grief needs beauty // thoughts and encouragement for the coronavirus

Happy Monday friends... I hope that this little space finds you doing well... safe... and peaceful.

Over the last few weeks I have struggled to know how to best address the present situation that our world and now our country finds itself in. As I work as the Director of International Students at a High School this situation has been deeply affecting my students, their countries, and their loved ones for months now and I (like so many in my position) have tried to be a safe space in the midst of this scary and unknown times. It has been devastating to watch and I just have tried to love my precious students as best as I can in the midst of the processing and decisions. Sometimes it has been through simple things like adding comfortable pillows to the chairs in my office and room or just listening but often times I have walked away wishing I could do so much more. It truly is a helpless feeling.

As you can also imagine, here in this space with my blog and brand, this has been a struggle because of the way that the travel industry has been so affected, which in turn has affected my blog business. Like so many others who are bloggers, this has truly affected us in different ways and due to my personal decisions I decided on our New England Winter Road Trip (that we took prior to the Coronavirus coming to our north eastern area) that I would cancel plans for further travel indefinitely. 

With the understanding of so many collaborations I broke contracts and made this decision not only for myself (as I am immune compromised after so many years of being sick and fighting for my life and health) but for my loved ones and those that I don't even know. 

If you are not in this business you may not understand what this means, but suffice it to say that as a small business owner this has a long lasting impact on many areas, and like others this has been devastating for my business. I love traveling and I love sharing ways that you can travel affordably while enjoying cozy luxury and I hope that one day soon we can all go back to this. 

At the same time though I am not only optimistic that we will be able to travel again, but I am optimistic that we as a world will not only recover, but hopeful that we can use this time to become better people. That we can learn and grow in new ways and see beyond our own needs and see the needs of others in our everyday lives.

Like so many of you I have been so grateful for the inspiring stories of people who are purposefully helping others, for those in the medical field that are giving so much of themselves, those in the educational fields that are going above and beyond to help students during this time, and my counterparts of other international directors and assistants trying our best to keep up with so many behind the scenes details all hours of the night while working to support and love the best way we can the ones in front of us. 

To each of us... no matter what our job might be, I am most inspired by those who are choosing to love (those whom you know and those whom you may not) and share beauty during this time.

I have received so many messages from this beautiful community saying that you enjoy the beautiful pictures that I post... especially during this devastating time in our world. My heart has been truly touched by your sweet words and I truly appreciate all of your love and support. I hope and pray that on the blog and on social media that I can be an encouraging spot during this incredibly difficult, messy, and complicated time that we are walking through. Not in a way that ignores the plight of what is going on, but in a way that brings beauty and light to the darkness. 

I shared this quote that I had read a few weeks ago and it truly resonates with me now in the present in new ways. "Grief needs beauty... getting better needs beauty... ugliness needs beauty..."

Our world truly needs beauty and light in the dark and I hope and pray that during this time you continue to find that in this space.

Beauty will save the world. 

// Fyodor Dostotevsky //

"For you have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling; I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living."

-Psalm 116:8-9-