# @breyeschow on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/Cl4oi5Crx5W
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/18916995-breyeschow-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/thumbnails/972bdac241.jpg
- **Posted:** 2022-12-07T23:18:52.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Bruce Reyes-Chow (@breyeschow) — https://gondola.cc/breyeschow

## Caption

As the holiday season unfolds, there is no shortage of hot takes and advice when it comes to family. I, like so many people, not only have complicated and unresolved relationships with other family members, but I often find myself holding some weight of the complicated and unresolved relationships between other members of my family. 

I also know the unbridled love that can be extended from one to another as I gather with my families: immediate, extended, extended-extended, extended-extended-extended, and of my choosing.

Family, for me, is both exhilarating AND exhausting.
Now have no idea what an ideal family looks or feels like, but I do know that belonging to a family, no matter how it is formed or in whatever form it takes, feeds the soul well lived well. 

My dearest hope for you is that you find such places, not just during these moments of the year when family is forced to the forefront, but that you know such love, acceptance, and belonging each and every day.
 
Family

Whether chosen or circumstantial
Whether estranged or engaged
Whether too much or too little
—family is a complex creation.

With the very thought of gathering with family
anxiety and reluctance become beacons of self-preservation
acceptance and relief beckon us back to our true selves
and sometimes all of the above

—family is a complex creation.

There is no one right or wrong way to be family
for you, too, are a complex creation

—family is a complex creation.

be present as you can, but leave when you must
be gentle with yourself, but risk as you are able
be open to possibilities, but protect your spirit

navigate families of origin with wisdom and care
embrace chosen families with joy and acceptance
and give thanks for those spaces where you family to another

—family is a complex creation.
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Thanks to #Patreon supporters who underwrite my time. Feel free to share, repost, tweet, and use as you feel moved and tag @breyeschow on the socials.

For all links visit my #Patreon via the #LinkInBio.

#liturgy #prayer #weeklyword #pain

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## Credits

| Name | Username | Profile | Role |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Bruce Reyes-Chow | @breyeschow | https://gondola.cc/breyeschow | Writer/Author |

## Tags

pain, patreon, prayer, liturgy, weeklyword, linkinbio

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