I've been thinking lately about what happens when the universe offers you something.

You have the option to say yes. You also have the option to say no. And sometimes no is absolutely the right answer. Not every opportunity, invitation, idea, or unexpected addition belongs in our lives.

But I've been wondering what happens when we get a little too comfortable saying no. 🤔

Do we eventually get offered less? Or do we simply stop noticing what's being offered?

September gave me a few reasons to think about that.

Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to receive a box of ten exotic guinea keets. I said yes.

Ten somehow became fourteen, and now fourteen gorgeous little birds are growing up on our farm. They weren't something I'd planned for, but every time I look at them, I'm glad I was willing to make room for something unexpected.

There were other kinds of yeses this month, too.

After months of working on the new Ritual Soap Collection, it was finally time to take it out from behind the computer and the soap studio and put it in front of actual people.

That meant saying yes to putting something I'd worked really hard on out there to be smelled, picked up, questioned, and hopefully understood.

And people got it.

I had such a wonderful time meeting everyone who stopped by our booth at the Tractor Supply Farmers Market. I got to introduce new people to Clover Dreams Farm and talk about why Ritual Soap is a little different. Even Flat Flame, our life-size goat cutout based on Best of Flame, came along and ended up being quite the hit.

That yes required a pretty big push to get everything ready. It also required another kind of yes afterward: yes to rest.

I took some time after the market to recover instead of immediately filling the space with the next project. I'm learning that receiving doesn't always mean accepting more. Sometimes it means being willing to receive the quiet when it arrives, too.

One of my favorite yeses lately has been much simpler.

I've been taking weekly walks with my neighbor, who also owns a business. We walk outside, enjoy nature, talk about life and business, and spend time with someone who understands some of the same things. It would be incredibly easy to look at a busy week and decide there isn't time for a walk.

But there is.

And every week I'm glad I made room for it.

Even the goats gave me a little reminder about not deciding too quickly.

Our first round of ultrasounds confirmed one pregnancy while the other two girls were inconclusive. On the second round, there they were: little babies bouncing around inside all three does. 💕

Sometimes, apparently, you need to leave a little room for the answer to change.

I don't think the lesson is to say yes to everything. That sounds exhausting, and frankly, like a terrible plan.

Maybe it's simply to stay open. 

To notice when something is being offered. To pause long enough to decide whether it belongs in your life instead of automatically responding from habit, busyness, or fear.

🐣Because some yeses bring fourteen baby guineas.

👯‍♀️Some bring new people into your world.

🏔️Some look like an hour spent walking with a friend.

💤And some are simply allowing yourself to rest after you've done something hard.

I don't know whether saying yes makes the universe offer us more.

But I do think being willing to receive makes it a whole lot easier to notice how much is already being offered.