This shiny soul. 😍

Last week, Calista (age 9) came home from the bus stop, hobbling through the door with one shoe on. I could tell she had been crying.

My mama-bear instinct kicked in, “Oh no. Are you okay?”

She extended out her arm, holding her other shoe in hand, and showed me a fat little caterpillar curled up inside of it.

With a mixture of sadness and hope, she recounted the story of how she noticed the poor little guy on the sidewalk. He was covered in hundred of ants, barely hanging to his life.

As can be the tendency of a tender-soul witnessing any form of suffering (no matter how trivial it may be perceived by some), she told me that she immediately started crying and then went to work to pick him up and begin the tedious process of removing all of the ants from him, one by one.

Her intention of bringing him home was to save him. I knew he wasn’t going to make it, but I helped her make a little home for him so that he could spend his final moments being loved.

She’s always been a sensitive soul.

At times, well-meaning friends and family have observed this tendency and offered their version of: “It’s a tough world. She needs to toughen up or she’ll get eaten up alive out there.” I get their concern. But, the world has enough hardened hearts. What the world needs is more who are willing to keep their hearts open and be love. ❤️

I know that being so open and feeling so deeply can leave us vulnerable, but I always tell her that she is absolutely perfect and whole and complete just the way she is. Her empathy and compassion are a tremendous gift — both to herself and the world.

I would never make her feel any shame or concern around this. It’s my job, instead, to teach her how to shield herself and ground herself while also remaining open to feeling so deeply. And, as I teach her, I learn more about how to do this for myself.

You see, I too am a sensitive soul, but didn’t make this distinguishment until much later in life. I spent my childhood as the quiet “good girl.” Staying in the background was my protection mechanism. I spent most of my 20’s working really hard and partying even harder as a way to distract myself from having to feel so deeply.

However, in my 30’s, I finally came “home” and went on a deep journey of introspection. I traded in the late-night parties for early morning yoga sessions, the vodka for green juice, and the numbing for feeling. Really feeling. And, the growth, expansion and “coming alive” I have experienced in my life has been an incredible journey and nothing short of miraculous. I turned 40 this past January and I know this next decade will bring even more ascension, and I am called to share more of that journey.

In a world that was spoon-fed false beliefs such as “emotions are weakness” “you need to ‘man’ up” “don’t let them see you cry” “calm down” — it’s time to change the narrative. Emotions are strength. Feelings are wisdom. Empathy and emotional intelligence are the new currency.

We need more people to stand proud in their truth. At our core, we are love. When tapped into this divine essence, there is nothing else to feel but love and compassion. Why try to twist perfection?🤷‍♀️

It’s okay to wear you heart on your sleeve. It’s okay to feel. You should never feel the need to hide what you’re truly feeling. ❤️❤️

And, to finish the story, shortly after, we picked up little sister Delilah (age 4) from Montessori school. She was told the story of the caterpillar. When we got home, she wanted to see him, so we went to the box. And … it was dead. She immediately burst into tears – inconsolable for a few minutes.

Another sensitive soul. It looks like I have my hands full. But, they both definitely picked the right mama. We’ve got this girls. We’ve got this. ❤️🙏😊