Thank you so much for a wonderful post. I’m so glad you shared your experience of “letting go and starting small” so that we can all benefit from it. And I also loved reading the insights provided by ABM and Serafina! Thank you all!

Now, if you feel you need a sign, sit with that feeling. Respect it and honor it. Noone can be “on” all the time. We are organic beings and as such we experience ebbs and flows. This is the way of the world and there is no reason on earth to rail against it. In fact, honoring it allows us to rebuild our stores, adjust and go out into the world more ready than ever to make a difference in a meaningful way.

That said, you can also think about the fact that even if there’s no obvious magic right in front of you, you can *be* the magic in the situation! The act of gifting creates the magic that can shift everything. Sometimes doing something wonderful even if you don’t feel like it can bring you to a totally different place!

Regardless, it’s all totally personal and ultimately up to you! I’m so glad you were able to sprinkle some abundance out there in the world today. I hope it did feel as wonderful as it has for me! But if not, listen to your inner rhythm and rest. As mother nature has shown us everything happens in cycles, and divine timing is always perfect.

One thing I have really learned about myself is that I go through swings and cycles, where sometimes I feel super-expansive and giving, and other times I feel more contracted, as though my giving-impulse has gone into hibernation. In those periods of hibernation, I do exactly what you described so well: I second-guess, endlessly doubt and question, and procrastinate like crazy.

What I’ve learned is that, for me, the hibernating phase is nearly always just a matter of good old-fashioned anxiety. Gifting strangers is exhilarating, which means that there’s nearly always a dash of fear involved. In my expansive moods, the fear makes it fun, like adding spice to my life. But when my anxiety kicks up, the fear gets too big to be fun. When the fear outweighs the joyfulness, it can be very hard to act.

The real trick, I find, is knowing when to respect a legitimate need for hibernation, and when to “feel the fear and do it anyway.” I find that nine out of ten times, pushing myself is the right choice. It is often the very thing that swings me back into a phase of expansion, just as you described so beautifully in this post.

But there are those rare times when the best choice is to honor the need to stay curled up and protected. It’s so important to respect and honor that need, too! (And I do hope, on this website, that no Elf ever feels pressured to give, and that every Elf feels that their choice to give or not give is always respected.)

Serena, your gifts sounded beautiful. Obviously, your post touched me very deeply — I am so glad you found the courage to act, and so glad you shared it with us!