You Are Allowed

You are allowed to rest.

You are allowed to go through the effort of going to the store, buying the ingredients, and spending time cooking your favorite meal… even if you’re the only one there to eat it.

You are allowed to prefer the company of people who lift you up to those that drag you down.

You are allowed to cry.

You are allowed to believe in the magic of the moon and tide and seasons.

You are allowed to be wildly sexy… even if you aren’t “skinny” or “hot” or “perfect.”

You are allowed to be unproductive or to delve into something utterly “useless” that delights your spirit.

You are allowed to not have it all figured out.

You are allowed to be selfish, and not just this once. 

You are allowed to be imperfect. To show up messy. To feel vulnerable when a perceived flaw is revealed.

You are allowed to want your coffee a certain way. (Brewed dark with dollops of coconut cream, thank you very much.) And, you are allowed to be absurdly weird about the mug that you drink your coffee out of.

You are allowed to buy yourself really nice sheets to sleep in every night.

You are allowed to like succulents and flower crowns, even when they are painfully on trend and you’d really like to pretend you are too cool for them.

You are allowed to be uncool.

You are allowed to curate your life as if it is your greatest masterpiece. It is.

You are allowed to throw away all of the underwear in your drawer that has holes in it.

You are allowed to shine brightly, even it it is intimidating to someone else or makes them jealous.

You are allowed to be unendingly specific as you attend to the details of what is around you.

You are allowed to say no. To change your mind. To realize mid-process that something isn’t right for you.

You are allowed to recalibrate your course at a moment’s notice.

You are allowed to choose what you make things mean.

You are allowed to have a bad day. 

You are allowed to be ridiculously happy, even if everyone around you is struggling.

You are allowed to be too much. To be irrational. To be highly sensitive.

You are allowed to ask for what you need.

You are allowed to have needs. 

You are allowed to love yourself, bravely, no matter what.

You are allowed to make up your own mind about what you’d like to do – without asking anyone else.

You are allowed to make mistakes.

You are allowed to be deliciously, ridiculously, and messily human.