Take What You Need

a shared feeder for tender hearts (AUDIO + free printable)

Each day around 5:07pm, my phone lights up with a welcomed notification:

Motion detected on your bird feeder.

This magical feeder was a gift from my friend Carrie, who knows how much I love birds, but also knows I would never buy myself something so fancy.

It has a tiny camera inside, so I can see my bird friends up close.

And Rudy the red cardinal comes every day at dusk.

I turn on the live feed and watch and listen as he takes what he needs.

Rudy is not a polite eater. He chomps loudly. And after every couple of nibbles, he leans in and peers directly into the camera. I swear, it feels like he’s checking on me, like he’s saying,

“Hey, bird lady. You okay today?”

It is the most wondrous thing I’ve ever experienced with a tiny, winged creature. And yes… I’ve become a little obsessed.

The weather has been brutally cold here in the south, and the feeder cylinder that hangs in my tree keeps freezing.

Rudy has figured out that it’s easier to eat from the new feeder with a small tray underneath that spills out loose seed.

And now, I watch him teaching the other birds that it’s safe… that it’s okay… that this strange, new feeder can be trusted.

“Take what you need,” he whistles with encouragement.

Watching Rudy has been reminding me of those posters you sometimes see taped to a telephone pole or pinned on a coffee shop bulletin board, the ones with little rip-off strips at the bottom.

Photo by Maximus Mazar on Unsplash

Each strip holds an uplifting word or a phrase you can take with you when you’re having a hard day.

And suddenly I realized… this magical feeder has become one of those posters for me.

So today, I want to turn our little corner of the internet into a feeder for you.

I want to offer a small nourishing station, a place where you can take what you need.

And for some of us who are lifelong givers and nurturers, I hope it will also offer permission. Because when you’ve been conditioned to care for everyone else, caring for yourself can make it feel quite uncomfortable to receive.

But we are worthy, and Rudy is showing us the way.

Come on. Let’s gather at the shared feeder, and take what we need. I’ll read, and you simply absorb what resonates and leave what doesn’t.

◀️ (Click ‘play’ at the top of the post)

Let’s begin…

A February offering for anyone feeling frozen and in need of a little nourishment:

Maybe what you need is five quiet minutes.
No problem-solving. No scrolling. No doing.
Just a small pocket of silence and stillness.

Here is your permission.

Maybe what you need is a warm, grilled cheese sandwich with the edges cut off.
A simple reminder to nourish yourself the way you nourish everyone else.

Here is your permission.

Maybe what you need is an invitation to see yourself with kinder eyes.
To remember that you are worthy of gentle and loving consideration.
Today, see yourself through the eyes of love.

Here is your permission.

Maybe what you need is to let yourself cry.
Sometimes our bodies just need a way to let the heaviness move through.
Cry if you need to. Let those tears flow.

Here is your permission.

Maybe what you need is a small, gentle container for your worry—
five minutes to name what’s weighing on you.
Because worrying all day and all night is not the same as caring.
And then, close the box for now.

Here is your permission.

Maybe what you need is to set a boundary.
Maybe there is something you need to say no to today.
Maybe today, you decline… you step back… you honor your limits.
You are worthy of protecting your peace.

Here is your permission.

Maybe what you need is room to be human today.
To let your feelings, your worries, and your frustrations be valid.
And to remember that your small, daily efforts matter.

Here is your permission.

Maybe what you need is to keep loving people even when it would be easier to pull away.
Please keep reaching out
Please keep staying open
Refuse to let what is hard in this world turn your soft heart into something it is not.

Here is your permission.

Maybe what you need is a hug.
A real one.
A good, long twenty-second hug.

You can ask for one.

Or… we can give ourselves one right now.

Take your right arm and wrap it around your shoulder.
Now take your left arm and wrap it around the other one.

And just hold yourself… and just breathe.

Let this be a small container for whatever you’re holding right now.

You are safe to feel what you feel here.

Maybe what you need is to remember how important you are.

To me.
And to someone in this world.

Because right now, we still have a chance
to choose a more loving way of being
in a culture that has conditioned us to push, power, compete,
compare, and consume—
or quietly numb ourselves—
especially in moments of crisis.

And this is how real change begins.
Not just in our hearts, bodies, and minds…
but in our relationships,
our communities,
and the generations who will come after us.

So today, we begin by loving ourselves through the day ahead.
So that when the moment comes,
we will still have the strength
to step in
and care for someone else.

And sometimes that care begins with a cue from nature.

Just like Rudy,
when he pauses and peers into the camera…

This is me,
looking in at you now.

Checking in.

You okay, today?

Please look after yourself,
because we need you.

Here is your permission.

I love you.

My hand in yours,
Rachel

P.S. I made a Take What You Need printable for you with each of the permissions from this offering turned into tear-off strips. My hope is that having something tangible to hang up will feel like a small, steady kind of support this February.

❄️ And a sincere thank you…
Your sharing of my January essays and PDFs in community groups, neighbor gatherings, among family members and with your online circles reached farther than I ever imagined.

Knowing that my words were carried into real rooms and real conversations has fueled me in ways I can’t quite put into words. I hope you hear it in my voice how much I appreciate your tangible support of my work.

Take What You Need Feb 2026

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🗣️ Did any of these permissions resonate with you? Whenever you comment, someone feels less alone. Thank you for your contributions to this supportive space.

🩷 Please consider sharing this with someone who might need to be reminded to look after themselves today.