You Are Too Blessed to Be Stressed

Years ago, Beau, Jessica, and I had the opportunity to attend Design Camp up in Brainerd, MN. It was an awesome weekend conference where creatives got together, took some time to refuel, and learn more about themselves and their craft. Each year this event brought in amazing speakers from all over the world. This included Los Angeles street artist Chase who shared the power of art to create positivity.

As Chase wrapped up his message, he set up outside with his spray cans and stencils to create art people could take home. Beau had his bag with him, and Chase stenciled the following message on it for him, “You are too blessed to be stressed.”

Right now, amid so many challenges, you may be thinking, “Easy for you to say.”

No, it’s not easy. The challenges don’t just disappear with a snap of our fingers, because we “think” them away. Let’s get real for a moment. Focusing on our blessings in the midst of the storm can be incredibly hard. It can feel impossible. But, we’re not paralyzed in this. We do have the ability to choose where we’re going to place our attention.

We’ve seen this in a beautiful way this week. A friend of ours had their position eliminated at a non-profit we partner with. COVID-19 has ravaged some industries and created tidal waves in certain spaces, hers being one of them. Even in the face of her loss, she shared the following online…

“It’s hard to say good-bye. To me, it’s always been about the people. I feel blessed to have been able to work with some of the kindest and most amazing people, to share the stories of the individuals I have met over the years… the artists, the advocates, all fierce warriors for inclusion.”

Take that in. This is a human being who just lost her job, and as the emotions swept over her, she was able to name the things she was grateful for. She could still see the blessing in the storm, even as it raged.

This friend set a high bar for the rest of us.

We’re ALL dealing with something right now. Maybe it’s COVID-19 related, perhaps something in our businesses, or possibly a challenge at home. The key is not to get out the yardstick and try to measure things here… There’s no “my struggle is harder than yours” in the middle of this message. Instead, for each of us today, it’s time for a personal reflection to name the things that are creating our stress, and to spend time acknowledging our blessings. As much as we all have challenges, we’re ALL blessed in many ways as well…

Our health.

Food on our tables.

Family who love us.

Coworkers who care for us.

The sunshine on our face.

That person who randomly smiled at us.

Call-to-Action

Take five right now. Close your eyes and think about the blessings you have in your life. You’ll spend plenty of time later marinating in the stresses, but for right now, what’s good? What’s positive? What’s joyful? What’s your blessing? Be there in that, and share some of those blessings with the people around you.

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