You are valuable.

Hey friends!

I hope this greets you well and loved. 

I have been feeling a pressing in my heart lately to send some love to young women. It's a broad group, and it may even include you. 

In my line of work (social services working with at-risk youth), I come across far too many young women who don't know that they have value. They have mostly identified worth with outer appearances, and spend a great deal of time worrying about how they are perceived and interpreted by others. While many people spend their whole lives concerned about what others think of them, to varying degrees, there is an abundance of young girls who are losing themselves in the quest to be what others want. 

They have lost their sense of self, and have virtually no idea that they are valuable. 

photo cred EinnaEsor

There are many things that could be said about this topic, but the fact of the matter is, it's up to us to start building up and encouraging the young women of the world. They need to know they have worth and value that far exceeds what they look like, the way that they talk, or even what their test scores are. 

The aftermath of this lack of esteem, this lack of worth, can take on so many forms: depression and anxiety, self-mutilation, drug and alcohol abuse,  isolation, even falling into sex trafficking. While these may sound extreme to some of you, it's nearly the entire population of young women that I work with every single day. It's the girl serving your dinner, it's the girl pushing a stroller, it's the girl on the corner... Have you seen her? 

Take some time this week to purposefully send some love and care to young women who do not know their own incredible worth. 

And if you're faced with an opportunity to encourage a young girl, or a young woman, talk not of her appearance, but of her character and her heart. 

(Really fantastic article here challenging how we think about talking to young girls.)

hugs and loves to you and yours this week

sarah d. 

sleeping in the snow

Good evening fellow loves!

I hope and pray you are well and blessed on this chilly and snowy evening.

I was lucky enough to be able to sneak away from work early and go visit an old friend while she cut my hair. When I emerged with my new locks, there was snow everywhere! Where did that come from?! Well, I guess it is February in Canada afterall... should be expected. 

And here I sit in my cozy living room looking out my big window at the fluffy white stuff that is falling. The heat in my house keeps popping on, as it's an old house and doesn't seem to keep the warmth in very well. (Or maybe it doesn't keep the cold out...) In any case, it got me thinking.. where are all the people that don't have a home going to sleep tonight?

If you're curious, there is a lot of valuable information on homelessness in Canada on this wiki site. There are many misconceptions about the homeless population in regards to mental health, opportunities available to them, and using the shelter system. The wiki site covers the basics and can enlighten you to a few things. 

photo cred 2bitphoto 

Regardless of all the reasons why and why not, who and who not.. it's snowing, and it's cold, and I worry about the people, young and old, who don't have a home to go to tonight. The people who don't have a roof and some walls tonight. 

I only played with my dog in the backyard tonight rather than going for a walk, because it's cold and snowing and kind of miserable out there. I can't imagine facing that as well as the question, 'where am I going to sleep tonight?'

Would you send some love their way with me this week?

I am sending thoughts of

Warmth. 

Friends. 

Hope. 

Soup.

Home. 

Love. 

hugs and loves to you friends, 

sarah d.  

study study!!

Good evening team-love!!

My husband is diligently studying his way through his Computer Science degree and I'm very proud of how hard he is working. He is busting his butt spending hours and hours outside of class time studying, learning and computing. He's pulling in some really fantastic grades, and it's definitely because of how he loves his program and how hard he is studying. 

image found at http://www.unexpressedthoughts.com/

So while this is a shorter blog, it's an important one. The minds of the future that will be supporting us all are working hard in classes right now and need our happy thoughts and support. They have families and friends who likely miss them from time to time when they are buried under piles and piles of books!!

hugs and loves

sarah d.

Mom, Momma, Mother, Mum

Good afternoon you sweet-senders-of-love!

I trust you have been well and that while you've been sending love out to others, you have also been receiving lots of loves too!

Now, onto the subject of the day:

1) My parents are at that retirement-age, and have decided that they like spending about a month out of the year down in Mexico when it's cold up here in Canada. They golf, they walk the beach, they have lots of dinner parties with people that have become close friends and they decompress. They left this week.

2) I'm very close with my mum, and especially with the passing of my brother many years ago, we stay in very close contact. In fact, on my way to work every morning, I use that lovely little Bluetooth-y thing in my car and give her call. It's hard with them being in Ontario, and me here in Alberta, but we do our best.

1 + 2 = me having a hard time cuz I can't call my mum every morning and debrief life with her!! :(

Especially since getting married, I value my mum more and more as she supports me through the trials and tribulations of committed-long-term-relationship stuff. And my mum does not beat around the bush! It's straight to the point whether I want to hear it or not, and frankly, even though it's hard to hear sometimes, I really appreciate it.

• She'll kill me for posting that first pic, but you know what, it's already on facebook, so what're ya gonna do?! haha 
• The second is from my cousin's wedding nearly a decade ago. 
• The third is when my mum and I went and got tattoo's together!! (The artist, once finished, said, 'There you go, now you're a bad-ass mom!') 
• The last pic is from my wedding nearly two years ago. One of my favorite memories was sitting with mum and talking in the bedroom before the madness and partying began. 

I've been through the gamut with my mum and am blessed to have her in my life and to consider her my dearest supporter, teacher, confidant and guide.
(I adamantly did not use the word friend, as while I'm close to my mum the way I am with my closest friends, she is of a different status altogether in my life, and I need her there. I have lots of friends, I only have one mum.)


I realize that all of us have different kinds of relationships with our mothers, or people who play the role of mother in our lives. But, I hope and pray that whomever you consider 'mom', you love and appreciate her and the role she plays in your life.

I also know that some of you may have been hurt by your moms through her words or actions. For you, I'm sorry. I hope you are supported, loved and adored by other people in your life so that there is no hole to fill.

We all have a different story.
We all have a mom.
Let's send them some love.

hugs
sarah d.

dear old friends

Hey team, 

I trust everyone is well and sending their happy vibes out into the universe! ;)

This week will be a more personal post.

I spent some time in one of the greatest cities in the world, Hamilton, ON, and loved living there. One of the biggest reasons I loved it there so much was the people. I met and spent time with people that cared about community, love, growing, and supporting each other. Some of those people were whole families, some were work friends, and others were just individuals that had the biggest hearts. 

I learned recently that one of my dear friends from Hamilton is facing a challenging battle right now. His name is Eric, and he was just diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia. Eric was one of the very first people I met when I arrived in Hamilton. It was a few days later when we found ourselves playing music together in a church band that I realized this guy was really fantastic. Afterwards, as happens, a group of us went out for a bite and I really enjoyed getting to know this man I would shortly thereafter think of as my brother. In time I was adopted by his family - his little sister is now my little sister, I've played music with one of his older brothers, I've had many wonderful conversations with his oldest brother, and I adore and respect his parents for who they are and how they've supported their children, their friends, and even me. 

When I heard the news, I was thrown. One of my first sentences was, 'Where did THAT come from?!' To learn that there isn't even a family history of it really frustrated me. I've supported people through their battles with cancer before, but for some reason, this time it finally hit me - cancer has no prejudice. None.  

That's Eric, in the light blue t-shirt. (And that's another friend Dan, love that guy!) We were having a Boccee Ball tournament and got to goofing around. These two weirdos thought it would be fun to see if they could do a flying horizontal kick at each other's chests. I managed to capture it with my camera. We were falling all over the place with laughter the whole afternoon at silliness, and this moment was no exception. 

That's my friend. 
He's a husband, a brother, a son, a friend, and a believer in all things good. 

I know you have a friend that has gotten terrible news. And if not a friend, a family member, a co-worker, or someone you grew up with... someone you care about. Someone who has a family that you think about and wonder how they're holding up. 

Will you please join me in sending some love to Eric and his family?

And let's send some love to all of your friends/family/co-workers/old friends who have received terrible news too. 

May they be blessed. 

Held. 

Cared for. 

Laughed with. 

Encouraged. 

Listened to. 

Fed. 

Given peace. 

Healed. 

May they be loved. 

hugs

sarah d.

thinkthinkthinkbadthoughtsthink

Good evening friends, 

Two things to cover in this blog, and they conveniently coincide.

Number 1: My resolutions. 

I'm the kind of person who loves to learn and grow all of the time. And so, I look fondly on new years resolutions as an opportunity to refocus my energy and get specific again about areas I'd like to see growth. Over the years, I've found it increasingly important to create reasonable and measurable goals. So, here they are, and of course, there is always room for additions:

Move for 20 minutes a day, 5 days a week.

Eat in a way that my body and mind will be healthiest.

"Act the way I want to feel." (Thanks to Gretchen Rubin for that one!)

Blog once a week.
Get someone to smile every day. (Bonus points for laughter!)

Do something musical once a week. (Writing, practicing, researching artists, etc.)

Listen better. Listen more. (I don't ALWAYS have to add something.)

Nearly two weeks into January, and I'm going strong. Another thing I've learned over time is that with most things, when I drop the ball and make a mistake, I don't simply give up and walk away. I start again, sometimes immediately, sometimes the next morning, but I keep trying. And so onward and upward I go!

Number 2: Negative thoughts.

All that said, I still struggle with negative thoughts.. I have an 'editor' - that little crappy voice in my head who tells me I can't, I won't, I'll fail, there's no way I'll ever... Do you have an 'editor'? Through years of practice, I've learned to acknowledge and silence mine with relative ease. (However, there are times when I'm extremely thankful for a patient husband who helps me with my sometimes skewed perspective.) 

photo cred: Olivia Napoli

Bad thoughts can be like the birds in this image, and peck away at us until we have only struggle and frustration left. There's pages and pages more that can be said about what life looks like for people drowning with negative thoughts... but I think we can all empathize and agree that it's awful and tiring. 

This week, while I am intent on growing and being more positive, I will send my positivity outwards. I will focus on breathing in the dark, ugly, hard stuff that people are facing every day; and I will breathe out the light, positive, beautiful breath that we all need to be joyful. 

Will you join me in simply loving those that are being berated with hard and bad thoughts? We could all use a little help from time to time. 

hugs

sarah d. 

xo

where did the time go...?

Hello dear ones,

I have no concrete reason as to why I've been away from 'love simply.' Time just got away from me I guess, and other things took priority. In any case, I am going to make a concerted effort to make 'love simply.' a priority this year, as it helps me gain some needed perspective in the madness of daily life. 

Being that the new year is upon us, I'm drumming up some resolutions with the help of friends, a book I'm reading, and my heart. I'll post them once I've flushed them out a bit. 

Are you going to be working on anything in particular this year?

Until then, I feel compelled to send some love somewhere... Perhaps to everyone headed back to work after holidays. To be completely honest, I'm not looking forward to going back to work tomorrow. It's been a nice break, and I've been reminded of how much I'd like to work for myself. 

Let's send some joy and happiness to everyone going back to work after a break. 

May you feel excitement about seeing work-friends again.
May you be thankful for the structure that is returning to your daily life.
May you be blessed with many more opportunities to bring love and laughter into someone else's life.

Until we meet again,

sarah d.
xo.