Are you all right?

People all over the world have had such a difficult time with so many devastation, such as viruses, wars, floods, and people losing everything.

Due to the rain pouring throughout the week, my children's school had to close, some of our team members and family had to evacuate and our workshop began to flood due to some clogging. Thankfully, we were able to clear the clog and prevent the flood from entering.

We feel very glum as a team as we speak to so many customers who have been affected by these tragedies. It breaks our hearts that these people have suffered loss, pain and uncertainty.

The majority of the time, customers will contact us with questions and then order through our online store. However, for custom requests, we will contact the customer to collaborate on the design. I had a customer just a few days ago for whom I have also created personalised jewellery, for over five years. We have become friends and exchanged life stories over time. She ordered a Reminder Tag and asked me to inscribe something special on it that would test my skills. In the past, she'd seen posts on social media where a word was written and made into a symbol, but this time her challenge was to inscribe a few words that read "Control What You Can".

Having scrunched many papers in my attempts to write this sentence, I had the pleasure of reading this sentence over and over.

She loved how it turned out and asked that it be inscribed on the Reminder Tag so that it can remind the recipient that "no matter what is happening around you, don't worry about what you cannot control, only control what you can". Those words spoke to me and when I shared them with the team, everyone felt lifted and encouraged.

While packing the order, I was surprised to find out the address was addressed to me. The customer, my friend, saw how stressed I was, so she not only helped me to read that sentence over and over again (thus subconsciously meditating on it), she also gifted me with a piece from our collection so I would remember the power of "Control What You Can". I am so grateful for your gift (you know who you are).

Now, whenever I feel stressed, down or when everything around me seems to be falling apart, or whenever people hurt me (intentionally or not), I will remember to "Control What You Can".