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Writer's pictureJessica Schaffer

It All Started with Not Being Okay: the Genesis of an Encouragement Greeting Card...

Updated: Sep 27, 2023


Image of a greeting card with red, green and black lettering that looks slightly festive.  The card says, "Everything is not okay."  These words are surrounded by a wavy red border with green dots, like holiday lights.  The inside of the card says, "And that is totally okay.  Holding you in my heart during this challenging time."

For nearly 30 years as a wellness practitioner, I have held space for others in various degrees of life challenge. And I have helped folks navigate adversity in large part by teaching them how to embrace the feeling of everything not being okay. It has been a huge piece of my life work to normalize the fact that life hits is us all. Sometimes really hard. Sometimes out of left field. And sometimes, right in the gut.


It was no surprise to me that when it came to designing greeting cards, the first card off the press would be this one: and encouragement greeting card fitting for just about any occasion. A card that recognizes that life can indeed be really hard. And that there is nothing wrong with us for feeling like life is challenging. Life feels hard because it often is hard. And even that is okay.


If you're looking for a sentiment to send to anyone who might be struggling right now, try to imagine how affirming it is to receive a card that simply calls it like it is. That doesn't couch the struggle in humor or bright colors, but just says the thing that we are longing to have confirmed. It is the gift of being seen and recognized in the complexity of our true experiences that is often the most precious to receive. And this card can help you do just that...witness a friend, companion, mate, colleague, exactly where they are at, without trying to soften or fix all the not-okayness that might be surrounding them right now.



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