Opening the Door - Within

We open doors countless times per day, often with no thought whatsoever. It’s just an instinctive step in the process of getting us to where we want to go or inviting someone into our home.

But those are physical doors. What about metaphorical ones? Those that lead to our hopes and dreams. Why do those doors seem so hard to open, let alone step through?

For years, I held close my hopes and dreams—not sharing them and certainly not acting on them. I held them so close that I shut out all the light and almost smothered them altogether. Then one day, I cracked the door, not wide, but just enough to let some light in and let some of me out.

Little by little, it became easier to widen the door to show what was within. And as I did, I became happier. And as I became happier, I shared it with others and on it went.

This painting (above) is called “Within.” It shows how beautiful our “messy” can be when we are brave enough to open the door to it. I hope you enjoy the bright, happy colors, and maybe even get inspired to crack a door to something that you are holding close.

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Bubble the Hedgehog - Pets of the Pandemic

Meet Bubble, a sweet and shy little African Pygmy Hedgehog, owned by Samantha Walsh and her family from Traverse City, Michigan.

Samantha was a girl on a mission she dreamed of having a hedgehog for a pet. So she worked hard and saved all of her babysitting money for months and researched everything she could about African Pygmy Hedgehogs. She paid for the pet, cage, food, and accessories all by herself.

Below is my conversation with Samantha on what it’s like to have a hedgehog for a pet!

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