I'm marching in the women's march in Portland on Saturday. I have never done anything like this before, but I feel so called to do it that when the opportunity arose, I said yes without thinking for a second about whether or not I should. I've since thought more about it. We've had winter storms of epic proportions here. Am I really sure I want to travel to the city on snow covered roads to do this? And the answer is a clear, resounding... Yes. Why? The answer that keeps coming up for me is this...

“i love myself.'

the quietest. simplest. most powerful. revolution. ever.” ― Nayyirah Waheed

As I shared in my last post, this year, I'm feeling called to step up and stand up. I've been sitting with these stirrings and came to the conclusion that it starts with self respect. Like many others (especially women), self love has never come easy for me. But I've been practicing and sometimes there is now a softer, gentler voice that often accompanies the harsh critic that was all too familiar. If you don't honor yourself, how can you demand that others treat you with respect, dignity and love? I've been working on some new art inspired by the thought that self-love is the first step toward this idea of awakening. Here's a little timelapse video of snippets of the process of making one of these pieces...

On Monday we celebrated a man who fought tirelessly for equality and freedom for all. He fought for a free society where everyone is allowed to vote and to voice their opinions without endangerment.

And as Marianne Williamson so beautifully wrote, "On Friday, the United States will inaugurate a new President. Many of us are pleased about this, and many of us are not. But in a free society we do not have to agree with each other. And I believe the vast majority of Americans, no matter who they voted for in the election, voted for the person they honestly believed would make our country better. Now let us move forward."

In the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., "We have before us the glorious opportunity to inject a new dimension of love into the veins of our civilization." And I believe we stand at the threshold another such opportunity now. To do so, the first step forward must be practicing self-love - not narcissism - but self-honor, dignity and respect. I have never been one to be especially politically active, aside from always voting when given the opportunity. But this Saturday, I choose to march... for love.