Little by little

Greetings!

Happy April! We are still on a roller coaster of weather this week, with snow, cold, wind, yet warmth on the horizon. Yesterday, I was feeling stuck in the low zone, in the cold, dark day of Tuesday. I worked on slowing down, showing compassion to myself, but also reaching out to a friend (Resourcing) to take small steps towards the Resilient Zone.

Small steps...Two weeks ago I decided to take a small step in trying something new-crocheting. I have never crocheted or knitted, and frankly didn't think I'd be much good at it. But I needed to try doing something creative with my hands instead of scrolling Facebook on my phone :D So I ordered two beginners crochet kits online (The Woobles | Learn to crochet kits for beginners) to make dinosaur and fox crocheted animals for my kids. The dinosaur came first-the process was slow, painful, and...lumpy. I was nervous to show Fred (that's the name of the dinosaur) to my son because I thought it wasn't very good. But when I gave Fred to my son, his face lit up-pure joy! He wanted to show everyone his dinosaur-the dinosaur made by his mom, just for him. What a reminder from this sweet boy-it wasn't about perfection, it was about an act of love.

The next one went better-the fox (or Foxy as my daughter calls her) was a little smoother. Stitch by stitch, it came into shape. I still messed up, had to start over, and it didn't look exactly like the picture, but it came into shape slowly but surely, round by round, as the yarn caught the next strand of yarn. Little by little, I learned something new, made it with love, and shared in my daughter's joy as she held it close.

I don't know if I will become a crochet expert. But I did it, remembered to give myself grace in the process, and that it wasn't about perfection at all-it was about love. I think this is how change happens in our world as well. Let's not get caught up in the big things-let's do small, loving things, right where we are.

Is there something you can do today, little by little, to spread some love, or embrace yourself with love? It may just be catching.

May we be safe, healthy, have joy, and live in peace.