“Not all distance is punishment; sometimes it’s the safest place to breathe.”
There are seasons when families fracture into separate rooms, separate holidays, separate traditions. It hurts. It confuses. It questions your worth. You wonder if you did something unforgivable or if love simply misplaced itself along the years. But sometimes distance isn’t rejection, it’s growth unfolding unevenly. Some people aren’t ready to sit together yet, and that truth doesn’t have to harden your heart.
Healing rarely begins in the middle of chaos. Sometimes it happens in quiet kitchens, long walks, RVs parked outside the noise, or in the hands of those who learned to love from afar. You can grieve the closeness you imagined while honoring the peace you’ve found. Both truths can live in the same breath.
Distance can soften edges
where closeness once cut deep.
Let the space become a kindness,
a place for hearts to sleep.
Gentle practice:
Take a few minutes today to bless the space, not the separation.
Say: “May every heart grow at its own pace.”
-Kerri-Elizabeth-
Tomorrow we’ll explore the rooms we cannot share, and why that is sometimes holy.
(This piece begins a two-week series on navigating holidays with truth, energy, boundaries, finances, and heart.)
SONSHINE FOR YOU 
A great post, Kerri. I love the bear painting!
This line really caught my attention:
Healing rarely begins in the middle of chaos
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Thank you Dwight , and that bear painting is one of my favorites I’m glad you like it. I painted it a few years ago it was a fun one.
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I love doing big paintings. Just nowhere to put them any longer.
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I hear ya there… I give most of mine away… I wait until someone sees it and it gives them an emotional pull and then I ask why and if I feel that it pulls me too and I get it to them.. leaving my legacy of art is the best part, my grandkids have lots. 😂 I guess one day they have to figure out where to give them now.
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I love the space where “the heart sleeps.” What a beautiful way to find peace, despite estrangement. You are such an inspiration, Kerri. I love the space where “the heart sleeps.” What a beautiful way to find peace, despite estrangement. You are such an inspiration, Kerri.
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Awe thank you my dear friend we know each others journey and I appreciate your support and friendship always.
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You’re so welcome, Kerri! The first part of my comment disappeared and I didn’t realize I copied the same lines twice. Feel free to edit and delete the repetitive part. And then this comment, too! Love you!
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lol 😂 I don’t even know how to do that 😂I’m here for the natural flow , you know me and tech are constantly learning about one another 😂.
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Very moving and a visual within a visual. Great and moving
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Thank you Max
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