Andrea Gibson Tribute: “Don’t forget to put your heart in”
One of the quickest paths
to an open heart
is to recognize how
much courage it takes
to live a life. Any life.
To choose to see
that courage in others.
And to choose to see
it in ourselves.
@andreagibson
Rainbow heart kite in the sky held open by many interwoven strings.
Celebrating Andrea Gibson
Andrea Gibson was a phenomenal poet and activist dedicated to exploring all of life’s experiences with courage and curiosity - a dedication encapsulated by: “Don’t forget to put your heart in” (Time Piece, in: ‘You Better Be Lightning’), a phrase which has become a guiding principle within her community, and which aligns perfectly with the values of Take Heart Yoga.
They were amazingly gifted at capturing the complexities and challenges of being human, a rare talent which not only allowed others to feel understood and united in connection, but which also invited personal discovery and cathartic release of feelings hidden in false harbour.
Their body of work is often noted as voicing struggles surrounding gender norms and identity, mental health - including trauma and suicide, and life-altering illness, both chronic and terminal.Their pieces dedicated to social justice, politics and care for the natural world serve as a rallying cry inspiring many to continue to hope and to take action.
Andrea died on July 14 2025. Andrea’s writing, as well as the vulnerability, authenticity, and spirit that shone from them in every interview, media post and newsletter, not only changed lives, but saved lives.
Below is my personal thank you note to Andrea, followed by a few of the themes in their writing which I feel are most relevant for the Take Heart Yoga community and suggestions as to some of the poems you might be inspired to check out focused on those topics.
If you resonate with their offerings as I did, I highly recommend purchasing one or more of their books - you might start with this one: You Better Be Lightning - as well as signing up for their newsletter: Things That Don’t Suck.
Dear Andrea Gibson,
As I sit here and wonder how to truly capture my gratitude to you in words, what comes to the forefront is thanking you for your life force - perhaps strange, as it is your passing that has brought pen to page, and yet, your life force still resonates in me so vibrantly.
Your words have cradled my heart, held my hand with the gentlest tug forward, and offered infinite permission for me to be just as I am. In my darkest moments you were there offering solace, understanding and feeling felt, encouragement, a gateway to wonder, and the empowerment that comes in opening oneself to exploring experience and Self as they are, and as they evolve, raw and unfiltered. All woven with acceptance and compassion.
Perhaps most magical of all, is how the effects of your words ripple outward. I feel connected to so many folks around the world whose lives you touched, to others who are currently weeping the most beautiful sparkling tears at this shared truth of your having died. A whole community devoted to spreading your uplifting voice, to embodying your calls to action by supporting others in a way that is heartfelt, brave, and generous, and to embracing all facets of this being human: the beauty and the grief, the magic and mystery, the whole happy-mess.
I will keep your words close until my own dying day.
What’s light in me bows to what’s light in you.
Anna
Themes and Resources
Trauma, Depression, Anxiety, Panic Attacks, and Suicide
One of my favourite things about Andrea is that they did not shy away from the hardest of the hard stuff, the topics many others either won’t touch, or will only reference superficially. Andrea dove right in.
We need more folks willing to do this: sharing personal experience which naturally invites others to step out of the isolating and limiting shadows of shame and which bolsters awareness of these topics in a form with real emotional impact and therefore, the most potential to truly nourish understanding, compassion, and change.
Examples:
Love & Loss, Relationships, Grief, Big Feelings, Mortality
Andrea feels deeply and artfully reflects and writes about feeling with the most riveting and revealing poignancy (revealing in their own genuine sharing, but also in what is revealed in the reader/listener and then held with tenderness by their words and imagery).
Love, loss, grief and the ups and downs of all types of relationships are universal human experiences and in engaging with Andrea’s offerings on these themes you might find yourself internally exclaiming “Exactly!” or simply allowing your heart to open to the waves of emotion along with them, noting a sense of kinship, deeply rooted truth, or a personal echo of past experience.
Andrea excels at: “making beauty out of grief” (How The Worst Day Of My Life Became My Best, in: ‘You Better Be Lightning’), alchemizing pain into passion and purpose (and often humour too!), and cherishing connection with others, even when things get rough.
Examples:
The Year Of No Grudges, Or Instead of Writing A Furious Text, I Try A Poem
Time Piece * Link to their video recording an excerpt, full text in: ‘You Better Be Lightning’
Wonder, Awe, Dreaming Big, Gratitude, Play, Showing Up For Life
I do believe that being able to connect with wonder, curiosity and gratitude is a superpower too often grown out of, buried, or dismissed as fluff. Taking in the beautiful mystery of our world, reclaiming freedom of expression and creativity, and meeting both the joy and the suffering that life brings equally and fully, can have a profound influence on our healing and sense of vitality - a powerful antidote to leaving “this world having had only a near-life experience” (Time Piece, in: ‘You Better Be Lightning’).
Andrea’s writing has a way of rekindling those qualities if they have been snuffed out, and of providing inspiration and a map towards exploring them if they feel foreign all together. Their excitement and delight in the details is contagious in the best way possible, true soul-food.
Examples:
