YOU create your life

You are the one creating this life
You are the one who decideds where you are going to go
You hold the key to your heart and you choose who will be able to hold it

We must be gentle with ourselves
We must be kind, caring, and loving
We must show up authentically, our guard down, our heart open
We must accept our faults and continue to try harder
There is no sense in harping on what was

You only get one shot at this thing called life
What mark do you want to leave
What memories do you want ohers to hold of you

How you treat yourself is how you treat others
When you show up to you filled with love and affection
You open your heart to do the same to those you meet
Be kind to one another
For we never know what is happening just beneath the surface
We are all writing our own stories and we do not know when they will end

Savor the moments
Love deeply
Live with compassion, for yourself and others
Hold tight onto gratitude
And rememeber you are the one writing your story
Be kind to yourself when you are alone
Write the words your heart most needs to hear
Be tender, be brave
Live with love and kindness pouring from your heart

when you are alone

Who are you when no one is watching?
In those quiet moments when you are alone
How do you treat yourself
How do you show up
Are you a whirlwind of despair
Clothes scattered on the floor
Dishes left undone
A brain filled with ideas
But no courage to give them a chance
Do you shower yourself with love
Are you kind and tender
Do you understand that you have faults
But know that we all do, and that is ok
Do you hold gratitude in your heart for all you have
This room
These shoes
This moment
Do you pause to let it all sink in
Do you take a minute to savor the sunshine
And recongize the way it makes you feel
How are you when you are alone
When no one else is watching
Are you kind to yourself or do you struggle to find your footing
When no one is watching
Be kind
Be brave
Be you
Do not let your inner voices tell you that you can't do something
Take the risk
Be gentle
And true to yourself
Know that you deserve love, happiness, and compassion
Show this to yourself when you are alone
Be your very best friend
And savor the moments you have alone

what i have learned along the way

Life is a daring adventure. I know  must submerge myself into it and live wildly. I must reach, stretch, grow. I must boldly show up even when I am scared. Doing something that scares me is good for the soul and helps me learn more and more about myself. 

This life is filled with so mucIf I don't take advantage of it I will miss out on opportunities that may crack me wide open. I know how easy it can be to fall into the every day routine, but there is so much more to go after.  Appreciating the small moments fills my heart and reminds me of how divine this life is. Even through the struggles there is hope and goodness.  

How I spend days is how I spend my life. I want to fill my life with smiles and love. Giggles and dancing. Toes in the sand. Hands being held. Kisses and snuggles. I want to create the beauty even in the darkness. 

So here I stand. On the edge of today. I choose to jump in with my whole heart and see where my feet take me. I choose to live this life now.  

mail! real mail

To me mailboxes feel like magical portholes.  They open up opportunity to connect with individuals through handwritten words or surprise packages.  They are a mystery box of communication.  

I love how handwritten words are filled with intention.  When you take the time to write someone a note you are encouraged to slow down and really think about what you want to say.  When you drop it in the mailbox you are unsure of when it will arrive to them, but you know that when it does it will be an incredible surprise.  This is all part of the magic.  

Unfortunately I feel that less and less people are pulling out postage stamps, addressing letters, and dropping them in the mail.  This makes my heart sad and one of the reasons I started the Love Notes Postcard Project.  I wanted to bring back the magic and encourage more people to send snail mail.    

This FREE  project only requires:

• Three postcards
• Three stamps
• And an open heart

Next round begins April 3rd

Here's how it works:

• You will get paired up with another participant
• Each Sunday for three weeks (beginning April 3rd) a writing prompt will arrive in your email box
• Simply respond to the writing prompt on your postcard and drop it in the mail before Thursday
• Keep a look out in your mailbox for a postcard from your partner
   

That's right, simple and fun!  Click HERE to sign up.  

This will be the 15th time I have hosted this project and people from all the Unites States and the world have participated.  I believe so strongly in connecting through handwritten words that my goal for this round is to get one person from each state in the US sending and receiving some love.  Wouldn't that be so fun!  

I need your help.  In order to get someone from each state  I need your help spreading the word.  Please share with your friends and let them know that their mailbox doesn't have to just be filled with coupons and bills ... they can also receive little rays of sunshine.  And if you know someone in Alaska and Hawaii {I feel these are going to be two really hard states} let them know about this project.  

Together let's spread the LOVE!

As individuals sign up I am going to color in the state they are from.  Hopefully I can fill up the entire map of the US.  This does not mean that international sign up's aren't welcome.  Of course this project is also international.  I just thought this would be a fun goal to try to reach.  

Create your own visited states map or check out the JavaScript Charts.

Along with sushine in your mailbox there is also an incredible group that has gathered over in the Love Notes Postcard Facebook Page   Pop on over and say hello.  Also check out some  of the postcards sent in previous rounds on Instagram #lovenotesj

be in the moment

We had all been through so much this past year.  Life as we knew it had changed forever.  Relationships altered, holes left in our hearts, everything different.  Nothing ever to be the same again.  

Moments slipping through our fingers as we try to gain our footing in this new way of living

Yet here we were, gathered with family along the oceans edge.  Life slowed down even if just for a moment.   Deeply submerged into where we were and who we were with we savored the laughter, let go, and really enjoyed each others company.  It was divine to hear my Father's laughter.  To see him smiling and having such a good time.  He stepped deep into the moment and savored it all.  

Memories forever etched in my heart.  This wasn't just about getting away for a few days.  No, it was so much more than that.  It was a breath of fresh air, a reminder to keep moving forward, an infusion of love from family.  It was arms wide open, warm sunshine, and a deep breathe in.  

I felt the weight of the world lifted from my shoulders as we settled into an easy routine of doing whatever moved us. Walking through the ocean, gazing up at the stars, dancing in the kitchen.  It wasn't fancy.  There was no fan fare.  It was life, beautiful loving life.  Where we were surrounded by family and enjoying being where we were in that exact moment.  

I am so grateful for this time away.  For the moment to let go of the worries and feel the hope that is in front of us.  My mom may not be walking the journey with us, but she is there.  She is always, always there.  And she would want us to keep stepping forward.  She would smile to see us enjoying the moment and soaking in the warm sunshine.  The beach was her happy place. When I am near the ocean I feel close to her.  Being right next to the ocean for a few days I felt my mom strongly in my heart.  I felt her smile as we ventured off on the paddle boards and I felt her sitting with us as we gazed up at the stars.  

She is looking down on all of us.  So proud of the way we have come together.  It makes my  heart smile and brings me hope for what the future holds.  I am so grateful for it all.  For family, love, and being deep in the moment.

Gathering brings us together.  Feeling the love of family infuses me with hope.  Being in the moment reminded me of how incredible life is.  Even amongst the heartache, the struggle, and the tears there is so much goodness.  I am so lucky to have the incredible family I have.  So grateful for trips taken and moments of being able to be together in the moment, yes present in the moment.   

love letter to the signs from loved ones

Dear Signs from loved ones,

It was a warm spring night when my mom and I set off on an adventure to Brooklyn.  We were on our way to meet Susannah Conway who was doing a reading of her book "This I know".  I was thrilled about this moment in time for two reasons.  One - getting to meet Susannah.  Two - being there with my mom.  

My mom and I had a usual mother daughter relationship.  It was a rollercoaster ride of emotions.  There were years when we were close and other years where we drifted apart not understanding one another.  This moment in Brooklyn was a crossing over from not knowing and understanding one another to getting back on the same page and diving deep into a new terrain of friendship.  

It was this night that I learned something about my mom I never knew.  She had a sister she was very close to who passed when she was in her twenties {this I knew}.  I was supposed to be named after her but the day I was born my Grandma told my parents it would be to much for her and so they quickly decided on the name Jennifer.  What I didn't know is that since her passing she had sent my mom signs that she was around in the form of feathers.  

In Susannah's book she talks about receiving similar signs from her late husband.  My mom who struggled to open up to others shared this story with Susannah.  As I stood and watched this interaction unfold my heart grew two sizes.  There is something incredible about seeing your mom be vulnerable and real, especially when she struggled to do so.  I stood there in that moment in complete awe and filled with gratitude.  

Before my mom passed there were signs of feathers that felt as if her sister and father were calling her home and letting us know that she was going to be ok.  I remember one day going over to my parents house to spend time with my mom after her diagnosis.  She fell asleep on the couch so I went outside to get some air.   I noticed a feather on the lawn and walked up to it.  My eye caught other feathers.  In fact they were all around her home.  In the front lawn, the backyard, under the bushes.  It was incredible.  Their were no feathers on the neighbors lawn, just my parents.  

After my mom passed Dustin and I went to the beach to spend the day.  The beach was my moms favorite place to be and it is near the ocean that I feel closest to her.  We drove to spot on the beach got out and decided to keep going down a little further.   When we got out there was a feather sticking upside down in the sand.  It was incredible, how did the feather land this way?  What are the odds of this happening.  I felt in my heart that it was my mom sending me a sign.  Letting me know she loved me and was with me.  

Now when I find a feather my heart smiles.  I feel as if my mom is reaching out and speaking to me.  It is a reminder that even though she isn't here in person she is always with me.  I never noticed feathers before, and now seem to find the most interesting ones.  I wonder if they were never there before or if I just wasn't looking for them.  

What is incredible is sometimes I find them in the most unusual places.  Like when my Father and I went shopping for Christmas gifts for my nieces and nephews and at the check out there was this tiny white feather dancing around the cashier.  Or the feather at the bottom of the stairs at work, inside. Or how about the big feather I found on the property that we are going to build on the day I unexpectedly navigated my way there on my bicycle and the song Home by Philip Philips began to play in my ears.  

Sure these could be all considered coincidences but I feel deep in my heart that they are signs from my mom.  Each feather makes me smile and think of her.  They are tangible reasons to believe that she is looking down on me.  

Thank you dear signs for showing up when I need you most.  For giving me hope and reminding me that I am not alone.  I am so grateful for you.  

xo
Jennifer