Welcome back friends. This episode of picture love is specifically meant for humans who feel like they're going through the thick of things right now. And they're looking for a little, extra love and sunshine. And a loving pep-talk. So if that's what you need today, you are in the right place. And I'm so glad you're here. I'm so grateful that I made it through the last week. It was rough. It was tough. And it was so worthwhile. And now that I'm through it, I'm realizing a lot of, it was kind of like a final exam before graduation. I have just been. I've been given multiple opportunities to revisit things that I've learned. And new circumstances to apply what I've learned to prove what I've learned to put into practice what I've learned. And quite honestly, I'm really excited to say. I know I'm the newest best version of myself today. And it has everything to do with people like you, people who care about showing up. And growing and becoming the best version of themselves. So thank you for being part of my circle of my world of growth. And I think we do it through a unified spirit of love. And speaking of love, I want to help. If this speaks to you. Please share it with somebody else that you want to help as well. I want to help us all picture love better. And part of that is being willing to continue to do the work, just chipping away at it. So that we can really usher in. A brand new day, a brand new world, a brand new life, that we want to be present in. And I don't know about you, but I am observing in this world and in my circles. A massive purge. I mean the kind of purge where life cycles are wrapping up. I'm finding the kind of purge where people are being evicted from our lives, or choosing to leave. I am talking about the kind of purge where. We're showing up in circles where it used to feel good. It used to feel resonant, or at least we thought it did. And now we're being told it's time to pick up and move. And while. You know, our ego can be screaming in the background saying, no, that's not safe. No, I don't want loss. I know I don't want pain. The growth side of us is saying, yeah, it's tough, but it's so worth every step. And I keep being reminded. I, I am, I am actually here learning. That the joy is in right now, even if it's messy. Even if it's dusty and smelly and the spackle is still in the air, but looking at the fresh cleanly painted walls. It's kinda nice. It's worth dealing with a little extra dust here and there. And, I want to give a big shout out to those who are realizing that it is too much and they're willing to call and some help. I'm talking about professional help. I'm talking about my friends, my loved ones who are so brave and courageous and willing to do the work that they go get a therapist. I'm talking about my friends who are so willing. Two face the truth that's in front of them and get that attorney. I'm talking about my friends who are so willing to face the truth. And face. Sobriety. I'm talking about my friends. Who really are in the thick of it. And they feel like their eyes are just about to be covered up with the muck there's they're in it. So deep. But they're willing to ask for help and receive it. So, if you are one of those people and you are up to your eyeballs and MK. I am here to tell you. Good for you. Oh, good for you. Thank you for asking for help. Thank you for reaching out. Thank you for listening to my love for you. Thank you for being willing to look up at the sunshine, even when there's mud at your ankles. Thank you for continuing to do the work on yourself so that you can keep going. You are here to break cycles. These lessons that we are facing in newer, more challenging chapters of our lives or on more. And advanced levels of the video game per se. They're here to give us a chance. To flex our muscles and show ourselves. That we are ready for this new challenge, this new level. And. The graduation is right around the corner because you're doing it and you're gonna pass the final exam. I'm so proud of you for making it this far. Don't quit now. So I was finishing a pretty gigantic project. One I thought was gonna last me a couple months and it ended up going over three months long and it was pretty intense. This project was the reason why. I disappeared from social media. For the most part, those project was the reason why. Hmm. A lot of my desk papers kind of accumulated. And why maybe the dog didn't get quite as many walks as I would normally like to do. I'll be honest. I had to learn to accept help. And you heard me talk about that a little bit last week and it was so good for me. I'm so grateful for the lessons that I have. And in the honor of full transparency. I did have some tears in the last few days beforehand. And I admitted to a handful of friends on a call. I just, I feel like I'm running a marathon for the first time and I passed the 25 mile marker. And I'm not really sure if I can make it to the end. And they all cheered in and they said, you got this, of course you could do it. You've been planning for this. You are equipped for this. You are just tired. You got this. And you know what those voices carried me across the finish line. I replayed that conversation over and over for three days. And you know what. I crossed the finish line. And here's how I know I've graduated to a new level in my life because I'm able to look at the situation as if it's an object in the Palm of my hand. And I may be able to observe ways where. Maybe I did a little messy. Messy job. And maybe some places where I really polished it out more than I've ever done before. And I've also got all these lessons on how the next one could go. And the questions I will ask before I accept the next project of that scope or of that category. And I'll even know how to ask more poignant questions and go put it in writing and review it with that person before we begin. So that we can build momentum and flow together. Cause when I work with clients, I, I partner with them. Yes, I'm doing the work for them. But the decisions are a team effort. And you know what quite honestly, I think in life so many times we think that we're not the ones in control. We think somebody else is the decision maker. When in fact we have so much more power than we think. And whether we're talking about work or we're talking about home, or we're talking about relationships or we're talking about health. There are so many ways we have been led to believe. That we get to choose a or B. This is what the doctor says a or B. Well, those doctors are. Recommending. Very. Let's say prescription based or surgical based approaches. When maybe there's something that we can do, like just breathe. And get to the root of the problem. And the body has an amazing capabilities for healing itself. There's just always more than one way to approach something. And it's such a blessing to have the power to know you can look at something and zoom out from it. And look at it from a bird's eye perspective. And going to a professional. A mental health professional. a holistic health professional. a specialty group for support. Asking for these kinds of help and our lives are, are some of the ways that we can give ourselves that opportunity to find a telescopic zoom in zoom out. Power. And on this, this journey called life. Being a human is such a gift. Even though it's, it's a real challenge. It's a challenge. After another challenge. After another challenge, I want to invite you to come alongside me and celebrate every little lesson. Celebrate every chance where you have had an opportunity to do something better than you did before. Celebrate those opportunities because life is very repetitious. Whether we realize it or not, some of these lessons reoccurrent themes until we truly pass that final exam. And can move on to the next life lesson. So I think I mentioned before, you know, I'm in, I'm in this journey of, of appreciating the now and being present. And that has been the source of a lot of my wellness and my healing these days. And I'd like to offer us all a chance to just be more selfish. Let's be selfish enough. To care about our health so that we can do a better job in the world. Let's let's give ourselves permission to be selfish enough to care about how we feel. If we're really taking care of how we, how we feel, then we're going to be in better condition. To then influence others in the same way. Let's invite ourselves to be selfish enough. Two. Focus on really taking care of yourself instead of taking care of how other people feel. Because quite honestly, We can care about them. But we cannot take on responsibility for how they feel it is up to each and every one of us to be responsible for our own feelings and our own emotions. And so the people pleasers in the crowd who know me well, Understand that this is a really important step. In that lesson that we get to graduate from when we get to observe. And love them. But not take on the responsibility of other people's happiness. And for those who are highly sensitive, I don't know about you, but there have been times where I've got some pretty decent balance and I'm able to really manage the energies when I'm around somebody who just needs a strong shoulder to lean on. And I used to believe in order to love them properly. I had to suffer with them. But I have come to know that that was a lie. That I allowed myself to believe. And now I know for a fact I can shed a tear because I love them and I want them to be happy. I want them to, but I don't want anybody to be false. Happy. I want them to give themselves permission to feel the ugly feelings and work through the grief. Where the loss or the anger or the rage, and to be able to. Not be sorry for their own feelings. And I want to be able to love them from the outside, but not interfere with their human experience when it's their job to move through these things. So. Even as a mom, you know, of course I want my children to be happy, but it's not my job to make them happy. And they don't want me meddling in their emotions. They just want to be loved. They want to be trusted to stand on their own two feet. They want to. They want me to answer the call when they, when they make a call? They want me to be there for them, but they don't want me to live their life for them. And I am not here to live my life for anybody else ever again. And I invite you to be. That kind of selfish with me, let's be selfish enough to live our own lives. And picture love in our lives. The best we possibly can. So that, that is how our light. Helps light up the world around us for those who wish to join us. And walk. Alongside of us. Let's be selfish enough to trade in the work ethics of, you know, work hard to earn your living. Let's be selfish enough. To consider that we can. Swap that for a wellness ethic and say, I care about being healthy and whole, and that in itself will help me. Do better work. Let's be selfish enough. To revisit old lessons, not for the sake of rehashing pain. But for carrying forward lessons. Let's reminisce over the lessons. Let's carry that forward. And let's let that be. Our toolbox or toolbox is full of all of the lessons and some smiles along the way. And let's be selfish enough to be willing to move forward. Even if somebody else is not willing. To work on the same lesson with us. Let's trust them to just live their own lives. And we can love them. Either right next door. Or from afar. But love is love. Let's be selfish enough to choose, to picture love in our own lies. And let that be the permission slip somebody else's looking for. To do the same for themselves. So let's be selfish enough to let our lights shine. So that other people can see their way as well. And let's together. Picture love better for ourselves so that other people can see how. Share this with somebody who needs a pep talk today. Because quite honestly, we all need each other. From my heart to yours. I just thank you so much. For running the good race. Keep on going. You got this.