BIG Ideas • small words vol. III

November needs a rebrand!

A month filled with so much color and celebration, so much gratitude and grace, starts with the word NO. It struck me that I had not seen it before, and now, like all growth in life, I can not unsee it!

The word “No” is not the villain of the story, just as the word “Yes” does not solely provide enlightenment. Certainly, saying "No" to situations that do not serve you and to people who do not bring out the best in you can provide powerful personal growth. And, by the same token, an obligatory or perfunctory "Yes" can often put more pressure and stress on us than necessary. It’s a simple yet profound truth: we thrive most when we learn to embrace the duality within our lives. So I decided to dig deeper and explore what KEY it could unlock for me and for my Next Chapter community.

At an early age, I was bitten with the Storytelling bug. Immersing myself in a good fairy tale or classic novel captivated me. Similar to other times when I wonder and ponder, I went back to early childhood. As a young girl, the stories on the page seemed whimsical and nonsensical. Getting lost in the stories gave me a license to dream bigger. That essence has stuck with me today. Little did I know that pages of early novels I read would lead me to personal growth and development during this stage of life. Now that I am not so young, I still hold a deep admiration for classic characters, such as Alice in Wonderland, who demonstrate the duality we all exist within.

In this classic novel, Mirrors reflect identity, but they also distort it. Just as Alice is forced to look inward, we find ourselves asking, "Who am I, really?" During each stage of life, we are confronted with shifting identities. Alice through the Looking Glass is a nonsensical world, thus demonstrating how confusing change can be. My favorite character, The Queen, remarks, "Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast," truly celebrating imagination over rationality.

It occurred to me that in this story - just as in life - it’s about learning to hold, and to love the duality in life. By choosing to live in a world with "BOTH / AND" rather than "either / or" we demonstrate the power of the Paradox. Alice’s self-assurance in a world of madness shows agency within confusion. Her story can serve as a model for how we navigate the paradoxes of adulthood as we strive for our own independence and identity.

Looking at this reflection and introspection as a fluid process and not a fixed one, we begin to embrace the experiences as necessary for our own personal evolution.

Similar to Alice, we all have it in us to unlock the magical message intended for us. I wholeheartedly believe that little by little, small steps can become big realizations. A true  epiphany is not illusive, but rather is innate in each one of us. Continuing my Big Ideas with Small Words theme, I have included more of my Big & Small Collection for your own wondering and pondering. I hope you will feel inspired to look deeper, through the keyhole to your world, and to find the Little things that mean a lot!