Things have changed, and it may take a little time to get used to all the ways your life will never be the same, but even here, you are wrapped in this gentle, endless grace that gives you space to sort through things, and make the most of little things, and celebrate all of the ways you have grown, even in the subtle things. For though your heart has been broken, it is not broken beyond repair. Your heart is worthy of sunlight and attention. It is worthy of healing. It is worthy of care. And as you begin the journey toward something better, Love will always meet you there, and you will be free to take this day, as you learn your way through this all new season of life. – Morgan Harper Nichols

If you go looking for the secrets of this world

in books and experience and in the ruins of the ancient

you will certainly find new things

and your eyes will surely be opened

but the more you look around,

the more you will find what is

broken

and how the only way

to make peace

with all of these things

that still do not make sense

is to lean into the Truth

for all that is unknown,

there is grace for this.

for all that is unknown,

there is grace for this.

–Morgan Harper Nichols

May peace be the river

in the desert of your heart

reminding you in anxiousness

your soul has not been torn apart.

Through the wild of a barren land

and all you could not understand,

it did not void your invitation

for you to embrace the day at hand.

For this life is still worth living

despite all you do not know

there is peace to be found out here.

there is room for you to grow.

– Morgan Harper Nichols

joy was the lining

for her heavy, weary soul

so if her world fell apart

she would still remain whole.

– Morgan Harper Nichols

If there are mornings you wake up

with no strength to start the day

and if there are midnights where you feel

no Light will come your way

take heart. breathe deep.

go to the nearest window.

Look up into the sky

let it remind you it’s okay

to be this small and human thing

that does not know everything,

and is letting go

and taking in

one breath

at a time.

– MHN

May today be filled

with pleasant reminders

of just how beautiful life can be,

even in the simplest of things.

May you live mindfully

and courageously

beyond the realms of your fears,

and step heels-deep

into those heart-strung things

you have dreamed of for years

May you always see

the Light pouring in over everything.

From the high windows in a busy market

to the low hung lights in quiet shops,

may you hear hope in the voices of strangers

grace in the laughter of friends,

feel the weight of every memory, feeling, lesson:

whispering ever so gently,

“take heart, this is not the end.”

For a thousand more times

you may cross these canals,

and may each time you cross,

remind you of the miles

and the grace-rooted years

you made it through,

just to make it

here.

– Morgan Harper Nichols

It is okay to take time

to process

the weight of changing things,

and it is okay to not be sure

of what the coming months will bring,

but may you know that even here,

you are much more than those things

and there is still room to come alive

and thrive within the waiting.

– Morgan Harper Nichols

Maybe it’s okay if it takes time to be okay.

Maybe healing is a road

lined with endless grace. 

– Morgan Harper Nichols

Perhaps, even here, I am growing. When the days are long and I do not feel as strong and when the hours go by slower than they ever have before, and sun is shining and I am lost indoors, perhaps even here, I am growing...learning to be at peace in what does not make sense to me. Perhaps, even here I am growing. So I will inhale and exhale. It is well, it is well, every day is a part of the story I will tell. I am free to breathe here, free to be here, free to be at peace when nothing makes sense here, because perhaps...even here, I am growing. Perhaps, even here, I am growing. — Morgan Harper Nichols

Remember the dream.

Remember the night

you first believed

maybe, just maybe,

it might come together.

Maybe, just maybe

this is something

worth pursuing.

Because even though

it may take time

to come together,

in this current season

you will come to know:

you have dreamed

not a weightless,

fleeting dream

but one that requires

slow and steady growth.

Hold onto this.

Because the truth is

things may happen

a little differently

than you were expecting,

and you may find yourself

watching others

walk into the seasons

you were praying for,

but none of that

will take anything away

from the beautiful things

that are still in store

for you.

You may find

you have to take

the longer, scenic route

but it will not

be without

the view of the hills, rivers,

and lakes that remind you:

in this big world,

there is still a place for you.

There is still room for you.

So remember the dream.

Then, lift it up.

Lift it high off the ground.

Lift it high off of the timeline

you assigned it to

and believe

with all you have,

there is still more to you.

There is more to this dream,

there is more to this journey.

And things may not look

like you thought they would,

but you can do so many

small, meaningful things for good

and along the way,

they will remind you

why you dreamed this dream

in the first place.

Because one day,

it will all add up

and you find yourself

standing in a library,

built tall of every

beautiful, honest thing

you ever made,

and then?

you will only keep dreaming

creating, making, giving...

inspiring others

to do the same.

You have permission to do that.

You have permission to work for that.

You have permission to remember the dream.

– Morgan Harper Nichols

This is purpose: And now, after everything, I know this: there is a reason I am here and that reason is bigger than me. So I will carry on with great faith beyond what I can see, and purpose with bold courage in every adventure of this journey. – Morgan Harper Nichols

Even when you are faced with the reality of what is, peace is still available to you. You do not have sort through everything here. You do not have to figure out everything by tonight. You are free to trust that even though there are too many questions that do not have answers, and there are too many gaps in the story that you are waiting to be filled, peace is still here, even in the waiting.

And it is okay if you are in a place where you are not sure how to make sense of certain things. It is okay to say “I don’t know” and “I’m still waiting,” while still making room in your heart to have peace. Remember that you live in a world that is filled to the brim with immediacy, and it is normal for others to expect you to have confidence and certainty, even when you are tired, and you are just not sure how to feel. But whenever you feel the weight of having to have everything figured out, do not be discouraged. You are still free to cling to what is true: even in your unknowns, Light is still guiding you, and no matter your uncertainty, you are being led where you need to be.

And while you wait, you are free to keep living. You are free to keep giving your all to whatever each day brings. And in that space, be known for your peace. Be known for your ability to slow down and breathe deep, and say, against the unknowns, “even here, I have what I need. There are so many things I am waiting on, but they will not take this life away from me. For even here, in my uncertainty, I have found boundless peace and the freedom to let it run over absolutely everything.”

Just because they’re succeeding before you that doesn’t mean they’re succeeding in replacement of you. There is still a place for you. There will always be a place for you. Even if they came up after you and are doing the exact things you dreamed you would do, they have not replaced you. Even if you put years into things, they are not still not invalidated by those who are passionate about similar things. No two people’s stories are the same, and there is no way to know when, where, or how things will play out, but you can know this to be true: what they have done with their lives does not limit you. Who you have been called to be is who you have been called to be, and it does not matter what others do.

And while you are waiting, you are not just waiting. You are growing into who you were meant to be. And maybe...some of the things you thought you wanted were actually rooted in something deeper that went beyond what you could see. And maybe, you will start to see those deeper, richer things when you focus more on growing, and less on worrying, letting everything fall in place the way it’s supposed to...even if it ends up looking a little different than you were expecting.

Perhaps it has not felt like it lately, but there is still a place at the table for you. You know that gut feeling you have been having lately? The one you feel when you see someone else is doing the same things you want to do, or when it seems your dreams have been pulled out from beneath you? Perhaps that is more than a feeling of inadequacy, but a fire slowly igniting brave within your soul, reminding you there is more than what you currently see and what you are feeling is the process of becoming who you were meant to be.

Perhaps this season of waiting

can somehow still bend your heart toward adventure,

an invitation

to an unexpected journey

through the wild of where you are,

for maybe, just maybe,

you do not have to go

very far

to encounter

something meaningful in the present

that will make

the wait worthwhile.

– Morgan Harper Nichols

I cannot tell you how

these next few hours will go,

but I can tell you,

there is peace

to be found

within them.

I can tell you

you are free

to breathe ever-so slowly and gently,

even in the endless rush of things,

you are allowed to be mindful

of what each new moment brings.

There are a lot of things to contemplate here,

and there are many things for you to take in,

but you are always free

to come back

right to

the present moment

breathing ever-so slowly and gently,

over and over

again.

– Morgan Harper Nichols

You may have walked into rooms where you did not feel welcomed. You may have felt alone in beautiful cities with a thousand people swarming around you. You may have struggled to find comfort in the place you call home. You have wrestled with thoughts of your purpose in this life when everyone around you thought you were moving along just fine. Wherever you have been, I hope you know that hope has met you there. It may not have seemed apparent. It may not have knocked on your door asking you, “what are you waiting for?” as it pulled at you to leave your room and go get sit on some lawn to watch the sunset, but it was running wild within you. It was all wrapped up in that second by second choice you kept making to keep breathing. Even when you felt you had no purpose. Even when you thought your world was sinking.

Even in the moments where you could not quite articulate, “why” you chose to get up every day, you got up anyway. That was hope. That was grace. Even if you carried on hour into hour, wondering how you could possibly make it through the next, there was a moment within each breath, you kept going a little longer, and you kept getting a little stronger, even when you were at your weakest.

This is hope. It does not have our restraints. It goes beyond what we think is possible on our best and worst of days, reminding us bold and radiant Light that shows up in our in-betweens, giving us just enough strength to keep our eyes open, making a daily choice to keep living. – Morgan Harper Nichols

Even amidst the things that have not made sense, I hope you can see there is grace for this: glorious unmerited favor that sustains your soul, even when you don’t know how things are going to go. You are working so hard right now and you are giving so much, so take a deep a breath, step full into grace and do not give up. One day you will look back on days like this and see that even in all of those things that made absolutely no sense, you made it through, because all along, there was grace for you. – Morgan Harper Nichols

On this morning

mercies were new,

but it did not feel

that way to you,

for you are tired

of giving

while seeing

no fruit,

tired of the weather

and too much

to do:

take heart,

take shelter,

for right now,

this is winter,

and these cold

quiet lands

have done

all they can.

And some things

may not grow

the way

you had planned,

but even here

in your soul

may you soon

understand:

you are free

to believe

in much

better things

and these seeds

will rise

from the ground

in spring.

You have to wait

but you will see:

no matter how long winter lingers,

it lets go,

it leaves.

– Morgan Harper Nichols

for early mornings:

today

is new.

do you

hear

the call

to come

to sea?

to come pursue

the depth of things?

things you cannot

find at shore

but only

out there

in the whitewater-blue

where there is always

more to learn

and there is always

more to you.

— Morgan Harper Nichols

Don’t be troubled by the mountain tops

you have yet to touch.

Like a tree, you will grow

not from the sky

but from the ground up.

– Morgan Harper Nichols