Like approximately half of the voting population of our country, I woke yesterday profoundly saddened and disturbed by the presidential election results. Then I took a pregnancy test resulting in a negative result for what felt like the 927-bazillionth time. The combination of these two disappointments with the raging hormone supplementation my OB/GYN has me doing for two weeks of every month was enough to have me sitting on the kitchen floor with a full-on ugly cry.

My sweet and sensitive Little Man walked over to me with my pouch of essential oils from my handbag and said, “I’m going to oil you up, Mama. Oils will make you feel better.” He proceeded to roll Valor on my heart, Stress Away all over my face and threw on some White Angelica (a.k.a. “Tantrum Tamer”) for good measure. With a hug and a snuggle, I told him that Mama is feeling pretty sad today, but that it will pass and that I appreciate him being gentle with me today.

He asked me several times throughout the day if I was feeling sad and promised to “give [me] SO much love.” We continued to talk about why I am sad and that it is OK to feel sad but that everything will be fine if we promise to love each other and everyone around us as much as possible. Love wins, Little Buddy. He nodded every time.

Later in the day, this little gem arrived in the mail:

I achieved the rank of Executive with Young Living in the month of October. It’s the result of a lot of teamwork and personal passion sharing my love of Young Living essential oils with pretty much anyone I meet (LOL!). This diffuser necklace is an acknowledgement of my achievement by my team’s leadership and I am truly touched to receive it.

I asked Little Man what oil we should put into it and his response was, “happy oil, Mama.” Now, there is no oil named “Happy,” but there is Joy, so we put a few drops on the felt pad and went about our business for the rest of the day.

Full disclosure: Joy is not one of my favorite oils. I have never loved its fruity-floral combo and how powerful the aroma of one drop is. However, it’s one of the first therapeutic grade essential oils I ever experienced and blew my mind with its ability to support emotional balance and overcome feelings of sadness and despair. My good friend dug a bottle out of her handbag many months ago when I was in a rough place and told me to put it on my heart. It helped when nothing else did. I turned to it again when I had a miscarriage and it helped when nothing else did. I turned to it once more when I was facing a possible cancer diagnosis that would certainly mean no more children for our family and once again, it helped when nothing else did.

While everything was not instantly sunshine and roses with unicorns frolicking everywhere, I did feel less despondent after wearing my necklace for a few hours and the tears were no longer pressing against the back of my eyes, ready to spill at any moment. I continued to wear Joy on my heart today and in the face of the negativity that continues in the news cycle, I am feeling remotely calm and motivated to conquer what’s next.

So, I’ll be wearing Joy on my heart in my diffuser necklace for many weeks to come so that I can share it with the world around me for a while. Goodness knows we all need a little more love for each other right now.

If you’d like to talk about how you can spread a little Joy around you, I’d love to hear from you!