Gnome Blessings, @followers, Today is Mother’s Day, a day that can bring up a whole constellation of feelings. For some, it’s a day of joy, gratitude, and togetherness. For others, it’s a day of grief, memory, or quiet longing. Some are celebrating their mothers. Some are the mothers. Some are mothering in other ways through care, through presence, through simply showing up. However this day touches your life, I want to take a moment to honor it. To honor all the people, past and present, who have nurtured, protected, and steadied us. To honor those who have held space when we were breaking. Who reminded us to eat, to rest, to breathe. Who sat beside us in silence. Who showed us, by example, how to be soft in a world that often demands hardness. In a way, that’s what today’s episode is about. It’s called The Art of Slowing Down, and it’s a reflection on how easily we forget to care for ourselves the way we care for others. How we move through our days in a rush, checking boxes, getting things done, but forgetting to just step outside. To feel the air. To stand in the sun. To be. It’s about nature, yes. But it’s also about presence. About giving yourself permission to pause. To reconnect with your body, your breath, the soil beneath your feet. To feel what you’re feeling. To slow down enough to remember that you are here. And that being here is enough. As always, thank you for being part of this community. Every month, thousands of new members are joining the Church of Gnome, and the way you all show up with kindness, curiosity, and a gnome hat or two, continues to fill my heart. Whether today is filled with celebration, reflection, or a little bit of both, may it hold a pocket of stillness just for you. Gnome Blessings, Brett Gnomean Elder (fb)

Gnome Blessings and good morning my fellow Gnomeans, @followers There’s a proverb we’ve been reflecting on lately in the Church of Gnome: “Let joy feel normal again.” It’s a short sentence, but it carries the weight of something sacred. Somewhere along the winding path of life, through hardship, heartbreak, and the noise of the world, many of us began to treat joy like a visitor rather than a right. We braced ourselves for disappointment. We learned to trust sadness more than laughter. But joy isn’t a luxury. It’s not a reward. It’s a way home. In today’s brand new episode of Gnome Talk, I want to explore that journey how to remember joy not as a fragile thing, but a part of us that’s waiting to return. We’ll talk about how society has normalized sorrow, how healing begins with tiny moments of wonder, and how joy is not ignorance of the world's pain... it’s resistance to letting pain be the only story. This one is for anyone who’s been carrying heaviness. For anyone who forgot what ease feels like. For anyone who needs permission to smile without flinching. And while we’re on the subject of joy... It fills my heart to keep seeing the thousands of people who are becoming members and ministers through the Church of Gnome each month. Whether you’re wearing your gnome hat, holding up your ordainment certificate, or simply joining in the forum or Facebook group to share something kind; you are a living reminder that community still matters. Gnome Blessings, Brett Larsen Gnomean Elder (fb)