Grieving Daughter Finds Note In Fossil Purse While Thrifting
Unexpected Thrift Store Find
Photo of a little girl with her father and a black purse.
TikTok/Abrielle Clausing
On January 13, 2021, Abrielle Clausing's world fell apart. Her father unexpectedly passed away from Covid-19. As anyone who has experienced grief knows, the journey isn't a straight one. It ebbs and flows with some days being significantly harder than others.
It was during a "particularly hard grief week" when Abrielle, 24, decided to embark on some retail therapy. She used to love thrifting with her dad, and no one loved a good deal more than he did.
However, she didn't just want to shop for the sake of shopping, she had a very specific item she wanted in mind.
"My sister and I decided to go thrifting and I told her I wanted to find a vintage Fossil brand purse," she explains in a now-viral TikTok video.
And wouldn't you know, Abrielle did indeed end up finding "the cutest vintage Fossil brand purse" - seriously what are the chances?
And as if that wasn't serendipitous enough, it was about to get a whole lot more remarkable.
Inside the purse was a handwritten note:
"When you read this you will be far from me in miles but not in my heart. I'm here. I love you."
Whelp.
She immediately took it as a sign from her beloved dad.
"I knew it was from him," she told People. "I always check the inside of the bag before I buy it to make sure it’s in good condition. When I stuck my hand in it, I felt the piece of paper and when I took it out and found the note, I read it out loud to my sister."
"When I saw the note, it just confirmed that he was with us," she added. "He’s always with us."
Response To The Viral TikTok
TikTok · abrielleclausingAbrielle's heartwarming video has garnered nearly one million views and over 1,000 comments and it's making believers out of every single one of us.
"I'm so afraid that death is final and we just stop existing. But some things can't be explained. There has to be more out there!!"
"This was def him 🥹💙"
"I’m literally crying so hard. Someone would have had to carry me out of the thrift 😭"
"I'm honestly at a loss for words. Wow. Just wow."
Even Fossil weighed in, writing, "What a beautiful note to find. Your dad's love will always be with you. Sending you and your family a big, warm hug."
Her TikTok also opened the floodgates for others to share the signs they've received from lost loved ones.
"My brother passed away & years later I was at a checkout line in the store & at the cash register was a young school photo of him that someone left.... never made sense but I'll never forget it."
"About 30 seconds after bursting in tears thinking about my grandpa a car merged in front of me and the license plate was his name and his age when he died 😭😭"
"When my mom passed, days after I found an email that not me nor my sister had opened or read before. It was an email my mom sent us 4 years before with the message “open it when I’m gone, love, mom”. It had a beautiful letter as an attachment."
Love Lives On
The note Abrielle Clausing found in a Fossil bag while thrifting is now part of a cherished collage.
People.com/Abrielle Clausing
Abrielle has given the note a place of honor, right smack in the middle of a framed collage of her favorite sayings and things.
It's a beautiful reminder that the love she shared with her dad lives on, even though he is gone.
And whether you believe in fate or not, you have to admit the universe had an uncanny way of showing up just when she needed it to.
After all, what are the odds that a stranger penned a note with the exact words she needed to hear, placed it in the exact bag she was looking for, AND that bag ended up in the exact thrift store she was shopping in? Pretty astronomical.
And yet, here we are.
Life is full of unexpected, magical moments that often happen when we least expect it. And sometimes those moments bring us the comfort and connection we need most, reminding us that love...is never truly lost.
Your Fears Will Set You Free, but Only If You Free Them First
Living in fearfulness is a lonely place of mental trickery, created by our ego to protect us. This realm is something we all know. Yet when we face our fears, we begin to pull the mask of our ego away, and discover the hidden depths to who we are -- and who we are afraid to become.
By using every thought and emotion as a gateway to self-knowledge and self-mastery, we can turn fear into our friend. It's through fear that we find courage, the echo of the lion’s roar that lies within us all.
Your Fears Will Set You Free, but Only If You Free Them First
We never feel happy or resolute in fear; it’s a pit of confusion, inner struggle and tension. Our fears are not something to fight with a mighty sword. Our fears are something that in the first instance we should embrace and question. The goal is to acknowledge what sits beneath that fear. Ask yourself what you are protecting yourself from and ask yourself what you fear to lose; challenge your belief systems.
When we question what we feel and think we allow the transparency of those thoughts and emotions to find their way to the surface. We can uncover fears layer by layer to see what lies beyond. Fears are very often irrational and driven by a deeper source, maybe an old wound or a past failure. Our ego holds the memory of the past and the prospect of future uncertainty well. Through questioning and mindfully challenging what makes you afraid, you open up a space for reflection and the truth that hides behind your fears.
Break free of your thought cycles
Thoughts and emotions can easily gain momentum and spin us into a senseless web where we keep experiencing the same scenario. The same self-doubt and fear stunt our ability to be vulnerable and open to new experiences. We allow dread and worry to possess us in the memory bank of our body -- yet when we look deeper into those feelings, we effectively release them from their bounds. We give ourselves the chance to break free.
Fears operate like a hamster wheel, enclosing you in circular patterns that repeat the same motion over and over again. Fear grows in confidence each time around. We cannot find new perspectives if we remain on the turn of the same revolving sequence. When we valiantly leap off the hamster wheel is when we can see past the illusion of fear. Breaking the chain means we can start to strip back what keeps us afraid, doubtful, or in a state of disharmony.
Dig deep through the layers
There is a pattern to many of our intrinsic emotions. Once we rebel from the patterns that hold us back, we are able to actually face what is before us and reflect upon it. We need to dig deeper into our thoughts and emotions rather than accepting them at face value. If we brush past what we feel and think without really delving into what drives that mental and emotional energy then we can easily be fooled into believing it all. Remember that doubts, fears, and worries are not the truth of you. Your inner essence and soul carry the strength and authenticity of you, and this is outside of any falsehoods created in your mind or felt on a surface level.
The journey through fear is to see it for what it is: a memory or irrational prospect of what you don’t want. Accept its presence and then begin to uncover each layer of it. As we grow in age, we grow in layers. Fears that are not dealt with will keep finding their way back to us; we will repeat what we do, rather than take the opportunity to repair. It is often what we are most afraid of that vibrates from a seemingly forgotten inner wound; a weak spot that we need to insightfully strengthen.
Find growth through fear
How can we courageously evolve and engage in the full newness and magic of life if we aren’t first pushed a little? As human beings we grow against resistance. Just like the muscles in our body that allow us to move, we gain strength and endurance through some kind of ‘overload’. Pain opens us up to our vulnerability, the centre of our heart space, and fear nourishes our need for bravery.
When we feel fear it’s a sign of something within that we need to challenge ourselves to change. It is our powerful agent for transformation. What is your fear speaking to you about on a deeper level? An element of danger and risk is the undertone of our existence, because following our hearts is built on chance. We need to indulge in our inner struggles so we can realize the full magnitude of our brilliant power to overcome them.
When you expose yourself to your fears, you find a rebellious touch of liberation. You release yourself from a vice-grip and discover an odyssey of courage, truth and faith to move forward. You can choose to replace fear with faith.
Becoming fearless through fear
We should humanize our fears rather than demonize them. We should not fear fear. We can choose to embrace, accept and challenge what scares us by uncovering what lies beneath in the tiers and secrets of our soul. Don’t fight your fears -- free them and you free yourself.