Morgan Nichols Quotes

May you always be the one who notices the little things that make the light pour through, and may they always remind you: There is more to life and there is more to you.

When you start to feel like things should have been better this year, remember the mountains and valleys that got you here. They are not accidents, and those moments weren't in vain. You are not the same. You have grown and you are growing. You are breathing, you are living, you are wrapped in endless, boundless grace. And things will get better. There is more to you than yesterday.

Let July be July. Let August be August. And let yourself just be even in the uncertainty. You don’t have to fix everything. You don’t have to solve everything. And you can still find peace and grow in the wild of changing things

and perhaps what made her beautiful was not her appearance or what she achieved, but in her love and in her courage, and her audacity to believe: no matter the darkness around her, Light ran wild within her, and that was the way she came alive, and it showed up in everything.

Living in the moment is learning how to live between the big moments. It is learning how to make the most of the in-betweens and having the audacity to make those moments just as exciting.

Even though you have learned the skill of running on empty, now is the time to learn the art of breathing deep all over again,

While we are trying to make sense of things, may we learn to make peace with things.

She no longer had the desire to bend herself into the frame of photographs where she was unwelcome

So take photographs of everything: ordinary things, simple things, between the door and by the window things. Light-ridden and shadow-heavy things. Forever things. Fleeting things. Take photographs of everything.

You may not have chosen your surroundings, but you can choose to find life in them.

But no matter who stays or who walked away, remember all the things they taught you.

Even when there are a thousand things to do, cherish these unrushed moments. Make room in your heart for them. There will be many mountains to climb, but always make time to find the pastures where you can rest.

Maybe this heart of yours that longs for something more is being prepared for something so much greater than you.

Take heart, gentle soul, you may not be like the rest of them, but you are still whole.

Let today be the day you are kind to yourself and focus on believing what is beautiful and true. And this does not mean you ignore your imperfections. It means, in spite of them, you believe there is beauty to you.

Never let anyone who cannot bear your pain make you feel you are unbearable. Not everyone is capable of walking with you, but that does not mean you are not worthy of belonging.

I hope you are able to remember what was Light-woven and beautiful. I hope you are able to see to remember what was, and carry the goodness that you will never forget in the direction of what is to come.

Not everyone will notice the way you shine, but you will shine all the same in beautiful, natural ways.

The sun is still shining, the wind is still blowing, and out in the wild you are growing. Days may go by without change you can feel, but what's happening here is most certainly real: You are becoming what you were meant to become out in the wild in the arms of the sun.

And now after everything: I know this: There is a reason I am here. And that reason is bigger than me. So I will carry on with great faith beyond what I can see. in pursuit of bold courage, on the adventure of the journey.

You are free to forgive and you are also free to heal. You are worthy of love no matter how anyone else has made you feel.

Choosing to have joy is not naively thinking everything will be easy. It is courageously believing that there is still hope, even when things get hard.

perhaps it here you will learn to be strong.

For out here, in the wild, you are agile, walking through your own uncertainty. And that, dear friend, takes bravery.

Maybe if you had been different, you would have been what they wanted. But maybe if you have been what they wanted, you would have been different than who you were supposed to be.

Were we really meant to rush with all abandon toward some earthly hilltop finish line? Or was God telling us something in those whispers to “be still,” that all along, it was necessary, to slow down, trust, and heal.

Even the dull moments that make you long to be elsewhere, will prepare you for where you want to be, and you will have gratitude when you arrive there.

you will rise, anyway.

And here I am, in the middle of it all learning to see the beauty and truth in all I do not understand, I will hold hope within my hands that I can be here in the betweens and find joy right where I am and know endless, boundless peace running wild over everything.

Take photographs of everything. You never know how long these moments will be here. Things are going to change.

Do not just wait to be invited to something. Create something. Contribute something. Make something. Do something.

How liberating it is to pursue wholeness instead of perfection.

Under blue skies, on cracked rocks, in dry heat, in desert land, grace is the hand that is never out of reach reminding you: you are not weak because you are lonely.

find moments between breaths between midnight and mornings, when no one is speaking and no one is singing but God-Sent-Love is breathing.

And in those moments where the sun is setting and the house is quiet and you are weary from the day, may you know that there is grace for you in that space, and no amount of heaviness or loneliness can take that away. And because of that grace, you are free to slow down. You are free to breathe and rest, no matter the things not sorted out. There might be some mystery here and there might be longing, wondering, and waiting. But there will also be boundless peace that goes beyond any understanding, running wild like a river through everything, no matter how heavy these moments feel. So rest easy, when everything is approaching. Tomorrow is surely coming, but in the hours in between, you are free to rest till then.

Take deep breaths often. You are going to be okay. The desert valley has a river for wellness in the wait: water living, moving, keeping the hearts that hunt for better days.

even when you are still, there are so many ways to find your way to gratitude.

You are free to move around the room, to paint the walls a new color, and declare there is more to you.

A few years ago, on a particularly cold autumn day, I found myself in a pit of self-doubt. Yet I was beginning to realize that if I ever wanted to grow, I couldn’t stay there. I realized that I could spend the rest of my life doubting myself, or I could make the brave decision to work through self-doubt and allow myself to be stretched in ways I had not been before. Excerpt From: Morgan Harper Nichols. “All Along You Were Blooming.” iBooks.

For beyond your accomplishments and your calendars, and your lists, you were made with purpose and intention to reflect Glorious Light and to abide in Love that reminds you even in the pause you are still where you need to be.

More than she was known for her accomplishments, she was known for the way she loved. Morgan Harper Nichols

In her lowest place she found the grace, the strength, the courage, the room, the space to move and live and breathe again.

Never let anyone who cannot bear your make you feel you are unbearable

But even though uncertain things have flooded your mind, peace is not the fleeting kind. It never leaves on days like this. It sticks around on days like this reminding you there is more than this.

When you find yourself falling into the pit of anxiety, remember the ladder of hope that reminds you there is no reason to be afraid. There is still a way out of this, and you are still capable—not perfect, but capable—and you have permission to try to climb again. Even if your hands shake, and your knees are weaker from the fall, you can still trade your fears of tomorrow with hope for today: the courageous decision to climb on anyway out of the pit of anxious thoughts. There is no reason to live afraid.

As sure as the water makes way past the river stones, so does hope carry you past the depth of your unknowns, under fogged and white-gray skies that demand the most of tired eyes, the sound of the rushing river gently speaks: all is passing, truly passing.

RATHER THAN WORRY ABOUT CREATING A LIFE THAT WAS IMPRESSIVE, SHE TURNED HER ATTENTION TO CREATING A LIFE THAT WAS BRAVE. SHE TURNED HER ATTENTION TO BEAUTY OVER PERFECTION, LOVE OVER COMPARISON, AND TELLING A STORY OF GRACE, INSPIRING OTHERS TO DO THE SAME. Not everyone’s strength looks the same.

You may have ideas about how others see you but you are not defined by their perceptions You are not an object under someone else's magnifying glass whose only purpose is to be observed You are a living, breathing human being with a beautiful soul that is on a hope-anchored journey of learning what it means to be whole

I hope you know it is okay to lean into the grace that reminds you things will come together in the way they were supposed to.

In a world that often seems too crowded or busy to notice beautiful things or make meaningful connections, there is still room for each of us to grow in the ways we were meant to.

Peace is an invitation in daily life to breathe deep, right here, in the uncertainty.

It wasn’t until she reached the shore that she realized she was meant for water.

Love is as vast as the ocean, and we’re always only swimming on the surface of its greatness.

May you never forget how far you have come and the miles it took just to get to this place.

The days are not going to look the same from this day forward, but you will move forward, for through all you have endured, you have blossomed. Which was possible only by the rain.

For the forgotten: They can take a lot of things, but they cannot take your hope. They cannot take the freedom stirring deep within your soul. Morgan Harper Nichols

For The One: You are the reason I am still breathing, though I am feeling torn apart. You are the Hallelujah beating through my broken, weary heart. Morgan Harper Nichols

There is beauty and truth even in the seemingly mundane.

What if every time you were afraid you remember how you were brave, and it only escaped your memory because bravery is natural these days?

She does not know what the future holds, but she is grateful for slow and steady growth.

I will stretch my hands up to the sky, to say, “I am afraid but I will try,

To breathe is brave. Never underestimate the power of an exhale.

Writing is a chance to speak to those who don’t feel spoken to, and put into words what the readers thought they were alone in thinking about.

There will be no perfect moment before you take the leap and speak.

Tell the story of the mountain you climbed. Your words could become a page in someone else’s survival guide. Morgan Harper Nichols

There is more to you than yesterday.

The year is leaving you again, and the stack of things you did not do are piling up again. But remember tonight in the silhouette of power lines, that even though the sun is slipping from the sky there is still time, plenty of time to run, to hope, in the middle of the night, to wake in the morning to all-new light. My dear, oh my dear, there is still time, plenty of time to live.

She is stepping onto the cracked sidewalk overgrown with wild green, choosing to believe out here in the unfamiliar, in the open she is free to explore, discover, uncover who she is meant to be.

it is okay to grieve the loss of things that will never be the same again. And this mind of yours that has pulled you back to the worst of things is the same mind that is capable of remembering the better things:

She had reached her end, and it was there she learned to see, this was not the end at all. This was the beginning. And it would be here, as the waves rushed in, she would hear the sea calling. She is starting again.

It is okay to long for days past. It is natural to feel the imprint of what was, for all you lost is still a part of you. These memories carve their way into your heart, and you do not know how to recover its original form. And even when you try, you cannot shake the old feelings, her words, those photographs . . . but now, even here, after all of these years, you are free to remember, while also moving onward on this path, filled with Light, even if your earliest steps are small.

for it is here you will find you will be Loved as you are, you will be Seen as you are, and you will not be left as you are, for you have been invited to go on this journey of being shaped into who you were meant to be: an original work of art.

I know that I have changed. I know that even though I still feel traces of my former self, I see things differently now. I have learned not to hide my pain for fear of what others might say. I have learned some days will be harder than others, and that is absolutely okay. I do not have to be strong all the time. I am not a burden because I have burdens, and because there is a lot on my mind. And maybe not everyone will have time for me, and maybe there will be people who feel I am too much, but I have learned that I am still worthy of Love, and that is more than enough.

The world may be a crowded place, but there is still room for you, room for you to tell your story and to create things and contribute things that make a difference. Your age does not matter. Where you were raised does not matter. You are on this earth for a reason. You are not just taking up space. There will be no perfect moment before you take the leap and speak.

Sometimes strength is grasping on to a jagged trail on the steep side of the mountain, with icy rain on your shoulders and wind on your back. Sometimes strength is continuing to push upward against the incline in pursuit of the highest peak. It’s continuing the climb against heavy winds, as all of the traveled miles are wearing at your knees. Sometimes strength is waking up and choosing to breathe another day. Sometimes strength is getting out of bed.

When you catch a glimpse of your reflection and all you can see are the very things you fear, do not be afraid, for light will meet you there. And even though every flaw has been illuminated here, there is no reason to fear, for there is beauty to be seen amidst the scars that have marked you. And whether they are easily seen or you are the only one who seems to notice they are there, you are free to cast away those anxious cares and fix your eyes on the wholeness light revealed. And it will not be easy, facing the mirror each morning, but perhaps you can be patient with yourself, remembering that seeing the wholeness of these scars is a part of getting to know who you are.

Amidst all the pressure to keep going and to keep going, may you also take time to learn the art of being; being Loved, being Held, being Seen, being in the Presence of the One who calls you to rest. For beyond your accomplishments and your calendars, and your lists, you were made with purpose and intention to reflect Glorious Light and to abide in Love that reminds you even in the pause you are still where you need to be. No matter how yesterday unfolded before your eyes and no matter the stacks of worries burdening your mind that have left you unsettled or confused, Light is still pouring in reminding you over and over again to surrender, to let go, for these troubles are bound to shadows that cannot survive in this new light. Bask in these beams of sun as you find your new beginnings, a new way of seeing, a grace-filled way of living. Oh, how steady hope makes the soul in the river rush of things you cannot control. For somehow through it all, you have still been made whole. Because as sure as the water makes way past the river stones, so does hope carry you past the depth of your unknowns, under fogged and white-gray skies that demand the most of tired eyes, the sound of the rushing river gently speaks: all is passing, truly passing. What if all the imperfections and the flaws were only part of your story— not the sum of who you are? What if all along, you were made to be beautiful, and it was only the dirt from this broken world that made you doubt your shining self? And what if you were not alone, as you once thought, and when a friend told you she would be there, she truly meant it? What if for every time you were afraid, you remember how you were brave, and it only escaped your memory because bravery is natural these days? Perhaps there are a million reasons to never take the leap, to never take the time to think your presence means anything, but I hope you know there are more reasons to believe this life is worth living for. I hope you can look down into that warped well of your imperfections knowing whatever you find there can never even compare to the greatness in your soul, shining wildly through.

When Linda looked into King Kyril’s face, Philip saw her amazement and a brief, sudden joy. But at once she mastered it, or it died. “My lord, I come before you as a prisoner.” “What is this, Linda?” he demanded gently. “She said to me ‘Witches and witch-children--he spares none.” “Then she lied, as she lied about so many things. Come, rise, and sit beside me. You are weary.” But Linda remained on her knees before him. “I will not accept your mercy! I belong to no world now. Kill me, I beg you, for I have no wish to live.” Her voice was ragged with strain; she had forced her last strength to this demand. Kyril took her hands in a firm, gentle grip and drew her to her feet. “Your anguish speaks, and the self-hatred you have learned in these long weeks of doubt. Now, Linda, let me set your mind at rest. You are more human than you know.” Her fierceness had given way to a pitiful bewilderment. “But the spring--the demon--!” Kyril nodded. “Powers you have, for your mother was indeed Morgan the Enchantress. But if you return to the world that has become your own, these powers will ebb, leaving you little more than ordinary mortals’. You can choose to let them go.” He took her face between his hands, and as once before, Philip saw her tension ease gradually into peace. “I confess that I doubted too. That was why, in your journey through the wilderness, I made certain you would find me. I needed to see Morgan’s child, to discover how much of her mother’s power she had inherited. You came, but you were closed against me. Yet one night something happened, and I found the answer I was seeking.” Down her cheek his finger traced the path of the single tear she had shed when he questioned her about her home. “I saw you cry. And, Linda, there was one thing Ygerna never told you. Try as she may, a true witch cannot weep.

Philip gazed at her in astonished relief. But Kyril answered, “You have chosen wisely. When I first learned of the two who had appeared in the wilderness, how little I hoped of either of you--a child of the witch Morgan and a boy, her adoptive cousin--a stranger not even of our stock! I too have grown in wisdom, for your courage has taught me much. No guest departs from us without a gift. Now I will give you mine. Philip, hold out your hands.” Philip extended them. Kyril’s fingers closed around his wrists, and he felt a cool burning sensation, like a bracelet of white fire. When Kyril released his wrists, they bore his mark, as though his hands had burned them. Then it was Linda’s turn. When it was done, Philip said: “What is the meaning of this gift?” “The lifetime that lies before you will reveal it; yet I will tell you a little. I have set my mark on you. Because of it, you will never be wholly severed from us, and in a time of great need it may be we shall meet again. Even if that never comes to pass, you will always see more deeply than others. Visions hidden from them will be revealed to you. And that is both a sorrow and a blessing.” He glanced toward the window where ghostly flakes were drifting out of the darkness into the candlelight. “And now you must sleep, for it is late.” “Yes.” Philip stifled a yawn. “I feel very tired suddenly. Perhaps it’s all the decisions we’ve had to make.” “I should like to sleep now, too,” said Linda, “if you will give us leave to go.” “You have my leave.” Kyril laid his hands upon their heads. “And my blessing. Good night, my children.

unblinking

We don’t have to understand everything before we hold both shadow and light. We don’t have to eliminate every unknown before we take action. We don’t have to get rid of the darkness to see where the stars shine through.

Peace is the river in the desert, not on the other side of it. Today I am still seeking that river. And not just a river far off somewhere that I must arrive at, but the river that runs wild and free in my inner life. The river that carves its way through my need for understanding and reminds me to slow down and breathe.

What if practicing peace is slowing down and realizing there’s more to see?

At the right time every broken thing will come together for the good. You are more than you failures. successes, more than your fears. And far beyond the surface of your desires, there is a truer reason why you are still here. Of you find yourself struggling to see past your imperfections because you cannot figure out how what's torn apart can come together may you know in your soul that the answer is not found in thinking feeling doing but in trusting in what is Greater than you

The national team players were in camp in Orlando, Florida, preparing for a pair of friendlies against Colombia when Rich Nichols and Jeffrey Kessler scheduled a conference call with the players on the team’s CBA committee. It was then that Hope Solo, Carli Lloyd, Alex Morgan, Becky Sauerbrunn, and Megan Rapinoe were presented with the idea of filing a wage-discrimination complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or EEOC, against U.S. Soccer. If the players agreed to sign on, they would be asking a government agency to investigate whether U.S. Soccer was violating U.S. laws against workplace discrimination. In other words, the players were going to publicly accuse U.S. Soccer of discriminating against the women’s national team. It was a move guaranteed to ratchet up the tension between the national team and the federation. “I was nervous about that call the entire week because, in essence, what we were asking these great players to do was to sue their current employer for wage discrimination,” Nichols says. “That takes huge courage from anybody.

Nichols said only one player needed to sign on, but the call ended with all five of them agreeing to do it, as long as the rest of the national team wasn’t against it. “For the last several years, we had team meetings every single camp,” says Alex Morgan. “A lot of the issues with equitable pay, equal treatment, and equal opportunity for the women’s team in comparison to the men’s team surfaced and were the sticking points. We weren’t aware of the EEOC and the possibility of them coming to our defense before it was brought up by Rich Nichols and Jeffrey Kessler, but that was something that, as a team, we decided to move forward with.

She was walking home in pieces, but she realized even though she was broken, she was still walking home. She was still headed where she needed to be.

With Light silhouetting my shoulders, I will push into the dark night, no longer bound by shadows that trailed so long behind me. For they do not tell my story. They do not hold my truth. They cannot keep me from the things I am meant to do. Even if my eyes are heavy, I will push forward with audacity, and I will rise with strength at dawn.

For all the times you had to bend and break and mold and shape to meet someone else’s expectations of you, and for all the times you stood out a little too much, you were a little too different or not different enough,

I realized that I could spend the rest of my life doubting myself, or I could make the brave decision to work through self-doubt and allow myself to be stretched in ways I had not been before.

when you start to feel the pull of the past, and you are helpless trying to calm unyielding storms on your own, remember to do the best you can do while knowing and trusting: it is not all up

What would you tell your younger self, to encourage her to live courageously?

no matter how dark the night, in the morning, Light pours through, filling every corner of the room.

If you find yourself struggling to see past your imperfections because you cannot figure out how what’s torn apart can come together, may you know in your soul that the answer is not found in thinking, feeling, doing, but in trusting in what is Greater than you.

PERHAPS THE TEARS THAT WELLED IN YOUR EYES TODAY WERE A WAY OF LETTING IT ALL GO, A WAY OF RELEASING WHAT KEPT YOU FROM FLYING ABOVE THE HILLS THAT ONCE HELD YOU BACK. It wasn’t until she reached the shore that she realized she was meant for water.

I was in love with Brynn Morgan. In the morning I was going to lose her.

And though there were wonderful moments, there were always these lingering thoughts . . yes, today was good, but what about tomorrow? Where does this lead? A year from now, where will we be? Layer by layer, things fell apart before her eyes. He was living for a moment, while she was hoping for the future. She was pushed out of his world and on her own, trying to gather the pieces of her heart, and find her way home. The road back was long. And it was strange to go from being in step with someone, to journeying on to the rhythm of her own two feet. She was walking home in pieces, but she realized even though she was broken, she was still walking home. She was still headed where she needed to be. And even though at times she was certain he was the worst mistake of her life, she had gratitude that after everything, she had made it out alive. And now the challenge was to make it back home.

Let this be your morning song, for it is far too easy to feel alone out here, in crowded subways and highways and trafficked walkways. They all have a way of reminding you of everyone who has moved on so quickly without you.

Perhaps the reason you are drawn to flowers is not only for their outer beauty, but because they remind you: Beautiful things will bloom, after the longest season of waiting.

It takes courage to live through heartbreak. Breathing is n o small feat