CALM

ALL WILL BE WELL

Whenever I’m in a situation where I need to introduce myself, my answer will be

something along the lines of:!

“Hey, I am Mariët! I am a photographer living in The Hague with my husband and our

dog. I mainly shoot weddings, but I’m always working on various side projects.”!

But let me really introduce my Self now.

I am the woman who still feels like a little girl on a daily basis. I am also the woman who is

wild to the bones. The girl who is insecure, and the queen who conquered her land. I am

the one with the angry hamstrings. I love smoothies. I am the one that is transitioning into

a vegan lifestyle and wants to be an activist, and I am the one that avoids conﬂict. I have

been struggling with a lot of things a lot of times, and am still struggling with things every

day. Waking up is not my favourite part of the day, neither is going to bed. I never fall

asleep easily, my dreams are so vivid I sometimes wake up laughing or screaming or

crying. The creative muse in me is big and wild and untamed and like a small child, free

and wondering and wandering. But it is also afraid to take up space. Afraid to say ‘Hey

this is me, this is my love and my heart and my soul poured out in writing, this drawing or

a photograph.’ I believe dogs make this world a happier place.

I am the woman who feels like the sea is always the best place to be. Sand between my

toes, wind in my hair and tears rolling down my face because of … because of what?

Sometimes I don’t even know. I am the compassionate one, the strong one, the hard one

and the soft one. Totally in love with making healthy food and doing yoga and then

crumbling down between cookies and chocolate and crying over my belly that is too big

and too soft. I am the one that loves her body and loves swinging through the living room

with sexy music and no bra on. I am the successful entrepreneur and forever in doubt

about what I want to do. I am a feminist. An earthling. I have created many beautiful

things and have also broken some. Music is everything. So is silence. Or the sound of

waves. There is one thing I can not stand and that is fakery. No, there’s more. Injustice.

Sexism. Racism. Speciesism. Violence. !

I am a healer, I believe in magic and I believe touch and skin to skin contact can

sometimes be all one needs. I believe in God and I call it God because that’s what I was

raised with. I believe I am part of a beautiful creation and it is my responsibility to take

good care of it. I believe God is the sea and the trees and the wind and the sun and the

moon and me. I love the male and the female and the light and the dark and everything

this universe holds. I am the one that can judge others so very harshly and then cry

because I am sorry and because we are all one. I can never have enough plants and

ﬂowers in my home. I am sometimes yearning for the simplest life, for being a stay-at-

home-mom and never worry about anything else than what to cook and kissing scraped

knees. I am also yearning to travel the world and make documentaries and ﬁght for

human rights and animal rights and never give up and never pull back. !

I am the one that can spend days on end scrolling through beautiful pictures and quotes

and then feel guilty for doing that because I could have been the one making these

beautiful pictures and quotes. I am the one that loves. Endlessly. Unconditionally. There

are many things that scare me, but death is not one of them. I do not believe death is the

end, it’s just a new beginning.

I love colours and sometimes all I need is black on black on black. My favourite colour is

a blueish, greenish, greyish thing that doesn’t have a name because it has a thousand

names and I can never just pick one. And on some days it’s yellow. I am most

comfortable in my own home, which sometimes is the whole world. And sometimes it’s

these four walls between which I’m writing this.

I am the one that started writing a million books and never ﬁnished one. I am the one that

is scared to write this one and is doing it anyway.

thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express

written permission of the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. ©

So, there are a few things I want to talk about. Living a calm life by taking the

responsibility of choosing what is in it. Living a good life by taking the responsibility to

heal and to spread your light and living a happy life by allowing it to be one. These aren’t

the easiest things, and yet they are. Because they all come back to you, your choices and

your mindset. And yes, sometimes that is hard. There are days where you just can’t

muster up the strength to be calm, good and happy. And that’s okay. We can always,

always start over. Right now, right here, every second of every day. It doesn’t matter what

went wrong this morning, yesterday or last week, it matters what you choose now. Today.

I’ve spent a lot of time feeling guilty about past choices, and there is only one thing I

learned from that: it serves no one. !

That’s why, before we dive in deeper, I want you to read this list of things you need to stop

doing, and stop doing them. They serve no one.

STOP

Feeling guilty about past choices, even if it was just this morning.

Worrying about the future, you’ll deal with it as it comes.

Thinking everything you do should be perfect, it never will.

Procrastinating the good stuff, ‘someday’ does not exist.

Running from your problems, they will follow right behind you.

Spending time with the wrong people, you’ve got better things to do.

Wasting time faking things, whether they are orgasms or Instagram pictures.

Buying stuff you don’t need, the more stuff the more to worry about.

Comparing yourself to others, you never know everything.

10)

Multitasking, do one thing at a time, with full attention.

(And smoking. Always stop smoking.)!

Of course, there are some things I want you to start doing as well. Read on.

From here on out, we are honest. From here on out, we are real. From here on out, it

doesn't matter if we ﬁt the standards of our society or not. Here, we pour our hearts out.

Here, we heal. Here, we honour the ﬁre within us, the earth below us, the sky above us.

Here, we ﬂy over the waters of our souls and here we howl to the moon. Here, we

embrace. Without restraint. There are no rules here. Welcome.!

Oh, and do me a favour. Write an Introducing-Your-Self-Piece (like I did) about yourself.

It’s freeing. It’s interesting. It’s hard and it’s lovely. It’s fun. It can help. It will help.

Let’s start communicating. Truly

communicating. Not just (im)patiently waiting

until the other person stops talking so you

can start, but truly listen. Truly respond to

what the other person is saying. Starting a

conversation just to ask someone how

they’re doing, with the intention of truly

hearing the answer, whatever it may be. Let’s

not talk about ourselves for a full

conversation (and find out how difficult

that actually is) and then be more open than

ever in the next. About the things that truly

matter. Because how are you really feeling?

What makes you happy, or sad? What are you

dealing with in your life? How did you sleep

last night and what were you thinking of

when you were in the shower this morning?!

How are you?

LIVING A CALM LIFE

We all come from different corners of the world, but if you are reading this I am guessing

you at least have a smartphone, probably a computer or laptop as well as a tv. Maybe a

radio. Perhaps you sometimes read a newspaper or magazine, check Instagram and

Twitter daily. You know it can be crazy. Crazy good and crazy mad. There is so much!

Impulses all over the place. Constantly. There is this ongoing stream of stuff ﬁnding its

way into your life, your head, your heart and your soul.!

If you are even a little bit like me you can feel completely overwhelmed by this. If you are

a lot like me, all this information makes you feel restless, as if it’s ripping you out of your

own soil, roots and all. And we need calmness. We need to tend to the soil with the right

equipment. Create the best landscape for us to grow in, form the most beautiful

environment in which to ground, expand our roots deep into the earth and stand strong

and tall. Sunshine, a cleansing rain shower every once in a while and, of course, good

things to feed on.!

You are in charge of this. Let me say that again. You are in charge of this. You are in

charge of what is in your life, who is in your life. You are in charge of what is in your feed,

who is in your feed. You are in charge of what you hear, see, read and who you invite over.

It is your responsibility to plan and shape your life in a way that serves you. This is

different for every soul but I do believe there are some things we all need and some

things none of us need. None of us needs endless tweets and ‘news’ articles about

people we don’t even know and will never meet. None of us needs loud, ﬂashy

commercials promoting deodorant or the newest gadget. None of us needs to look at the

picture perfect (and mostly fake) lives of people on Instagram we, again, don’t even

know. None of us needs sexism. None of us needs body shaming. None of us needs

reality tv (which we all know deep down in our hearts is completely fake anyway) and

gossip. None of us needs this constant stream of visual and audial stimuli. None of us

needs people in our lives who do not make us feel loved.

What we do need is silence every once in a while, to hear our own mind and soul

whispering. Music that touches our heart. Articles that inspire us to do better or to rest

and take care of ourselves. Documentaries that show us the truth. People who fully

support us, make us feel loved and put their arms around us when we need it the most.

What we do need is truth. Love. Warmth. Time to think. What we do need is to learn.

Learn how to take care of ourselves, our bodies, the world. What we do need is to not be

constantly interrupted by our phones.

Let me say it again: You are in charge of what you hear, see, read and who you invite

over. Every visual, audial thing that ﬁnds its way into your life is your choice. It is your

responsibility to plan and shape your life in a way that serves you.

And so I highly recommend turning off your notiﬁcations. Turning off your phone every

once in a while. Close your laptop, unplug your tv and go outside. Take a walk, go ﬁnd

yourself some nature to wander around in. Touch a tree, close your eyes and feel nature’s

pulse. Go to the beach, take off your shoes and feel the sand between your toes. Listen to

the waves. Let the sound of the sea and the wind clear your mind. !

Do everything you do with your full attention. Focus. Be mindful about every step. Every

breath. Every word. Every movement. Every choice. !

Unsubscribe from all channels that make you feel restless. That give you information you

do not need. Unsubscribe from drama, gossip and ‘reality’ shows. Turn off your radio and

listen only to music that you actually totally like, without being constantly interrupted by

DJ’s and stupid commercials for stuff you don’t need. Unfollow that which makes you feel

bad about yourself and those who do not inspire you. Cancel your tv subscription and

watch only that which truly amuses you, educates you or helps you unwind. Again,

without being interrupted by noisy, ﬂashy commercials that encourage you to buy stuff

you don’t need. Throw out the magazines that tell you that you are not thin / ﬁt / smooth /

sexy / happy / successful enough. Read good books. Stories that take you to the most

beautiful worlds, stories that educate you. Follow the social media accounts of people

that are true to themselves, that care about showing you the truth. The ones that address

the truly important matters. Shape your days around tending to your soil. Whether that is

getting up early to run, or sleeping in because you need it. Whether that is crying in your

mothers arms, or staying up late laughing with friends. Journal. Write it all out, whatever

you think, whatever you dream of. Meditate. Take the time to listen to your heart. Don’t

believe everything you see on the news. Always ask questions.!

And lastly, close your doors to people that do not support you. Stop dealing with people

that make you feel bad about yourself. Those who suck the energy out of you because

you have to pretend to be someone you’re not or because they are a constant source of

negativity. Break bonds with people that try to put you down. Search for better people to

be around. Find your tribe. Find likeminded people who wish the very best for you. People

that support you, make you feel good about yourself and inspire you to reach for the very

best version of yourself. People that understand when sometimes, you can’t. Don’t spend

one more minute, don’t waste any more energy trying to meet any expectations but your

own. And limit those as well. Just be. Exist.

The other day I was talking to a dear friend and during this

conversation I said: “You gotta ask yourself – does my life serve

me?” The moment I said it I knew I had to remember that question

because I wanted to blog about it. I did, and I wanted to share it

here as well, because I really believe this is important.

A lot of us have this picture perfect life in our heads and we want

to achieve it as quickly as possible. Whether you are the grade A

student who studies Law and wants to have a house with a

garden, a family and a good job by 30, or the #fitgirl working

towards a slim body and always the next marathon (and the next,

and the next), the hippie trying to always vibrate on the highest

frequency or the Instagram model taking hundreds of pictures to

find that perfect ‘careless’ one for her next gig. Blogs about

health, fitness, productivity and habits are shooting up out of the

ground like weeds and the number of young people being burned

out, collapsing under the pressure of being perfect is shockingly

high.

We all want something different, but we all want something. We

all feel the pressure to be the perfect student, wife or fitgirl, to

have the best Instagram feed, job or house. To show the world that

we are doing great, that we are busy, but happy and never

struggling. Always moving forward, creating new opportunities

and habits to keep doing this. To keep striving. And there is nothing

wrong with wanting to achieve things. With wanting to grow in

life and wish for certain things. But please, be vigilant about this.

Because how does this life you’re working so hard to achieve serve

you? Your soul? Does it make you feel truly happy? Does it make

you love yourself? Does it make you feel safe? Grounded? Are you

actually thriving, or are you secretly crumbling down behind

that picture perfect wall? Is all this truly what YOU want, or do

you have to admit that you feel pressured by your family, magazines

or social media? Why do you want all this? Do you give yourself

enough time to enjoy, rest, play, laugh and just… do… nothing…?

Because you shouldn’t serve your life, your life should serve you.

LIVING A GOOD LIFE

I also believe we have a responsibility to live a good life. Not only do we need to be good

for ourselves, but we need to be good for each other. For the earth. For the ones without a

voice. If we want to continue to enjoy this beautiful world we live in, we have a

responsibility to take care of it. If we want our children to be able to enjoy that same

beautiful Mother Earth, we need to stop tearing her down. Ask anyone what they would

wish for if they were granted a wish by a genie and the answer is ‘world peace’. Then why

is there no world peace? We are not even close to world peace. And there are a lot of

things you as an individual and we as a group can do to help achieve world peace. On all

kinds of levels. !

“Do you think you are too small to make a difference?

Try sleeping in a room with a mosquito.” !

- Dalai Lama XIV

We can spread love. We can live in kindness. We can stop hurting each other. We can

smile and brighten someone’s day. We can help when help is needed. We can stop body

shaming. We can stop gossiping and hating on each other or people online. We can stop

killing and eating other species. We can stop giving tons and tons of food to our food and

give it to the hungry people instead. We can stop the cutting down of rainforests. We can

inspire other people to do good. We can adopt a dog instead of buying a puppy which

supports breeding. We can buy fair clothes. Yes, they are more expensive but that is only

in our minds because we are used to low prices and buying so many things we don’t

need. We can stop exploiting children, animals and the earth. We can make the right

choice. We can educate ourselves. We can make way for everyone to be accepted as

they are, no matter their preferred gender, sexual orientation, skin colour or (non)religious

beliefs. !

These are just some things that come to mind but let it be clear: there is so much we can

do to get us closer to world peace. To help the world heal. We can stand up, speak up,

ﬁght. We have a responsibility to no longer accept sexist or racist comments, to no longer

close our eyes to all the violence. We can all be activists, all in our own way.!

And yes, people will call you crazy. But they called the ﬁrst people that wanted to stop

slavery crazy. They called the ﬁrst people that fought for women’s voting rights crazy. Let’s

be a little crazy, shall we? Let’s connect. Let’s educate ourselves. There is an endless list

of books you can read, documentaries you can watch to learn about what’s going on in

the world. To dive deeper into a subject that touches you. We all have something.

Maybe you can go vegan, maybe you’ll never buy cheap and bloodstained clothes again,

maybe you’ll help out at the local pet shelter. Maybe you’ll photograph disabled kids for

free, maybe you’ll use your talents to write beautiful songs that inspire people to change.

Maybe you’ll go into politics. Maybe you’ll protest naked outside a factory or maybe you’ll

pray.

But there are a few things we can all do. We can all be kind. We can all smile. We can all

choose our words carefully and not hurt the ones around us. We can all choose not to

support the things we don’t believe in. We have a responsibility to do so.!

This world is our home, the earth provides for us everything we need, it is time to start

returning the favour. !

We take better care of what we feel connected to. This is something we see in

all kinds of areas in our lives. The dog we pet, the pig we eat. The wrapper we

throw on the sidewalk of the park but not in our own garden. We take better

care of the necklace we inherited from our grandma than the one we bought

for $3 at some shop we can’t remember. When we hear about a car crash one

town over we might murmur one sentence about how horrible it is and then

we go on with our lives like nothing happened, but when we see a car crash

happen right in front of us, we are completely shocked, even if there’s no

relation to the victims other than that you just saw them.

The animal we feel connected to because it’s so much like us and lives among

us, our grandma we love SO much, someone we saw driving by just now… The

connection can be strong and profound or superficial and fleeting, but as

long as there is one: we care.

One of the most important forms of caring for us and the world to function

properly, to survive, is self care. When we feel disconnected of who we are, a

possible first sign of depression, we stop taking care of ourselves, our bodies,

our homes. Then we stop taking care of relationships, work and everything

around us. We need the connection. To ourselves, to others, to nature. To life.

We are one. So let’s connect. Let’s look at everything from a conscious point

of view. Let’s grab our own hands and thank our bodies for being here, for

keeping us safe. Let’s promise our bodies to keep them safe, to take good care of

them. Let’s take a walk with Mother Nature and be grateful for the beauty,

oxygen and peace she provides. Let’s promise her to take better care of her, to

keep her clean and help her thrive and bloom. Let’s no longer close our eyes

to what’s happening to animals behind closed doors and promise the animal

kingdom to love and protect it. To not take advantage of it and do it no harm,

because animals are inhabitants of the earth, just like us. Because they feel fear

and pain, just like us. Let’s call our loved ones and tell them we love them and

need them, and promise them to be there, always. Let’s look at everything we

own, from the big, warm sweater we bury ourselves in when it’s cold to the

plant that’s adorning your living room. Let’s promise ourselves to wash and

water them carefully, so they can continue to warm and adorn. Let’s promise

ourselves and the world to be nice. To our mom, our neighbour, the mailman

and the waiter. Everyone.

Doing all this is self care in its purest form.

Because we are one.

“I wouldn’t have to teach my people to love themselves

if they weren’t taught to hate themselves first.”

– King Emare

We’ve been taught so many bad things over the years, the centuries. Things like it’s okay

to hate your body (actually, we need you to hate it so we can sell you crap), it’s ok to

poison your body with cigarettes and drugs and alcohol and food that’s making you sick

(actually, we need you to do that so we can sell you drugs), it’s okay to hate on others

(actually, please do, so we can use that hate as fuel to get what we want – power), it’s ok

to rape, torture and kill other species (actually, we need to do that so we can make quick

and easy money), it’s better to succumb to the enormous pressure of being busy and

perfect than to live a calm, simple and happy life (actually, please have a mental

breakdown so we can prescribe some more drugs).

We are hurting others and by doing so we are hurting ourselves. Mother Nature gives us

life and we are tearing her down. We have the ability to heal ourselves, our body has the

ability to heal itself, but we are hurting it over and over and over again. This needs to

stop.

It is time to heal. It is our responsibility to break through this curse and heal not only our

kids, but ourselves and the people around us.

We need to love our bodies for being a vessel for what’s inside.

We need to take care of our bodies and stop poisoning them.

We need to love, respect and help the people around us.

We need to accept people for who they are, no matter their gender, sexual orientation,

beliefs or looks.

We need to be kind.

We need to support each other, always.

We need to support other women, let them know that they are amazing, that menstruating

is not ﬁlthy and that our bodies are ours and ours alone.

We need to support other men, let them know that they do not have to show aggression

and dominance to ‘be a man’, we need to tell them that it’s okay to cry. To feel.

We need to care for the earth and all it’s earthlings, stop hurting and exploiting them.

We need to hold space for calmness, simplicity, time to do nothing.

We need to stop the gloriﬁcation of busy.

We need to raise our kids with love, honesty, respect for everything around them, humility.

We need to tell our kids about consent.

We need to heal the earth.

We need to heal ourselves.

We need to heal our bodies.

We need to heal our minds.

We need to heal.

Let’s open the ﬂoodgates and pour out love over everything and everyone. Let’s stop

dancing to the tune of others, let’s start hearing our own tune and dancing to that. Let’s

put our hands on our hearts, feel the drum and let it guide us. We can only be what we

give ourselves the power to be. You have power. I have power. We can do this. Let’s start

with our actions and words.

“The words you speak are the house you live in.”

– Sadie Rose

Let’s build new houses.

The world is hurting, it has been hurting for too long. People are

hurting, the earth itself is hurting, animals are hurting. We have a

responsibility, you and me, to heal it, us, them. We have a responsibility to

care. Every single one of us knows struggle and I will not waste time

comparing one struggle to another, because every struggle is one and

needs care, healing. Focus on that, take care of yourself, heal yourself

so that you can heal the world. Please do whatever it takes to become

strong, rooted, so that you can spread light to the world.

And when you’re strong enough, I’m begging you… Help someone out.

Smile. Leave the meat for a day, or two. Meditate. Radiate love. Speak up

against violence, hate, fear, racism, sexism, speciesism.

I see all these rants online about Pokemon Go, how people are wasting

time playing while they could be educating themselves, protesting or

healing the world in whatever way they can… But we shouldn’t do that.

Because when you are ranting about people playing Pokemon Go, you

too are wasting time you could be spending better. Lighter. This game is

helping people with anxiety to go out and meet people, walk around, it

heals to some extend. We don’t know that so leave those people alone.

But if you read this, if you are ok, if you are strong and able to bring

light, even in the simplest of ways, then please… please do it. Bring light. It

is our responsibility to do so. We need to focus on love, support each

other, be nice to each other, stop judging others based on appearance,

sexuality and all those other things that do not matter if we ever want

this world to become a better place. Let’s hold each other’s hands no

matter what story sticks to our soul, no matter what is wrapped around

our bones and judge what is really hurting the world.

A body shape or an outfit that doesn’t fit your taste doesn’t hurt the

world. A woman’s nipple does not hurt the world. Being gay does not

hurt the world. The endless judging does. Racism does. Sexism does. Hate

does. It is our responsibility to drive those demons we let loose back

into their cages and burn them to the ground. It is our responsibility to

stand up. To care. To protect. To defend. To heal. To love. To rise above the

hateful fire that is scorching the earth and extinguish it with our tears

of compassion. Be kind. Live kind.

Spread light. Please. The world needs it.

LIVING A HAPPY LIFE

Ugh, so many responsibilities. Okay, last one. It is your responsibility to allow yourself to

live a happy life. In order to do so, a few things need to change. !

Stop being mad at yourself for three hundred and forty-six reasons. Stop feeling guilty

about practically every breath you take. Stop being ashamed of the space you take up.

Stop hating your own body. Allow yourself to really enjoy your life, the littlest things. Talk

about your blessings more than you talk about your burdens. It’s all about focus. I’m not

saying ignore the burdens, but try acting upon them instead of talking about them. Live.

Exist. Listen. Focus. Stop beating life and your happiness down with endless arguments

about what’s going wrong. There is a lot going right, you know.!

But also, do talk about the burdens if you need to. Do it with the right people. The ones

we talked about earlier in this book. !

It is okay. You are okay. You are enough. You are amazing. Maybe afﬁrmations work for

you, maybe they don’t, but believe in yourself. The good and the bad. The light and the

dark. !

Stop thinking that your life is not a happy life because you feel sad every once in a while.

Stop thinking that a bad morning, a bad day or a bad week ruins everything. It does not.

You can always, always start over. Let there be room for every aspect of you.

“You are enough. You are so enough. It is unbelievable

how enough you are.”!

- Sierra Bogges

No, we’re not always at our prettiest, we’re not always super happy and conﬁdent. We are

not always concerned with everything and everyone around us, we’re not doing only the

exciting stuff. We are not fairy tales, we are real people. You and me. With ups and

downs. But you know what? I don’t want to be a fairy tale. I want to be real. Imagine being

a fairy tale, everything would have to be perfect all the time. How exhausting! No, I am

not perfect, but I am good enough the way I am. Just like you. Our lives are good enough.

We can live a happy life anytime we want. We just need to choose to do so every

morning. Heck, maybe twice a day. !

We need to learn that life isn’t meant to be perfect, and that knowing this is actually pretty

nice. We need to allow ourselves to love every raw part of life. Every bit. Happiness is

kind of a living and breathing thing, it’s not some strictly-deﬁned thing we can control. It’s

like the ﬂow of the ocean, it comes and goes but it’s always there. Somewhere. While

writing this I am not in the best place ever. I’m overworked, overwhelmed by life and I

have sought help to deal with this. Panic attacks and random crying are part of the deal. !

I could blame myself for all this and be mad at myself and beat myself up for this. And

sometimes I do. I could also think ‘omg I’m so unhappy, such a crappy life I have’. I don’t.

Because it’s not true. My life is not crappy, I am just feeling crappy right now. Life is great,

you know? The sun rises every day, we get to choose our paths every day. We need to

allow ourselves to accept this truth and live by it. Tattoo it on the palms of our hands, like

God has written our names on his. !

Allow yourself to fall down when life hits you hard. Allow yourself to be happy anyway. Roll

around in the dirt you fell in and enjoy it. And then stand up. Take another step. Maybe

slip again. Laugh about it a little. Cry about it a lot. But in the end, always ﬁnd that centre

where you know happiness is not some perfect state of mind.

You yourself are not - and do not have to be - some strictly-deﬁned thing you can control

either. There is no need for that. You can be anything. There is no committee assigned to

review your manifest, and to be super disappointed and pissed when you change

something. Or when you cannot choose between certain things in life. It’s all okay and

living a happy life does not depend on continuity of opinions or characteristics. You can

be a hippie living in a van one year and a career-tiger the next. It doesn’t matter. You

know why it doesn’t matter? You are free! If that isn’t happiness I don’t know what is. You

have a choice. Always.

I have a feeling that the things I wrote about in the ﬁrst two sections of this book will help

you live a happy life, (why else would I write this book) but always remember that it’s not a

strictly-deﬁned thing. It doesn’t have rules. It cannot be ruined by a bad day. It will always

be there, somewhere. Even if you experience certain boundaries. Even if you can’t see it

for a while. !

Place your hand on your heart.

Just do it. Now close your eyes,

lift your chin a little and smile.

Just lightly is ok. Feel. Breathe. Be.

You are here, you are loved and

all will be well.