Tag Archives: a heart for you

Hold hands

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The birds went silent and the children at the Kindergarten downstairs started crying in unison. I knew then Donald Trump was elected for president…

And so I also knew this could be the beginning of a very dark, if not pitch black, period. My first reaction was this:

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But I also knew I have a choice – like all those Americans had a choice although something went horribly awry there… And there was my drive! My drive to not give in nor up. My drive to stay on the positive route and know that I, and we all, can make this world a better place, with or without Trump. After 30 minutes of freaking out, ranting and feeling like the world had gone under due to a massive nuclear attack, the light inside me took over again.

So from now on here’s a few things I’m gonna do. And they may sound silly and small and naive, but it’s about the drive remember.

1) after I’ve finished this piece, I will not mention Trump ever again, nor invest any energy in frustrating over the  – let’s face it – dumb-ass mistake the Americans made on November 8th 2016.
2) I will focus on all that is good, beautiful and positive in my life and in the world.
3) I will keep adding positive input into this world.
4) I will work hard on establishing my new, re-born start-up, Confetti In Your Face (more on that real soon!). My work as a happy-maker will continue and grow and I will make products and create stories that feed happiness and compassion even if it seems impossible.
5) I will keep on believing we have the power to make a U-turn for the positive – as long as we unite and join forces, no matter the distances between us, the language barriers, differences in religion, etcetera.

In fact I’ve never felt more strong about my mission to make this world a happy place full of compassion. So thank you Donald Trump, for lighting up that flame inside me: it’s a fire now! Another ‘thank you’ to Donald Trump, for creating the necessity for me and so many others to feel strong about our missions and the knowing that love is all we need.
Maybe in a next life you’ll understand this, too, Donald.

So how are you and me able to keep on moving forward and what can we learn from Trump? Well, if – like me – you want to change the world into a beautiful, sustainable and happy place, don’t distance yourself from society to hug trees. You’re not helping anyone with that. Best thing to do is continue to live your life the positive way. That way you’ll show how it can be done too, that way people may be inspired – affected even? – by it; remember that for some positivity, good will and compassion are just things they never learned. So keep acting out of compassion, keep recycling paper, glass and plastic, keep on believing. And so on. And as for the learning-from-Trump aspect: clearly, if you stand up for your believes and make yourself heard, you will reach people. Trump did… So instead of shying away from sharing your hopes and believes, make them known. Instead of shying away from showing your compassionate self, act out of compassion.

As long as we do so, as long as we hold each other’s hands, listen to our hearts and keep listening to each other, we can make that U-turn. What’s your next act of compassion?

I made this heart for all of you as part of my #aheartaday challenge. I hope it will help you find the bright side of life again and the will to continue to act out of goodness, love and compassion.

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A Heart A Day #45

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Confetti is one of the happiest things on the planet and I love making it. Thinking of confetti as “a mess” is not in my system – when people bring that on as a reason not to sprinkle confetti, my brain just suffers a little black out… Confetti can, in at least 97% of the cases, brighten up my day. Now today did not need brightening up for me, but maybe someone’s out there who may need some cheer! Here you go, a home-made-confetti heart, I hope this helps :-) 

  

A Heart A Day #42

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Today, September 21st, is International Day of Peace. My heart of today is dedicated to this wondrous day. 

Peace, peace, peace…writing it down is so easy. Saying or reading it multiple times and it becomes a weird word, like all words that are said or written a lot of times in a row. But somehow, to me, with the word ‘peace’ this seems the case: the weirder it feels, the better it suits. 

  
So many fires are burning at the moment, so much hatred and frustration and miscommunication scattered around in the world. What is peace these days? Well…peace is a general concept, but sadly not available to all. What does peace look like? I guess my country is living “in peace” at the moment, but that doesn’t mean this country is Heaven on Earth. On the contrary. The tension is high, hatred simmers underneath the surface. Lambs and lions don’t play together. 

In other countries, of which we all can say that there is no peace at the moment, the concept of peace is just that: a concept. There is no time for exchanging thoughts on peace, just for surviving. 

So you see, I think overall ‘peace’ is complex. But it is non the less important. Important to think about, talk about, spend time trying to create small-scale peace. Maybe in your neighbourhood. Not just for one day though. Every day. Peace definitely needs effort, from all of us. 

For me peace means ‘a judgement-free world in which we live side by side, all of us equal to one another’. What does it mean to you?

Self-love September

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September is a month I’m very excited about! As it turns out September is the month of Self Love.

Self Love is my life’s quest.

From pulling my hair when I was not older than 4 or 5 – because I had told myself Tess was a boy’s name – to an eating disorder between the age of 11 and 22. And frankly, everything in between. I’ve always told myself

  • I don’t deserve love
  • I’m not pretty enough
  • nobody likes me, let alone will ever love me
  • I’m too fat, too short, too boring, too weird, too sensitive.

And that is just the top of the list. I have hated myself dearly. Very dearly indeed.

Change came. At some point. The realisation that you can’t search for love outside yourself, if there isn’t any inside of you. Baby step after baby step. But boy, I’ve grown! I’m surely not completely there yet, but I’m on the move. And I know where I’m heading to.

Two years ago I decided to start writing a book about self-love. A journey, literally. I quit, then continued, quit again. But at the start of 2016 I realised this is the journey I want to continue. I’m gonna take my time, it may take some time before you’ll see the result. But I came to realise that I’m an actual expert on this topic, not by study but by experience. So why would I keep telling myself I wasn’t good enough?

It’s gonna be an epic journey, a big part of my quest. I wish that anyone suffering from self-hate and related issues, will find a companion in my book. In due time…

As Self-love September is now upon us, I simply wish that anyone suffering from self-hate in whatever form has someone to reach out to, has the stamina to continue the journey along the bumpy road to Self Love. For me there’s no way back and I know if I can walk this road, so can you. Let’s make this month a powerful one!

If you have any thoughts, if you want to share a piece of your Self Love journey – do feel free to get in touch via the contact-form on the About-page or via social media. Or share this blog, to let more people know about #selfloveseptember!

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For you.

A Heart A Day – Major catch-up, part one

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Here’s a major catch-up, part one; hearts 24 – 32. And I realise I’ll still be behind, as today should be day #36 of my challenge. Do I have a good excuses for this delay? Well, yes. I got food poisoning… When I was finally back on track I did pick up continuing making hearts, but simply didn’t get round to posting them. Life is what happened :-) But once I’ve caught up, I’ll be determined to pick up where I was, as creating a heart a day is the best challenge! The focus I now have on self-compassion and compassion towards others is what I was looking for. It triggers my brain every day!

So here we go, 9 hearts as catch-up part one. Descriptions underneath each photo.

 

24

#24 – my ode to food poisoning, as sea fruits were the cause of it all. Took me a couple of days before I could look at shells and create this heart ;-)

28

#28 – you have to look closely to find the banana-candy heart. Inspired by the colours of the picture underneath which I took while baby-sitting.

29

#29 – KISS MORE! Inspired by a good week for kissing ;-)

30

#30 – my flower heart as an apology to you. Sorry I kept you waiting for more hearts…

With love,

Tess

PS: Have you created or spotted a heart this week? Share it with me! Use #aheartaday and social media may overflow with hearts…

[I love love and I love hearts! But oh, this world needs more visible love. So let’s change that, step by step. Away with pessimism. Away with hate. Let’s fill this world with love. And hearts! To show compassion towards each other, towards the planet, towards ourselves. It proves to be difficult for so many of us. But instead of judging it’s more meaningful to show love, to respond with love, to act out of love. Say it with hearts.
So I’m sharing A Heart A Day. Every day I will draw, stitch, paint or otherwise create a heart and post it on this blog. Will you help me make love and hearts spread like a contagious but healthy disease?]