Marshmallow

Have you ever shed a tear while gazing into the full moon rising above the ocean? Have you ever felt like your heart was going to burst with love and affection for your friends and family? Do you own more than 3 fuzzy blankets and/or have a candle collection? Well then, my babe, you just might be a marshmallow like me. 

This week while creating pieces for the new drop, I was deep in contemplation of my own marshmallowness. My soft, sensitive facade I present to the world is only masking an interior that is just as ooey as it is gooey. There's something about liking fuzzy blankets and being effusively affectionate that seems embarrassing, like I should be ashamed of that part of myself -- but softness is not a weakness. It's a character trait that goes beyond the external presentation of it and represents an inner strength that can be overlooked and misunderstood. 

As a ~highly sensitive person~, I feel things deeply, in all senses and aspects imaginable. Recently I have learned to embrace this as my super power, acknowledging that like any super power, it comes with both benefits and disadvantages. On the plus side, I am highly empathetic towards others, have deep appreciation for and get pleasure for life's little wonders, am able to comfortably name my feelings and express them. On the not so great side, I am in a state of almost constant emotional regulation, which takes up a lot of mental space and energy. 

Sensitivity and softness should not be interpreted as fragility or lack of courage. On the contrary, sensitive people are constantly intaking an enormous amount of data from their environment and interactions, and processing it all while trying to function and "be normal".  Furthermore, some of the most empathetic people I know are that way because they have either been through capital T Trauma, or have seen enough of the world that they know that everyone, deep down, has experienced some amount of suffering and deserves kindness and respect. It takes mental fortitude and self-awareness to be a sensitive and soft person, and a unique type of bravery to live authentically in that. 

So, my marshmallow friends, you never need anyone's permission to be yourself, but take this as a gentle nudge of encouragement to embrace your own softness. And for those of you who may not be marshmallows, I hope this gave you some insight into and appreciation for the marshmallow mindset and may inspire a little more understanding. We need both types of people in the world, and can all learn from each other. 

With love, light, butterflies, unicorns, and rainbows, 

xoxo

Erin

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I will end this blog and perhaps my future blog posts with an explanation of why I'm writing about the topic and what on earth it has to do with jewelry:

All of this was going through my head while I was knotting this pastel-hued necklace, the colors of which made me think of the centuarettes and Pegasusses (Pegussi?) in the pastoral symphony in Fantasia, which made me think of my affinity for all things magical and fluffy and whimsical and unicorn fairy princess, which made me feel a little embarrassed that, a 35-year-old woman, is still drawn to these "silly and slightly embarrassing" things, and then made me think of the time an uber driver told me I was a marshmallow and was gonna get burnt. Well look at me know, Mr. Uber driver, fully embracing my marshmallowness and only getting toasted enough to be extra delicious. Okay, I'm done with the metaphor. For now. Welcome to the rabbit hole.