THE WORK YOU’RE DOING MATTERS

You are doing work today that matters.
The work you are doing right now will matter in the days, weeks, and years to come.
The work that you are doing today to practice peace right where you are,
to cultivate gratitude amid the unknowns,
and to pace yourself in a rushed world is all beautiful work that is worth acknowledging.

When it comes to the inner work you are doing, there might be times where you feel like you're not doing very much. You might just feel like you're one droplet of rain among millions and your impact doesn't matter very much. But I hope you can remember what happens when that one tiny droplet of rain hits a lake of water. I hope you can remember the ripple effects it causes. All of the little things you're doing today have so much more impact than you may realize.

Here are some little things you might be doing today that you might not even realize have a great impact on who you are becoming:

You're taking more naps
You're listening to encouraging music
You're educating yourself
You're reading more
You're establishing boundaries
You're letting yourself say "no" and learning to not feel bad about it
You're noticing how you react differently to things than how you used to react a year ago
You're making adjustments to your schedule
You're focusing on your priorities
You're taking time to do nothing at all
You're making room in your life for flowers, poetry, candles -- whatever it is that makes you feel soft, gentle, and free to just be

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This list is only the beginning and I hope that something here speaks to you. I hope that there was at least one thing on this list that made you think, "yep, that's me!" Or, something on this list made you think of something else that has changed for the better in your life.

All of these little things are just one little particle of your raindrop falling into that lake. Upon quick observation, it is so small, but the closer you look, you will find that the raindrop is not small at all and it makes a difference.

So let yourself be the little raindrop that you are today. Let yourself fall into a rhythm of all the little things that remind you: "Even here, there is still so much hope for love, peace, and joy to grow in this life."

From the inside out, you are doing beautiful work in this season that is worth acknowledging. No matter how small. If no one else has said it recently: I am proud of you. I am proud of you for committing to being present to this chapter in your story. I am proud of you for choosing to breathe deep and welcome the grace. There is so much more ahead and your faithfulness here matters.

Word of the Day: Inner (adj) "situated farther in" (Merriam Webster)
Affirmation: I am proud of myself.
Journal: What is one small, good thing you are doing right now that you hope will have a ripple effect later on in life?

More in this week's series called "Hope Right Here", only with a subscription in the Storyteller App.

Sincerely,
Morgan Harper Nichols
@thestorytellerco
@morganharpernichols