Jan. 22, 2021 — We thought we’d try to keep a hopeful theme going this week by sharing this new design. It’s fast becoming a Cardie favorite and we’re thinking that might be because it conveys “thinking of you” in such a fresh and upbeat way (though it might also be the sparkles :)
The message was inspired by my friend Mindy Mitnick. As cautious as she is clever, psychologist Mindy has for many months now closed her emails with a calming, “Keep your masks up, keep your hopes up and do something that makes you smile.” After feeling lighter every time I read those lines, we decided to whittle the message down to six key words and ask Pretty Words artist Natalie Avalos to bring them to high-flying life.
Speaking of hope, pretty words and high fliers, how about the mini-Maya Angelou whose Inaugural poem made us all sit up and take notice? Wow. If you have not seen Amanda Gorman’s interview with a mesmerized Anderson Cooper, it’s a must-see/hear. Anderson was so taken with the poem’s last three lines in particular, he recited them to the poetess prodigy herself:
The new dawn blooms as we free it.
For there is always light if only we’re brave enough to see it.
If only we’re brave enough to be it.
Admitting that he “got shivers when you said that,” Anderson went on to say, “because that’s what it takes, isn’t it? It takes bravery to see and be that light.”
By then the National Youth Poet Laureate was thoroughly charmed as well as charming. The bubbly writer said, “I’m so grateful you brought up the last line … to be honest, I was deliberating between ‘See it. Be it. Free it.’ And then I thought, you know, we need all these things at once … We need to realize that hope isn’t something that we ask of others, it’s something we have to demand of ourselves.”
That reminded us of a comment our own Cardie laureate Candy Clausell posted on the recent Cardie Newsletter that featured our new Remain Hopeful card. “Someone called me optimistic today,” she wrote, “and I took that as meaning I remain hopeful no matter what, persisting in my attempts to turn hopes into realities.”
Hear! Hear! Mindy, Amanda & Candy. Onward and upward.
Jodee Stevens
Founder & Chief Creative
It is an honor to be quoted in this email. I say honor because it is coming from the cardthartic family who does so much to help us all in our efforts to spread love and to support others. A special card when received can brighten someone’s day when they need it most. Thank you.