[author] [author_image timthumb=’on’][/author_image] [author_info]Jana Kemp’s multifaceted interests shine in Nesting. As an author, facilitator, community contributor, business owner, and parent, Jana watches for the ways in which we nest to create HOME and shares her discoveries in the blog Nesting.[/author_info] [/author]
In this season of coming together, when the nation of 2018 feels so divided and (as a friend in Chicago says…) when individuals feel helpless, hapless, hopeless…and homeless (says a friend in Boise), let us come together to find hope and joy. It is in us as individuals. Division can be overcome.
Yes, these days it takes effort to find the good, hopeful, and gracious in each day. Look. It can be found in the laughter of a child, the shoveling of a neighbor’s driveway, the gifting to strangers in need, in the Thanksgiving dinner taken to a friend with five broken ribs, and in many more places too. These moments of joy overcome division – if even for seconds at a time.
When we feel torn, divided, helpless, and hapless, nesting in our homes becomes even more important to saving our lives, our hearts, and our well-being. Remember that Nesting, as written about here, speaks to the objects and experiences that create a sense of home so that we can maintain health, find joy, and be productive during our days.
Nesting happens when we feel safe, are surrounded by people and objects that support us, our hopes, and our dreams. Division and helplessness occur when we are surrounded by people, activities, and objects that consume our energy, by people who think and speak from a state of confusion, and who focus on their circumstances rather than on the well-being of others as well as their own.
Become aware of the people around you. Are they helping you live well and with hope? Or, are they expressing hurt, hate, and unrest that brings you down? We each have the power to choose whom we invite into our lives, whom we keep close, and whom we release from our lives. Seek out and nurture relationships that bring you hope; that help you overcome division; and that support you and your-wellbeing.
This is the season of hope. Our nesting depends on overcoming division and seeking hope. Let us come together daily to find hope and joy. Let us Nest!