Erin Hanson Archives | A Million Beautiful Pieces

A Million Beautiful Pieces February 11, 2019

Our Lives Are One Big Puzzle by Erin Hanson

“So you won’t have to look back when it’s over, And realize you’ve left out the sun”

When we measure life by success and failure, we lose so much of everything in between. We lose the essence of the Million Beautiful Pieces that make the puzzle that is our grand masterpiece. Erin Hanson is The Poetic Underground and she writes a beautiful reminder about being present in every moment of our life.

“Our lives are one big puzzle,

We don’t know how many pieces we’ve got,

There are people that fit in quite nicely

And people who try but do not,

We’re constantly adding more pieces,

All the memories of things we’ve been through,

We add laughter and tears and adventure,

And the lessons we’ve learnt to be true,

Everyone has their own puzzle,

There will be ones where you do not fit,

Don’t you ever dare make your piece smaller,

Just so you can live there for a bit,

If you keep cutting off all your edges,

One day you won’t recognize what you see

And you’ll forget the person you once were,

Before the world told you who you should be,

Make the most of each piece in your puzzle,

It’ll be a grand masterpiece when it’s done,

So you won’t have to look back when it’s over,

And realize you’ve left out the sun.” -e.h

Sometimes we need to be reminded that this life is not about meeting a set of criteria set by other people. It is living in tune with who God created you to be: A Grand Masterpiece.

A Million Beautiful Pieces December 31, 2018

A New Year Has Arrived by Erin Hanson

On this last day of 2018 I am filled with gratitude as I recount the amazing year I’ve had. Turning forty years old has been my year of re-awakening, re-aligning and re-learning. Thank you to the people who blessed my life this year, especially to everyone who follows A Million Beautiful Pieces.

Your likes, shares and recommendations helps to put Faith, Hope and Love into the world. Without your support, I would not be able to use my gifts and my story. You are the Wind Beneath My Wings. Together we will soar through 2019 and make it a year that will count.

I’ve been saving this poem by Erin Hanson just for today. You will want to save this to remind you not to pick up again what you must leave behind in 2018.

Take down all your trouble
And wrap up your regret
Tie them to the rays of light
The sun sheds as it sets.
Whisper all that was
To fleeting seconds as they pass,
But hold onto your hope
For something new is here at last.
Beg your own forgiveness
And then grant it in one breathe,
Lay the year down softly
As it waits to face its death.
Then sit with eye turned skyward
As the night-time comes alive,
All that’s been is over
And a new year has arrived.

-e.h

Happy New Year, my friends. Let’s make 2019 count.

My Inspiration November 1, 2017

Welcome to Society, by Erin Hanson

Erin Hanson is a wonderfully, talented poet. She has a way of making us become introspective while simultaneously nudging us to look beyond ourselves.

I love her poetry because her poems resonate with different times of my life. Her words are like a good friend who goes with you to places that have caused you pain; holding your hand, saying “But honey look at you now. You are so much better than this”.

Now that I’m a mother to young people who are trying to find their place in society; I am aware of how easily my children can be built up or torn down by expectations placed on them by others or even by me.

These words are also very poignant as I reflect on the lives of people with disabilities and how we set ourselves as the standard that they must achieve in order to be “Welcomed to Society”.

Just saying….

https://www.wattpad.com/212243278-erin-hanson-poems

My Inspiration July 10, 2017

Soul Sharers

This poem is one of my favourite poems of all time.

It perfectly encapsulates my life from how broken and confused I felt for so long to how I learnt to be comfortable with myself just as I am.

It also impresses on me how much compassion and kindness we all need.

I remember when the world broke in,
To rip apart my soul,
For years after that one event,
I thought myself not whole,
My hours were spent with trying,
To fix it up with tape & glue,
Until one day I discovered,
Everyone else was broken too,
Here we were with pieces,
Of ourselves in both our hands,
So fragile and so open,
That I began to understand,
Maybe I’d been greedy,
To want my soul all to myself,
When it could be a lot more helpful,
In the palms of someone else,
Now every time I go somewhere,
I leave part of me behind,
And collect all of the pieces,
Of others’ souls that I can find,
So when I’m meeting someone new,
It’s not just me they get,
But also tiny fragments,
Of all the others that I’ve met,
And my life’s become much bigger,
Now that it’s home to things so small,
And if this is what “broken” means,
I do not mind at all.
– Erin Hanson

Image credit: Michon van Staden