December 14

Here’s to looking ahead.

Here’s to looking ahead in a gentle way that allows space when you don’t have every single thing planned out for the future all at once.

Here’s to breathing deep and realizing:

No matter how many times you are asked,

“So...what’s next?” or “Have you decided yet?” or “What are your plans now?”

...Even when you are asking those questions of yourself, you are free to remind yourself over and over again that just because the future holds possibilities, that doesn’t mean you have failed if you have not figured out the exact plan for every single thing.

In the same way you might have a memory or come across a photograph of a flower that is not blooming in the current season and still recognize its inherent value, you are free to acknowledge how your own worth can continue to still shine through in different phases of life. You may not know exactly what the future will look like, but even in the smallest ways, if you have seen the tiniest thing bloom before in your life, that is something worth holding onto.

So here’s to looking ahead, breathing deeply, and embracing the inherent value in each phase of life, just as flowers of springs-to-come still hold beauty—even before we have all of the details of how they will bloom—here’s to reminding ourselves that the possibility is something you can ease into with time and gentleness…and yet, still bloom.