I began this holiday season by taking a little break from the hustle and bustle of the city and traveling to Leesburg, Virginia to be with my cousins. In the midst of busy Thanksgiving and Black Friday festivities we found time to sit together around the fire and reflect upon life's past and present and express gratitude to those whom you owe. Thanksgiving night there was a special on the local news station about a man Owen Suskind living with Autism. The special was on a new documentary "Life Animated" directed by Roger Ross Williams that follow Suskind and his family as Owen overcomes his disability through his relations to and communication through Disney animated movies. I was deeply moved by Sunkind's story and all the he has accomplished even with all of the obstacles he was faced with in life. He found an outlet to share himself with others, to seek love and compassion, and to help others find a way to discover themselves and share their gifts with the world. I highly recommend this documentary on Amazon or Netflix and will include a link to the website. This story moved me to tears as I was reminded to never take for granted the life that was given to me. I couldn't have asked for a better way to end that night. From that point on I have constantly been reminded of the beauty of oneself and how much of a gift impacting someone's life with an act of kindness, laughter, aid, or love could be to others.

That weekend my cousin took me around Old Leesburg to shop at some of the local businesses on "Small Business Saturday." We stopped in one of her favorite boutiques called Lou Lou's which has several locations within the United States and will be linked down bellow along with the documentary. We spent time looking at all of the clothes and material items that we had just blown our savings on during Black Friday when we noticed in the back of the store a small wooden box filled with stacks of cards. Of course these didn't have a price tag on them so we were immediately intrigued. For the next hour or so we found ourselves reading over a hundred inspirational quotes that were stamped on these cards. We sifted through finding our favorite quotes that reminded us of each other, our family and friends, our values, our experiences, etc. At 50 cents a piece we came up with a few ideas with how we could use them and one of which was to give them as gifts.

This is my gift to you this holiday season. I am giving you myself in these quotes that inspire open hearts and grateful attitudes towards every good or bad experience you are blessed with in life. I challenge you to read and allow them to inspire goodness, to look at life good or bad and be thankful, and to give others the gift of your authentic, beautiful, and genuine self this holiday season. Even for all you Grinches out there, remember your heart can grow three sizes too!

Links:

https://loulouboutiques.com/pages/find-a-lou-lou-b...