Find A Way

One of the themes I find myself writing about more and more nowadays is resilience. Maybe that's because we've been going through a pandemic for the past year, or maybe it's because I see a lot of us continue to go through other things on top of it. After the very unexpected severe winter weather we had last week in Austin, Kara and I were walking into a grocery store to get some food and I almost forgot to put on my mask - I had forgotten that in the midst of struggling with one thing, we were also struggling with another. 

That's the way life is sometimes, isn't it? We're sitting here dealing with one burden that feels incredibly heavy on it's own, then out of nowhere we have something else comes and adds even more weight to our shoulders. The feelings of overwhelming anxiety are real, and they are tough. 

What I love about Find A Way is the simplicity of the design that continues to tell a story. On the surface, our lives feel fairly certain. We go through a similar routine on a daily basis and have a pretty standard way of life. These are the black squares on the checkerboard.

Beneath the surface, however, is where things are always changing. Challenges, victories, excitement and discouragement - ups and downs are found here. These are the colors that run beneath the black squares.

The reason this design was made in 'long form' (most Straps will have different portions of the gradient spectrum of colors in the back) is that I wanted to symbolize how all of us are going through different experiences. The cool part of that, however, is that just like the Straps where some gradients may be the same as others, some of us will go through challenges others here in our community have already faced. The loss of a loved one, a job, a relationship, our health... These things are the part of life that hurt your heart just to think about. But while they can be incredibly scary, I've found that in my own life, knowing there have been others who went through the same issues helped immensely - especially once I spoke to them. 

So my hope for you with this Strap is two-fold. First, I hope it inspires you to always keep fighting - never give up no matter what life throws your way. Second, I hope it inspires you to share your struggles and what you've learned by going through it with others. There's immense healing power in being able to share insight about the experiences that made us the people we are today, especially with those who are going through similar battles. That's what a community of kind souls is really all about. 

Big Hugs,

 - Jason