February was a quiet, snowy month, spent mostly at home studying and working. It was a time to observe, reflect, and focus, while observing nature slowing down outside my window. Over this month, I feel as though I’ve connected more deeply to my heart and can better understand myself, finding inner clarity, perspective, and truth. I’m looking forward to sharing some of these reflections and insights with you in this edition.
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If you want something, you must go for it. The thoughts, ideas, and dreams that continue coming back to you do so because they belong to you. What is meant for you will keep returning until you either listen to that calling or spend your life wondering what would have happened if you did. The desires that stay are for you to act upon. If your heart wants something, pay attention to and work for it. Give it your all. Stay with it when progress is slow and results are not immediate. Stay with it while no one else understands. Keep going, even when you want to give up—especially then. Let the direction change when it needs to. A change in path is not a failure but a refinement of it. Take the detours. Reroute when necessary. But do not lose connection to the goal or vision you have within you. It will wait for you to find your way to it. The desires you are given are given to you for a reason.
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No one will ever be as connected to you as you are to yourself. Love can surround you, support can hold you and others can be there to comfort you, but your experience remains yours alone. No matter how much you open your heart, explain, or share, nobody lives inside your body the way you do. No one can feel what you feel. No one can fully understand you and the way you experience every moment. People may listen, may care, and may try, but they are not you. Your thoughts, emotions, perceptions, interpretations, and memories cannot be transferred. The most intimate relationship you will ever have is the one you build with yourself. You need to make it a relationship full of grace, compassion, trust, and love.
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Honesty is a form of self-respect. When you communicate clearly, express your wants and needs, and set boundaries without apology, you are teaching others how to treat you. If you do not tell them how you feel, they will not know. If you do not communicate what you need, they cannot give it to you. You are not being demanding, difficult, or hard to love, but you are giving others the opportunity to make the relationship work. Some may not stay when you are honest about your expectations, but that is not a loss. It is a release. It is letting go of who cannot support you, and making space for the people who respect you, value you, and want to see you well.
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practice more gratitude. I will take time to give thanks for the warmth of sunlight on my skin, a safe home, a deep breath, family, friends, and the people that support me, amongst others. Through gratitude, I hope to be more mindful, intentional, and loving towards others and myself.
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leave my comfort zone. I will move with courage and work on building confidence through doing hard things. I will lean into spaces that feel unfamiliar, even if they make me uneasy. I will embrace discomfort, knowing that growth comes from it. And I will choose to have trust in myself throughout.
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This month did not have one particular highlight. However, I’ve been working really hard on several big projects that are close to my heart, and seeing them slowly come together has been so fulfilling. Beyond the work itself, the process of reconnecting with myself through these projects has been especially meaningful. By listening to my heart, I’ve rediscovered my creativity and found a renewed sense of inspiration to write, create, and explore new ideas. This is something I am so grateful for.