, to find “an area.”

    What can you do once a week instead of daily?

    What project can you work on gradually?

    Have you lost interest in a project? Can you pause it?

    Is there something you can skip today?

    Is there a group activity that feels too much? Can you skip the next one?

    Which social event makes you feel tired? Can you attend less often?

    What to-do list item can wait until later?

    You may not be able to make a list of items for each of these questions, but if a single idea came to mind, that’s an “area.” It might be the most subtle thing, such as choosing not to go to an event that you weren’t expected to go to. However, what matters is that you know it for yourself. What matters is that at this moment, you are becoming aware of how to breathe right here and give something time and space.

    -Morgan Harper Nichols

  • Small Practices for Intentionality

    Small Practices for Intentionality

    For all of the things in life that require a sense of urgency, it can still matter to create space for making the kind of connections that turn passing details into reference points. Not only does a brief pause allow real rest, it also builds new links that matter for the journey ahead.

    Some of the most profound connections and understandings emerge slowly. It might not feel like it in the moment, but a year from now, you will be able to look back on the notes you took today. The small things that you captured that seemed mundane. The lessons learned, the wisdom gathered. You will be able to realize that even in small ways, you have been allowing yourself to continuously engage in life, one day at a time. Focus on taking note of the small things and give yourself something to look back on.

    Here are a few ideas of things you could try:

    – Open up your notes app or your notebook and write down five things you’re grateful for. However, make an effort to write down the kind of things that would normally be overlooked.

    – Record a voice memo that is a note to your future self. If you find that listening to your own voice is distracting, you can use a transcription tool to just read it later, too.

    – Take five photographs of something in your environment––no matter if they have a beautiful aesthetic or not. You know those nostalgic photos from the 80s and 90s? They were taken in moments like this, oftentimes when someone was just testing out a disposable camera. Embrace the spontaneity and document, even when it seems unremarkable right now.

    Let small practices like this become a part of intentionally allowing some things to grow slowly in your life. Even if you don’t use what you’ve created for some kind of final product or creative project, it is still something you can try to practice noticing the details, right, and allowing this to be something that can grow with time. In other words, do them with the intention that they will gain significance with time in their own unique way, and as you grow, you will recall it all in new ways, too.

    -Morgan Harper Nichols

  • Pace Yourself Through These Mountains

    Pace Yourself Through These Mountains

    Pace yourself through these mountains.
    One breath at a time.
    One day at a time.

    For all of the slopes, ridges, and rocks, there is a lot to consider here…
    And as you encounter nature’s rugged steps and feel the need to take a breath, may you know that it is just as courageous and honorable to seek out a mindful way to move through this space. This is how you grow in awareness: by adapting your approach as you go.

    So when you start to notice shifts within your environment,
    and when you start to wonder how you will make it ahead,
    and you feel the altitude rising,
    know that any pace you take from here, whether you move at a slower pace, a faster pace, or you take a moment to pause, all of it is, in fact, a pace and also a space for which you are becoming more aware of how to move through this space, even without having it all figured out.

    Pace yourself through these mountains.
    Pace yourself through these mountains.

    -Morgan Harper Nichols

  • Emerge from the chrysalis

    Emerge from the chrysalis

    Emerge from the chrysalis,
    come into the sunlight…
    after all of the waiting,
    now is the time to fly.

    I hope you can find at least one area of your life where you can say, “now is the time. After all the waiting, now is the time.”

    Of course there are many things in life for which we cannot control how long the waiting will take, but at the same time, it can still be worth it to identify where we can say “now is the time,” anyway. To say:

    “When will I stop waiting on approval from others? To stop thinking I have to have it all figured out perfectly before again? Now is the time.”

    Like a butterfly emerging from its chrysalis, let yourself begin to look for ways to come alive, beyond the waiting. And even if it’s subtle, know that it matters to come forth into the sunlight this way. This too, is transformation.

    – Morgan Harper Nichols

    A colorful digital illustration of a butterfly emerging from a pink chrysalis hanging on a branch. The butterfly’s wings are vibrant shades of blue, green, and yellow, with black edges and orange dots. The background features a pastel mountain landscape at sunrise or sunset, with a gradient sky of pink, blue, and orange hues. Beneath the butterfly, white handwritten-style text reads: "Emerge from the chrysalis. Come into the sunlight. After all of the waiting, now is the time to fly."
  • Let today be what today needs to be

    Let today be what today needs to be

    as you move through the day,
    may you know it’s okay
    to create a little space,
    to let this day be
    what it needs to be.
    and however you can,
    create room to simply breathe.

    for you have already been through
    so much,
    and to simply breathe
    through this moment
    is more than enough.

    inhale,
    exhale,
    and pace yourself
    through the landscape
    of the day,
    gathering what you need as you go.

    grace,
    gratitude,
    space,
    hope,
    joy,
    love,
    rest,
    room to feel what you need to feel,
    room to grieve,
    room to embrace gentleness,
    slowness,
    room to learn what it means to be free,
    room to breathe,
    room to
    breathe.

    in your stillness, in your motion,
    in your silence, in your song…
    breathe.

    -Morgan Harper Nichols

  • Collecting Meaningful Moments in Life

    Collecting Meaningful Moments in Life

    Even when it is hard to find joy, whenever or however you can, it still matters to recognize that it is something worth treasuring.

    To “treasure” something is to “keep it carefully.”

    Allow yourself to consider the multiplicity of this:

    How can you find things worth treasuring, to build upon them over time? How can you begin to collect things that are worth keeping? In a time where hidden algorithms determine so much of what we encounter and engage with, taking a moment to collect things worth keeping is a way to stay engaged with life, in ways big and small.

    Maybe you’re the one who holds on to the journey in its memory form. You remember what was as so much more than just nostalgia, but as a layered record of unfolding and becoming.

    Perhaps you’re the one who knows where laughter can be found. Even if it’s in the smallest moments, you know that laughter is its own form of release and working through the tension.

    Maybe you’re the one who is grateful for the small things that get overlooked or underappreciated… being the one to elevate and highlight what is meaningful with quiet attention and honest enthusiasm.

    Maybe you can be the one who continues to bring up the dreams… whether that be your own dreams, the family’s dreams, the community’s dreams. The things that seem to light up the room when someone talks about them, even before they come into fruition.

    There’s nothing wrong with longing for big moments of joy. And at the same time, you are free to allow yourself to seek out moments of a more subtle or overlooked significance. Because sometimes “joy” looks like this: the possibility that treasured things can still be found here and they can matter, even if they are small. And even when those treasured things are small, they are still worth pursuing… and not only for ourselves, but for others, too.

    – Morgan Harper Nichols

  • Moving beyond the hidden pressures behind seemingly simple acts

    Moving beyond the hidden pressures behind seemingly simple acts

    There are many things in life where, on the surface, it might seem very simple, but in reality, there is pressure toward making quick progress and obtaining linear results. One of these unexpected places is the seemingly simple act of filling in a blank page. As the pen glides along the page, line by line, it might seem simple at first, but eventually, the pressure to fill it perfectly can be overwhelming. Sometimes, a simple practice of trying a notebook without lined paper or turning the page into a bullet point list format can help ease the pressure of having to write everything in order. Sometimes, just giving yourself some space to breathe…even if it’s just on a page can serve as a reminder of how moving line by line on a page or moving hour by hour in a day does not have to be this a strict, unyielding process. You don’t have to fill out the whole page or fill out the whole day for it to be meaningful. Notice how the ink grows in shape as you find new ideas across the page, even if you don’t fill it completely. Notice how you discover ways that you’ve been growing in life, even when you haven’t been “climbing” all the time; just like roots grow underground, and just like ink-traced paths emerge gently on the page, you too can find your own unique ways to grow, even in subtle ways. The page speaks, even half-filled.

    You are allowed to reframe expectation: it doesn’t have to look like steady progress or polished results to be real or meaningful. Allow yourself to consider what possibilities might exist beyond the invisible demands of making everything look effortless. And remember, by acknowledging the effort, you create room for the kind of discovery that allows you to be in process.

    – Morgan Harper Nichols

  • You Are Allowing To Try Again In A Different Way

    You Are Allowing To Try Again In A Different Way

    There are many ways to begin again. And you can find this to be true when it comes to what growth looks like over time. Growth in nature often begins with some kind of roots, and there are many different kinds of roots. There are taproots, which go deep into the soil. There are fibrous roots, which spread out wide and near the surface. There are also aerial roots, which can grow above the ground. But what they all have in common, despite their differences, is their vital role in providing nourishment and connection.

    Remember this diversity in the moments where things aren’t quite connecting in the way you hope. Whether you’re trying to connect with others, trying to connect ideas, or something else, there is room to explore how different connections might be made that are meaningful and supportive. Consider how, even if there has been a disconnect somewhere, it doesn’t mean you’re no longer worthy of connection. If you can observe how the trees outside need connection, then perhaps, it is okay for you to say, “I need that, too.” Even if it takes time to find, like a root finding its way through rocky soil, you, too, are free to explore the possibility of what deep and lasting connection might look like in your life. It might change from season to season. It might look different as you move from landscape to landscape. And yet, it is something worth nurturing all the same.

    Let this be one way among many to stay open to what connection might become.

    -Morgan Harper Nichols

  • The Importance of Sharing Your Story

    The Importance of Sharing Your Story

    Imagine buying a pot with soil for a plant to grow. The entire experience of going to the store and selecting the pot is an important part of the process, even before the plant begins to sprout. This experience is a part of the story, just as significant as the growth that will follow.

    Now, picture meeting a friend later that day and they ask you about your day. You share the story of going to the store, choosing the perfect pot, and picking out the seed. As you recount the details, you express your emotions and excitement about watching the plant grow in the future. This narrative can be complete and meaningful story even without the plant’s growth.

    Perhaps, in some ways, your life, as it is right now, has parts that can be shared like that. It’s a story unfolding, filled with experiences, emotions, and anticipation for what’s to come. You might not have the exact details of how everything is going to turn out, but you’ve been fully engaged with the steps of the process not because you have all the answers but because you’ve lived it…and it’s something you can share with others.

    Pay attention to the moments of your life where you start to tell the story of where you are and who you are. Notice how there might be storylines unfolding in your life right now that quite have this easy-to-explain metamorphosis moment, but it’s still something worth telling because it’s real, and it also reminds others that they don’t have to have every storyline figured out before it’s something worth telling.

    There are moments in life when advice is given, but perhaps, there are even more moments in life where stories are untold. But who says they have to be perfectly polished stories? Who says there can’t be places for stories to be shared, even while they’re still in the making?

    Even before the next chapters are written, your current story is valid, significant, and worth sharing.

    An illustrated image of a small potted plant with green leaves, centered against a background of radiating teal, dark blue, yellow, and peach beams that resemble stylized sunlight or energy. The pot is terracotta-colored and sits on a dark shadow. Below the image is handwritten text that reads: “This life, right here, tells a story as it is… even before new chapters have been written.” The overall style is painterly and contemplative.

    – Morgan Harper Nichols

  • Embracing Quiet Growth

    Embracing Quiet Growth

    Amidst all that feels fast-paced, may you allow yourself to be grateful for the good things that bloom quietly yet still meaningfully. For not everything that happens in your life that is something of substance will be out there in a way that others can easily perceive. There will be times when you give your all to things and you nurture them, slowly but surely, but the recognition does not come. It is okay to desire the acknowledgment – it is only human to do so…while also knowing what wildflowers know: it is possible to spring up from the ground fully and wholeheartedly at your pace, even in a community of wildflowers. Allow yourself to embrace whatever seems like a small, quiet bloom in your life, and may you create room to practice noticing how this too is meaningful, however you can.

    – Morgan Harper Nichols

  • Stories of Change: How Clarity Emerges Over Time

    Stories of Change: How Clarity Emerges Over Time

    In some stories, a character may find themselves in a place where everything feels uncertain, where the path ahead is unclear. And even though the answers don’t come all at once, with time, something shifts…whether in what they understand or what they are ready to reconsider.

    In other stories, characters may start with a clear sense of direction, only to have it unravel, forcing them to look again, to reconsider, to notice what they hadn’t before.

    And then there are stories where characters resist change, holding on tightly to what they’ve known, until something (whether it be small or significant) breaks through, and suddenly, they can’t help but see differently.

    All of these kinds of stories are examples of many different shapes a life can take. Whether it’s a fictional story or a real-life story someone is telling, no two unfold in exactly the same way. But what they all have in common is that somewhere along the way, clarity began to take shape. And not because the confusion disappeared all at once, but because they started paying attention. A pattern appears. A question becomes clearer. Something makes sense that didn’t before. And these things took shape not because the character instantly arrived at a place where everything made sense at once, but because they had been on a journey…one that wasn’t always linear or clear, but a journey where understanding shifted, not as a single moment, but as layers forming and reforming over time…A journey with many components that allowed them to notice…perhaps even to wonder.

    There are different ways that clarity can emerge in a story. Through layers: when meaning builds gradually, one piece at a time. Through movement: when a shift in direction changes everything that came before it. Through openness: when an unanswered question holds more than a single answer ever could.

    And these are just a few. But they are all examples of how, even before things make sense, the journey itself can still be significant…a place where meaning takes shape…not by figuring it all out at once, but by learning to pay attention, on the journey.

    -Morgan Harper Nichols

  • Lessons from Fireflies: The Art of Letting Go

    Lessons from Fireflies: The Art of Letting Go

    Fireflies produce light in fleeting moments. Bioluminescence is a process in which chemical reactions within their bodies generate light without producing heat. This light is a signal that only lasts so long before fading. It’s beautiful, but it only lasts a season.

    Many things in a person’s life are like this: wonderful and full of life, but only for a short time. We may find ourselves taking in all of the beauty and joy of something, only to have to eventually let it go…

    Sometimes letting go isn’t even about releasing something we don’t want, but rather acknowledging that something may have been for a time. Perhaps time spent living in a particular location is coming to an end. Or saying goodbye to a special relationship or friendship, or simply moving on from a stage of life.

    In this space, you can grieve what you’ve had to say goodbye to, even if it was fleeting, while also making way for new seasons.

    Things will be different, but in a unique way. Some days, ‘letting go’ may just look like taking one exhale while you deal with the larger “letting go’s” in the background.

    But even that small act creates space for you to be a little more free, as you learn what it means to carry on after letting go.

    And it’s fine if this takes time and isn’t a linear process. This cannot be said enough. What matters is that you understand that it is okay to make room as you let go.

    – Morgan Harper Nichols

  • Be Present How You Can

    Be Present How You Can

    You may not literally “turn the page” as you enter a new day, but you are allowed to take a moment to think of it that way: one small rhythmic act as the story continually progresses. And just like when you were reading a novel, you do not have to know how every single line connects to keep pacing yourself through. There are some books you might even read that don’t make sense until years later. But what matters is that you remember to be present in the story in the way you know how, right now.

    Find joy in the small things that come to life in the space. We know of the things you were becoming curious about or seeking to refine your focus on. Pay attention to the kind of people you feel safe around. Recognize that these are moments and chapters of your life…and line by line, a story unfolds.

    -Morgan Harper Nichols

  • Keep Creating Breathing Room

    Keep Creating Breathing Room

    Letting go can contain both endings and beginnings and lots of feelings and thoughts in between: You might feel nostalgic or even mournful for what was. You could find yourself reflecting on lessons learned while also feeling hopeful for what could be. There could be confusion about what to do next, intertwined with anxiousness, and perhaps, moments where you suddenly want to dream and plan ahead. In that space, may you know that you don’t have to sort it all out before you can recognize: right here, there is breathing room. And sometimes that “breathing room” might look like taking more intentional, literal deep breaths, but other times, it might look like letting yourself say, “I’m not sure quite yet,” or “I’m going to set a reminder on my phone to come back to this in a few days.” Of course, we may not be able to do this in all areas of life, but you’re allowed to seek out as many spaces as you can where this is possible. It takes a lot to leave something behind, and it also takes a lot to look ahead…so create some breathing room wherever you can.

    -Morgan Harper Nichols

  • One Wave At A Time

    One Wave At A Time

    Notes from the ocean during times of minimal wind:

    When the wind is calm, surface currents slow down, but deep currents keep moving, driven by temperature and salinity differences. This hidden power shows that even in stillness, profound shifts are happening.

    Just as the ocean finds clarity in the wind’s pause, we too can learn from these quieter moments. The ocean’s deep currents, driven by density differences, continue their slow, powerful flow even when the surface appears still.

    In our lives, like the ocean, clarity can emerge in stillness. Hidden changes and transformations continue, even when it seems like nothing is moving.

    Find clarity in the pauses by noticing quiet changes, observing subtle shifts, and recognizing the depth of small movements.

    Our lives may not mirror the ocean exactly, but we can learn that change happens even in apparent stillness. The ocean’s currents keep flowing, driven by the weight of the water. We too can keep moving with great depth, even in quiet times.

    Embrace the room for movement and transformation over time, wave by wave.

    -Morgan Harper Nichols

  • The Shape Before the Shape

    The Shape Before the Shape

    Before becoming a butterfly, the caterpillar begins on a host plant chosen for what it can provide at one stage of life. The plant may not stay the same or remain part of what comes next. Still, it makes early change possible. In this case, the beginning is supported by something specific, temporary, and just enough for that moment.

    It is hard to believe real change can begin in a place that feels temporary. When the rest is still shifting. When nothing feels clear or whole. But the caterpillar’s host plant invites a different thought..that something important can start in a place that is filled with questions. 

    A moment where the usual story feels distant, yet something still asks to be tended.

    An hour that holds no answers, only a small refusal to give up entirely.

    A return to something once left behind, not to finish it, but to remember it mattered.

    The host plants of the world are the conditions that hold just enough for something to take shape, even if they are temporary places.

    Notice what offers just enough to start: for perhaps, it is a reminder to begin forming, anyway.

    – Morgan Harper Nichols

  • Blog Coming Soon!

    Digital Mixed Media, 2019 (ish?) – digitally painting over an iPhone photo I took in Southern California

    Hello, everyone!

    My name is Morgan Harper Nichols and I am an artist, author, and PhD student. For the past 8 years, I have been sharing story-inspired creative work in form of books, visual art, paper goods, my app, and more. This blog will be a place where I share daily reflections that you are free to interact with and make your own, as you live out own your story and move through this ever-changing world each day.

    On the research side of things, I am currently working on a few interactive storytelling projects. Because of this, my focus right now is furthering expanding and developing my technical skills for the purpose of making interactive coloring sheets, journaling activities, calming games, and more.

    You can sign up for new posts below and select from the daily or weekly option of the blog below. I plan to start sharing new posts by May 1…once I finish up this spring semester! Thanks for your patience.

    -Morgan Harper Nichols (MHN)

    Other places where you can find me and my work: Instagram | BlueSky | LinkedIn | Youtube | Substack | Podcast | My App | My Shop | Website

  • There are stories where it all falls apart. Stories where nothing changes. And there are also stories that find ways onward even before it’s clear what’s next.

    This is a test.