Sometimes we wonder why we are unhappy with ourselves.
So we look back over the years to see what’s created this.
We see our friendships and relationships, or the choices we have made.
We start looking over how some people have treated us, and how we have allowed a lot of unkindness to step over the doorstep of our soul’s experience, and right into our circle of peace.
People will show you who they are.
They will literally tell you.
Sometimes in words, but other times with their actions.
It can takes years to really see who they really were.
It can also take years to see your own self.
Learning to have more kind friendships takes a lot of self-love.
It takes determination and commitment to self.
Learning that you deserve to be around people who lift you up, rather than put you down, seems like it is common sense.
Yet, sometimes we don’t realize these people are putting us down, until we take time away from everyone so we can look back and process over it all.
Looking over what people have said to us, how we feel when we are around them, and the choices we make when we are with them, are all key signs to pay attention to.
Having been through many layers of my own healing, I am really starting to learn how I FEEL matters.
Listening to my body, to my energy, to my spirit with so many different aspects of life, is beginning to make more and more sense for so many different reasons.
Remembering back to when she was younger and thinking, “if only I could have valued myself more, if only I could have treated myself better.”
Time goes on with each click of the second hand.
The sun sets and rises, and she continues to find her way.
Still learning, still growing, yet now looking a little different and feeling a bit more further away from who she once was, yet still always the same.
Feeling the storms of my emotions, while getting my picture taken, not knowing what would come after.
Already working on dealing with so much trauma, and trying to survive, trying to keep my kids safe, though, it felt like there was danger coming.
Feelings erupting inside of me.
Feeling in a place of uncertainty, just as we tend to be, when in the middle of a storm.
After this shoot, I went for my daily walk and found my daughter was missing.
She was not where she was supposed to be, and when she knew I knew, she made it so I couldn’t call or text her.
It was a long weekend, trying to find her and get her home.
These are not stories I typically share on here, due to not wanting to over share, but sometimes I just need to release, for the healing, and to maybe help someone else.
Twenty six hours of not knowing where my daughter was, or if she would come home.
Twenty six hours of being in panic for her life and her wellbeing.
She finally returned home, and she was safe.
One more scar on my heart.
One more memory to remember how much I love her.
One more reason to show her more sensitivity and compassion.
This shoot really ended up representing more than Marina Shipova or I could have even imagined.
Sometimes we have to sell our clothes to pay the bills.
Sometimes some of the help runs out, but all of this leads us to a new chapter, a new challenge to overcome and a new way of thinking needs to take over.
Things don’t happen to you, they happen for you.
Be strong in your self-love and listen to the guidance of your intuition.
Writing in my journal, responding to text messages, going over conversations from recent exchanges, I notice certain things I’d like to start paying more attention to. One thing is the stories I keep retelling, and how I communicate, in general.
A perspective, a point of view, an opinion… Each one very important, yet also, at times, not fully thought through, in a way to convey clearly, or fully, or maybe even appropriately.
We put so much energy into things. Yet, are these things that are worthwhile of so much of our energy? Are we really being true to ourselves or are we saying things we think other people may expect for us to say or want us to say?
What is it that we are seeking out of life? And how to our words and thoughts reflect those goals?