Welcome to the Picture Love podcast. I'm your host, Kris LeDonne. In this space, we believe that love is something you can choose to see because it lives within each of us Innately picture, love is a practice, a way of seeing with your heart, not just your eyes, a way of showing up as the love you wish to see in the world. Each episode offers encouragement, soul led conversations, and gentle tools to help you reconnect with what matters most to live, to create and love with more presence. I'm so glad you're here. Now, let's get started. Welcome back friends. I am sitting here in awe of the fact that 2025 is nearly over. It was such a loaded year, and so full and exhausting and crazy. What a ride, right? I mean, for better and for worse. My husband and I were recalling some of the key elements of the last 12 months. We've literally relocated twice, we graduated, two kids, moved, both kids, expanded our family by a dog and a whole lot of other things in between. And through all of the life changes and the stages and the growth it hasn't always been easy. That is to say the least. It has not been easy, but it's definitely been worthwhile and I am sitting here and wondering, wow, if 2025 changed our lives that much, I can't even imagine what's around the corner in 2026. And if you're listening to this after the new year. Who knows when that is. I hope that you're looking back only to measure back with gratitude and to celebrate growth and achievements and things we survived. This is a tradition that I have unknowingly started for the last seVeyral years. I've written a thank you note to the year itself, the calendar year that's closing out, and this year is no different. I have just, I'd say a mo, a lot longer list of of my milestones to recall, some of which I shared with you. And I asked myself, what are the things, what are the lessons I'm carrying forward? And I noticed that there is some repetition, but the meaning is we, you know, we can learn the same lesson many times and it deepens each time, depending on what lens we are looking at it in. And what stage of life we are experiencing. And so that being said, my list is pretty lengthy, but I thought I would just share some of them with you today and maybe something will resonate. Maybe you'll hear some words that will either be the ones that you've needed to. Speak or think, or maybe they will trigger the words or the thoughts that you need to come, come up with of your own. Either way I'm coming in with, with deep, deep humility and gratitude for the lessons that each of these things have offered me. So let's dive in. Here's, here's one of the, I'd say my top lessons that I've received in a new layer this year, and that is. You can be the change without becoming the chaos. You know, I, I am learning and continuing to practice owning neutrality and anchoring in my own peace so that I can be the calm, that maybe other people need around them, so that I can respond rather than react. And sometimes my response is silence and a compassionate smile, because I'll be honest, there's a whole lot of things that, I've been offered that I don't agree, I don't agree with, but I know that my truth is not the same as somebody else's. We will find points of resonance and we'll find points of where we can agree to disagree and honor that. So again, you know, being the change that I would like to see in the world without participating in the chaos is not to say. They can suffer, I won't. That's not at all what I'm talking about being a truth teller in whatever that looks like for you. But we have to start by being truthful with ourselves in order to make small changes, large changes, whatever kind of changes we need to, to align with our own truth. And knowing that I don't have to throw a wrench in things just to create chaos. And I know that we have a lot of very high profile characters playing that role right now. And I'm not here to bring chaos. I am here to speak truth, and my truth is love and compassion. The second thing I keep revisiting every year in a new level is with my boundaries. Again, I think I've rooted more deeply in the knowing that boundaries are love in action, and they do make room for miracles. So when those boundaries are where I need them to be, I'm holding space for what I. Steve holds value. Do I fall into mindless activities like scrolling and watching silly animal reels? Yeah. But with intention, I give myself space to just have downtime, but I make boundaries around. What I'm willing to absorb. I'd rather have the high points rather than the loops of damage that some people are perceived making. And this year I wasn't, it wasn't about being nicer, it was about being clearer. And I used to think that. In order to set boundaries I would have to sacrifice people liking me. I, I do care what people think about me, but that is no longer my motive for action. And the spirit guide, Veyra, I don't know if you recall her or listen to that episode. I will link her up in the show notes. Veyra level clarity, you can be warm and firm. And your nervous system finally trusts when that happens. So here's to, here's to loving boundaries in action, and I can't wait to see where that takes me in the next year. Here's the third one, and I'm gonna offer you two different wordings. Looking at your body, your physical body, and it's, it's tremendous, tremendous value. And I don't mean from an ego-driven perspective or a keeping up with appearances perspective. I'm talking about each one of us, respecting our own body as either an oracle. Or a barometer, well, I don't know which of those resonate for you, but it's, the body is not a problem to overcome. It's not a list of grievances. So instead of muscling through sensations and braving through it, like I dropped my iPhone on my toes this morning and. While that felt stupid and ridiculous and unnecessary, it was, it was a reminder to honor my body and to take care of those toes and don't do the same poses. And yoga, they need space. They need time to heal. Those bruises are not a joke, they're a reminder. I need to take it easy. And this is a moment where I would love to get caught up in my. Usual hustle and bustle of the final details before Christmas. When I have family and more family and any, even a friend coming to stay with us, it's going to be the fullest house we've ever had as far as humans or mammals living under this roof. Instead of pushing and pushing and rushing making the list of lists, my body's an oracle. It's giving me information, it's giving me wisdom, and it's telling me to rest and recover. And I started treating my energy like a sacred resource. A sacred resource that's not meant to be discarded or wasted or dumped. So honoring the body for its role and thanking it for the information it gives us is, is something that I am starting to get good at. I think! Well, I'm still a beginner mind you of this, of this journey, but that is something really, really important that I'm excited to continue to learn. I mentioned recently. We don't have to suffer for somebody in order to love them. I can love somebody fully by, and this is kind of a, a great piggyback on honoring the body. The body, the mind, the spirit does not have to suffer in order to be the love someone else needs. We all see it in the world. It is here. It's part of the story, and by adding more of our own personal suffering to it, it does not negate the struggle somebody else is going through. We can fully love them in a place of peace. So that is something that I talked about a lot recently, especially last week's episode on, holding space for somebody. And that is something that I, I'm still working on and being. A witness to somebody, not a sponge. Witness them, see them, hear them because their story is theirs, and it's valuable because they are valuable. Just like your story is valuable because you are valuable and I am valuable. So we can honor ourselves, in showing up for somebody else or in the presence of someone else without compounding their suffering. Here's another lesson I learned this year. And I'm definitely at the beginner stage of this. Discernment is a muscle and I've started to consciously choose to practice it. This is. Something that I see the need to do the reps do the practice, go to the gym, keep putting weights on those, on that bar for those barbells in the practice of discernment, because there is a whole lot of sensational headlines and news and things and distractions that are actually burying what I find more important news and. I know a lot of it, all of it is curated. Everything that we read or we hear or we watch is curated for us. So if we can discern what we choose to participate in and use our bodies, those barometers to continue to help us decide. If, if this feels off, it probably is, we can probably choose to starve some of that nonsense by ignoring it. If we, if we absolutely, completely ignore the nonsense, the, the chaos that people are scripting and, and spreading and actually focus on the things that matter, then we are practicing discernment and we're snuffing out some of those ridiculous flames that don't need to be there. I have been reading about and, and seeing footage of the monks crossing the US walking from Texas across the country to our nation's capital, in Washington DC.And these, these monks are, they're so impactful. They're, they're an example of where discernment. Honors us if we pay attention to stories like this and the lessons that they are exemplifying, this peaceful orchestration of love and humbleness and kindness. And these, these, these monks are walking barefoot across the country, a lot of them, and they're only allowed to eat from gifts given to them enroute. Courage, the bravery, the perseVeyrance, the lighthouses that that provides the rest of us who are wearing shoes and can get whatever fast food or want, you know, can cook in the kitchen or, I don't know, bake Christmas cookies or you know, go to the holiday parties or do all the things that keep us busy this time of year, especially in the United States. I'm not familiar with Christmas and other parts of the world, but the end of December, it's you're busy being busy, making noise and seeing such a peaceful, quiet practice, demonstration of peace and love and unity, and these smiles, and I just. I'm, I'm reaching for words that are not coming to me because I'm so moved. That's where I wanna send my attention. I wanna say thank you to every soul that shows up in love. Not to judge, not to compare, when we discern, we give ourselves a choice on what should grow, and I want to mirror back the love that I see in the world. And those monks are a perfect example. Perfect example. And somebody might say, yeah, they're not curing cancer, but aren't they? But aren't they? They're embodying so many of the beautiful, beautiful lessons that I desire to embody and fully, fully integrate because that's love. That's love in motion. Okay, here's another lesson. You're allowed to be supported and you can support without self erasing. So support is just another expression of love for me. But hosting somebody unexpectedly, somebody who was homeless this year gave me a new perspective on life. I really did. Watching my family go through massive changes and the resiliency in each of them. I am very proud, even when I'm the unpopular one, because I'm the one doing the grunt work that's not desirable and it requires their participation. And yeah, even through all that, through all that I can support, I can be supported and I do not have to erase myself in the process. There's just a whole lot going on there. Support comes in many, many forms and there's nothing wrong with. Looking for new ways every day. And gratitude honestly is the direction that gets me on track. Because the more we find gratitude for, the more support we are receiving in the process, and that is so much easier to reflect back out into the world. I put a bunch of these episodes, you know, from Picture love into ai and I said. I asked, I was like, what are some of the lessons that I've learned this year? Because I know I've done a lot and I've gone through more journals than I have time to actually reread to do this before the end of the year. My thank you note. And one of the things that came back to me, these are not my words, but they're from my work, and it said to me,"Kris, identity is built by repetition, not revelation. And it said you didn't just wake up once you practice new choices until they became normal. Being is my action and is basically my thesis statement", and I was so grateful to see my own words come back to me packaged like that because yes, that is one of the biggest like earth shifting lessons that I learned this year, and that is that being is doing. I learned that more and more in new levels. And I'm getting all flustered, you know helping my daughters move. They didn't want my help unpacking and nesting and setting up furniture. They didn't want that. They wanted to do their own nesting. And my presence. I felt like I was in the way when in fact now I was told just be here in not such elegant words. And when I thought I was helping, I was actually, perceived as controlling and, but I, I was really apron on hands open, ready, tell me what to do. And the doing that they wanted was the being. And that the being present and being there was showing support just by being there in the same way I don't have to suffer for somebody who is confiding in me. I don't have to fix it. I don't have to fix it. I can just show up and give them support and know that my being is the most important doing I can give them. And that was a gift to me. And that's one of the ways I don't erase myself. And that's one of the ways I don't drain my body and my energy. And wow, why did it take me over half a century to learn that lesson? Why didn't somebody tell me sooner- That being is doing!? Anybody? Anybody else learning that lesson? Wow. I guess better late than never. Joy is the evidence of alignment, joy. It's not something that needs to be scheduled and arranged and planned as a reward for later. When I am doing something joyfully, whether it walking the dog or writing a card, or cooking or showing up at a meeting or tax forms, all of that. Can be done with grudge, with stress, with hurry, hustle, culture. It can be done with joy. And when I show up and I do something from a place of love and joy and gratitude helps me tap into that. Then that is a sign that is a symptom of being aligned with who I really am and showing up as who I am. Because when I show up grudging and unforgiving and holding, resentment or fatigue as my focus, I am not aligned with who I really am. And so that is. A beautiful thing and it allows me to open up and do beautiful, more beautiful things for myself, which help other people. And one of them was adopting our second dog this year, our puppy. And who has revived my older dog, Beasley. Now she's a big sister. After all of the change, it's, it's a big commitment to take in a puppy, especially when you have a household of pets already. She has deepened her joy and the snuggles and the play, and the noise and the puddles. They're all evidence of expanded joy in this family, in this household, and I'm so grateful for that. So joy. Joy is a priority now and it's evidence of alignment. Possibly the biggest thing I learned this year is. Everything I really, truly need, it's there inside of me. Truth, love, alignment, wisdom, and the way I tap into that is by being still and getting quiet. No more outsourcing my knowledge. No more have to get a book on this. Have to take a course on this. Have to find a mentor for that. I have to find an expert for this. I have to. I am. I am done being the world's student. I am my student and I can welcome in wisdom from the outside after I have fully finished integrating the respect that my inner wisdom has been lacking all of these years, and so no more outsourcing my knowing. That is definitely one of the beginner level lessons I have learned this year, and I can't wait to advance in that knowing. So I am going to be writing a thank you note to 2025 to thank for all these lessons and more, believe it or not, the list is long and I wanted to offer you the inspiration of maybe a little template, if you like the idea, but you wanna make it less overwhelming and not quite as long. I made a list of six questions, and if this resonates, I'm going to say them in bullet form and I will put them in the show notes for you as well. So this would be the template for somebody who wants just a little fill in the blank to make a, a quick but meaningful gesture of gratitude for 2025. Understanding that it's not just the good, it's, it's the obstacles, the challenges teach us more than, than the joy. It's very, it's often that way. Okay, so if you would like a template for a heart led thank you to 2025, here are the six points I would suggest. Number one,"Dear 2025. The moment I wanna thank you for the most is(fill in the blank)." Okay, here's the second one."The strength I discovered in myself was___." And if you don't know how to word that, you could say,"I didn't know I had this until and that gives you a way of wording it to acknowledge maybe something that happened. Here's the third one."The part of me that healed, softened, or returned home was And another way to word that would be,"I'm grateful I came home to(fill in the blank)". Here's the fourth one."The love I received from a person/animal/place/presence/situation looked like this: And you can describe it or you could say,"love showed up for me this year when(fill in the blank)".*Don't forget to look within yourself, how love showed up for you through you. Here's the fifth you might wanna choose."The truth I'm carrying in 2026 is or maybe you prefer the wording;"In 2026 I choose because my heart knows And the sixth item that I came up with for you that might help you with this thank you note is:"The way my body tried to love me this year was and if that doesn't make sense for you, try this:"thank you to my body for these signals that helped me know to slow down rest or pause, especially when(fill in the blank)". Those are some of the elements I came up with to hopefully help you. It could be one of'em, it could be all of those, or maybe you have a better idea! But those are things that, I just like to offer the words where sometimes they can help support, but remember, not everything requires words. You could draw a picture of gratitude. You could exercise, you could dance to a playlist if that, if that helps you. But just literally acknowledging 2025 and thanking it for the lessons and the opportunities it gave you to find your own lessons. That is a beautiful way to wrap it up. Give yourself closure so that you can go forward with a clean slate and a deliberate intention to be present in the new year. I hope that that supports you today. I'd love to hear what, what resonated with you. Leave me a comment like. Please share this episode and, stick with me as we begin a fresh new year together from my heart to yours. Please keep Picturing Love because you are the love in the world, and I love you. See you next time.