I was driving home from hot yoga the other night, all sweaty and stinky, and was talking to my good pal on the phone. One of my favorite things. The service in Vermont is ridiculously spotty and I have at&t, so New England is not the place for me. We were both shouting at each other, hoping that the louder we yelled the greater the likelihood our voices would break through the dead zone. We both heard each other at the same time blaring “i love you”s from afar. I thought about that after and realized how illustrative this is of life in general. So spotty and random, connect and disconnect, but forever loud screams of “i love you”.

Valuing the ones you love is one of the greatest gifts you can give someone. It’s also the greatest gift you can give yourself. The most rewarding piece of being a human comes when you reach the point to simply say: i love you, always and always, and there’s nothing about me that doesn’t believe in you completely. It took me quite a long time to learn this about humanity. I was always desperately afraid to speak affirmation into someone for fear they would abandon me due to my blunt love. Then I grew up, I experienced life and people to their highest and lowest capacity; and I learned that the value doesn’t come from something but instead from a solidified and sacred identity, found in everyone. Which is why people are the same at their worst and at their best. Trapped and boggled, light and fluffy, but always the same: an establishment of love. Seeing that first and centered in any circumstance allows bravery to flow, air to grow lighter, and life to become more joyful. Celebrate your people. They are one of the best gifts in this life.