Good evening, everybody. How are y'all doing? Oh, I laugh. I laugh from a place of pain.

I am still dealing with residual leftover symptoms of COVID in addition to just the great complexity that 2022 has thrust upon us all on top of ongoing

things because we're just not allowed to have nice things as they say I threw my back out

this morning which for any of you that have ever done that it's the cherry on top of the real

yucky Sunday that is life right now. But I laugh because

I'm applying the work that I, you know, lovingly try to share with y'all, which is we have to

keep our heads up, keep pushing forward one step in front of the other. And sometimes just kind

of carry the difficulties in the pain with us. That doesn't mean that

it's not real. That doesn't mean that it's not valid. It's just got to keep moving forward.

You know, it's the work of mental health. Yes. Take the time off, rest, sleep, nap, cry, kick and

scream. But at some point, we learn to lovingly unhook from our feelings and our thoughts.

We make room for all of them, but we carry them with us.

And we push forward being led by our core values versus being led by our thoughts and

our feelings.

And I think it's an important lesson that we've been raised again culturally.

You know, I'm weaving in the word acceptance.

I'm going to be weaving that word in more and more throughout the year, something I'm working on and practicing

and bringing to my patients and my private practice as well. And that's what it's about. I've been

sharing that on each show a little bit, even when not directly talking about it. But we have

thoughts and feelings. And we have to learn how to allow them and make room for all of them.

That's the acceptance piece, but not being led or driven or guided by them because they will often take us away from what's important to us and away from what's meaningful in our core values.

So I'm doing it as I share with y'all.

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