February 2026

Friends, this month invites us into the energy of the heart. My home state of Minnesota continues to teach me what peace looks like, and how it truly sustains our connections with each other, no matter the mess. How vulnerability unlocks our greatest gifts. How love is truly the answer to fear and doubt. How we are both individually and collectively powerful through our voices and art.

Art is a part of the body, and it evolves us in how we take care of ourselves. Every time I've gone to the gym this year, I feel weak and then I leave feeling a bit stronger, even though tired. After some off and on years in my life of overdoing exercise or work to replace the anxiousness inside of me, I've learned to give myself greater grace and patience: to flow with my heart. This has become even more nurturing now, knowing that rebuilding my legs after these past few years of health problems will take time. When I finish my squat sets, I am humbly reminded that revision is a part of everyday life, and giving ourselves space for grace allows growth in ways we cannot possibly see yet. It's that trust in our hearts, offering us a gentle nudge to the constant creation of ourselves.

When we give ourselves more love and grace in our creative work, we can enjoy the messiness of it all. The stacked notes on the desk, the duplicate messages on sticky notes, the umpteen voice memos on the phone that say, "note for this poem," or "change this line" or "I forgot to..." Messiness gives us a chance to sit back, observe, and then revise. It gives us a space to remember our origins and the soothing possibilities of laughter.

For all who may feel tired or stressed, I write this to remind you how wonderful you are, how far you've come, how your heart is true, and that I believe in you.

If you wish, here's a ten-minute reset to ground back into your intuitive, creative nature:

Find a quiet place and settle in. Set your timer for ten minutes. Turn off other notifications. Just sit down and close your eyes, take a deep breath, and then another. Take three more of these deep breaths. Let go of pressure in your eyes and jaw. Smile. And then maybe you laugh, maybe you shed a tear.

Now that you're in this beautiful space, envision what it feels like to have that next creative step finished. Breathe gently. Let that feeling embody your whole self for a few minutes. Let it cover you like the simple pleasures of a sunny day.

Gently open your eyes.

Here you are.