Consider This Your Permission Slip

Do or don't, it's yours to decide

“Consider This Your Permission Slip,” the greeting card said.

We all remember the permission slip, don’t we? Typically a sheet of paper sent home ahead of a school field trip, it was a parent or guardian’s signature away from granting us access to adventure, a resounding “yes” to the question of “are you in?”

Left on my doorstep, this permission slip-inspired card was a thoughtful follow-up to a recent conversation with a friend.

“I feel like I have so much I need to do,” I had told her, “and I don’t feel like doing any of it.”

“You’re doing great,” she assured and we both laughed at the phrase that’s become a sort of mantra — encouraging words in discouraging times.

“Consider This Your Permission Slip,” the card said and then went on to offer a range of suggestions without judgment.

Permission — “to get going,

to stay put,

to be lost,

to know absolutely,

to start again,

to be happy,

to be sad,

to feel lonely,

to enjoy being alone,

to say yes,

to say no,

to cry,

to feel good,

to do nothing,

to be yourself,

to change,

to do, be or have whatever you want.”

My friend added a lovely handwritten note inside the card which said, in part, “whatever you choose is always more than enough.”

Grateful for this gesture, I wanted to pay it forward.

So, this week, I pass along the sentiment and the encouragement to find strength in action or inaction or whatever brings you happiness, peace, and joy. If you are looking for some kind of freedom or are in need of some kind of adventure or if you simply need to take a break…

Consider This Your Permission Slip.

Oh, and you’re doing great.

Photo by Tim Foster on Unsplash

This essay originally appeared in my column in the April 3, 2025 edition of the Perry Herald in Perry, NY.