Hi all,

An elder with a good sense of humor offered a teaching to me, but sincerely and in jest, last year that went something like this: 

there are four ways people respond to a request/invitation in this world:

they say yes, and mean yes.

they say no, and mean no.

they say no, and mean yes.

they say yes, and mean no.

Hearing her share that, I realized that my "no - yes" is very strong. In the past I've said that to many things I love, but perhaps an adolescent that still lives within me needs to react to---- from warm fuzzy music, to warm fuzzy blog posts, to invitations to gatherings, and beyond. I've also since felt my "no - yes" lift and begin to dawn into clearer yess-es and no's- each in their proper moments.

In that vain, some clear yes's in my life this February that were once no-yes's, at best:

A valentine (see the I <3 U ! ) - dolphin sculpted by an anonymous artist (simple words added by yours truly), on the beach in Florida last week:

A reminder from my mother to be exactly who you are, shamelessly. She bought this hat last weekend while I was with her and wore it proudly around town (note the feather, the bow, and the clashing fabrics, and that it is ~2feet in diameter)

Loving my own imperfection. [And a reminder from Mary Oliver to revel therein:

]

Imperfectly yours,

Aya