MAR 10, 2020 – Cardies, we hope you and yours are happy and well, and that you’re holding a good thought that our world will soon heal itself and we’ll all gratefully do our parts. At Cardthartic, we feel blessed to hear daily from caring people intent on making the world a safer, sounder, better place. The message on this card and magnet — and the new art print below — originated with Contributing Cardie Nancy McGinn (“Contributing” meaning that she shared with us the note she penned to a friend facing big challenges, and then allowed us to publish her words. As powerful as they are simple. Thank you, Nanc.)
Then last week we received this email from kind-hearted Contributing Cardie Rosemary Tolliver. “I recently delivered two of your new art prints to two friends who are pursuing very different courses of treatment for breast cancer,” Rosie wrote. “You Are Strong, You Are Brave, You are Loved and Prayer is Powerful. Thanks for enabling me to be the bearer of these good tidings.”
“A friend from book club recently shared a link to author Katrina Kenison,” Rosie continued, “and, as I explored her blog, I found this poem that I hope you will love as much as I do. With the author’s permission, of course, I’m envisioning a Passages card that carries her message, ‘When the going gets tough … May you find the strength to bear it, the grace to accept it and the faith to embrace it.’”
With thanks to Rosie for planting this beautiful seed — and a request to publish on its way to Ms. Kenison — we share this wonderful, timely piece.
When the Going Gets Tough
Katrina Kenison
When the going gets tough, may I resist my first impulse to wade in, fix, explain, resolve, and restore. May I sit down instead. When the going gets tough, may I be quiet. May I steep for a while in stillness.
When the going gets tough, may I have faith that things are unfolding as they are meant to. May I remember that my life is what it is, not what I ask for. May I find the strength to bear it, the grace to accept it, the faith to embrace it. When the going gets tough, may I practice with what I’m given rather than wish for something else.
When the going gets tough, may I assume nothing. May I not take it personally. May I opt for trust over doubt, compassion over suspicion, vulnerability over vengeance. When the going gets tough, may I be the first to apologize. May I leave it at that. May I bend with all my being toward forgiveness.
When the going gets tough, may I look for a door to step through rather than a wall to hide behind. When the going gets tough, may I turn my gaze up to the sky above my head, rather than down to the mess at my feet. May I count my blessings.
When the going gets tough, may I pause, reach out a hand, and make the way easier for someone else. When the going gets tough, may I remember that I am not alone. May I be kind. When the going gets tough, may I choose love over fear. Every time.
Jodee Stevens
Founder & Chief Creative
When the going gets tough, may I look for a door… So exactly what I needed today, Jodee and Cardthartic. When the punches keep coming and the psyche becomes a crush of desperation, “keep on” is the only way forward. Let each of us Keep On in our own way — with love, kindness and compassion for the punches we cannot see.
I had breakfast last week with my friend (classmate from HS) who battled cancer last year.
He is the person that I sent cardthartic cards to on a regular basis to wish him well.
I kept a record of the cards sent so I wouldn’t send a duplicate since his battle lasted a long time.
Him and his wife were in FL for a visit so we drove up to see them.
They had never met my husband before and I had never met his wife.
Over the course of the breakfast his wife whispered to me ‘The numerous, beautiful cards you sent made a BIG difference’.
It was nice to hear it from her.
I knew that he felt that way because he started to call me his angel which made me smile since I was never called an angel before :)
Be an angel…send a card.
I love “When the Going Gets Tough” by Katrina Kenison. I know so many people that are going through tough times right now and Cardthartic always has the right card to soften those times. Thanks, Cardthartic for making reaching out so easy.