Words.

My beautiful friend Libby took this photo of me several years ago and I have never shared it. I am sharing now because I love how she captures humans without using a single word. Check out her wonderful work here.

I have a fascination with words. I read a lot, and every once in a while, a sentence stops me in my tracks with its brilliance. Words can move us—to act, to change, to see differently.

For many years, I’ve written love letters to myself so I can find the power in my own words. Today, I want to share a few that have helped me lately.

I have to admit, I’m a little late to the party in watching the series 1923. At times, it’s hard to watch—knowing some of it reflects the painful realities of the early 1920s, especially for Indigenous people forced from their land by people who looked like me. And yet, the series holds such powerful lines that I often had to pause the show just to let them settle into my heart.

So… here goes. Here are some words that moved me to share.

“Live life as if you have never lived.”
I love this so much.

I am so lucky—I get to see my grandkids often. Watching little ones experience life for the first time is pure magic. Seeing my granddaughter taste something new… watching my grandson find absolute bliss in learning how to use a measuring tape… it’s medicine for my soul.

If you don’t have littles in your life, go sit in a park and watch them. Truly. It will teach you a new way to move through the world—with wonder, curiosity, and presence.

“There are only three answers to a prayer: yes, not now, and I have a better idea.”
This one hit me hard.

I’ve been doing a lot of praying lately and this feels so true. It’s a simple reminder that we are not in control. That’s not always easy to accept—but I’m learning to hold it with an open heart.

“You have to take what life tosses at you.”
Amen and amen.

Life brings things that shake us to our core—betrayal from someone you trusted, health struggles you never saw coming for yourself or a loved one, pain you never signed up for.

But here’s the truth: you do have what it takes to handle it.

I’m digging deep right now—looking for grit and grace in equal measure. What I’m learning is this: you find a way forward. No matter what.

And oddly enough, watching 1923 reminds me—I don’t know anything about real hardship in the way those characters do. No one is trying to shoot me when I ride into town. (Thank goodness.)

But it’s also stirring something in me—a desire for more adventure, more risk. Because that’s another way we learn to trust ourselves.

More on that soon… as I step into a few things that honestly scare me a little.

“When you lie down with dogs, you stand up with fleas.”
You become the people you spend time with.

And I am so very lucky. I have incredible friends and family. The love and support in my life can bring me to tears.

Surround yourself with people who lift you up. Who share your values. Who take your calls. Who hold your stories gently and keep them safe.

“He had bigger mosquitoes to swat.”
This one comes from my writer friend Scott Gould, whose work is full of humanity and truth.

I laughed out loud when I read it. And it’s such a great reminder:
How important is it, really?

“Bless them. Change me.”
This one is hard.

When someone hurts or disappoints you, it’s a powerful reminder to focus on what you can control—your own heart, your own response.

“All hat, no cattle.”
This is a phrase I learned from someone raised in Texas—and it has stayed with me.

It comforts me, especially in a world where appearances can be so misleading. Social media makes it easy to believe everyone else has more, does more, is more.

I’ve never lived beyond my means, and that has served me well. I live simply—and while I know I have a lot by many standards, I try not to take that for granted.

I’ve also seen people work hard to look like something that isn’t true. And I hold compassion for that. The world nudges us in that direction.

But in the end, things are just things.

Beauty. Kindness. A life well lived.
That’s what matters.

The other day, my grandson watched Paw Patrol for a bit at my house. After I turned it off, he went to the toy closet and started playing—with imagination alone—turning simple, hand-me-down figures into his own Paw Patrol world.

I loved him so much in that moment.

He didn’t need more to create joy.

Be like that.

(And yes… I still ordered him a Paw Patrol toy. I’m human.)

So that’s my ramble on this beautiful day.

I love you all madly. Thanks for reading my rambles and for reaching out to me whenever my words land in your heart. Those texts and calls to me mean a lot. OX