Make dinner. Pay the bills. Achieve the thing. Get the guy. Lose the last ten pounds. Pick up the kids. Take care of a friend. Do that one millionth thing that you said yes to – even when you desperately wanted to say no. Get the degree. Start the business.
Figure it out. Show up. Find your true purpose. Be sexy. Be on.
Responsible. Lovable. Kind. Nice. Generous. Good.
We are busy.
We are busy moving about in the world, showing up and following through. We are busy doing all of the things that we think that we should be doing, taking care of everyone that we think we should be taking care of.
Our calendars are full.
We are busy and exhausted.
We want to be good women. We want to be loved and accepted. We are busy proving our worth.
We are lonely.
No matter how quick we move or how delicious the chicken soup that we make for a sick friend is – we are consumed by the fear that it isn’t enough. That we aren’t enough.
We fill our days to the brim with social niceties and obligations, but in our hearts, we can’t escape our truths :: I long to loved for who I really am. I crave a divine purpose. I am hungry to friends that really get me. I am aching for passion, inspiration, nourishment.
We are yearning for feeling comfortable within our skin – for the ability to move through our lives effortlessly.
We are yearning for the freedom that unshakable self-worth provides.
We are lonely, because there isn’t room for us in our busy, over-scheduled lives.
We have forgotten ourselves – our desires, our needs, our stories.
We have forgotten how to receive the love and support that we so freely bestow on our loved ones.
We have forgotten what makes us come alive.
We have been too busy, being good and being lovable, to simple be ourselves and let that be enough.
Come home to yourself.
This moment is just one of many moments, but it can be yours if you want it. This moment could be your wake up call.
If you had one wild and precious year left of your life – how would you live it?
If you were able to truly know how much your body does for you on a daily basis – how would you treat it in return?
If you were able to believe with your whole heart that you deserved it – what might you do differently?
If you were really honest with yourself – what have you been doing that isn’t in service of your divine purpose?
Belonging to yourself is knowing – with every cell in your body – that you are deserving of your best effort.
It is deeper than whether or not you were invited to that party, asked out on that date, or lifted up by a loving group of friends.
Belonging to yourself is about believing in your inherent worth.
It is knowing that you deserve a place in your calendar.
It is believing that you can tell yourself the truth – and that you are brave enough to receive the full breadth of your own love and support.
It is trusting that you can show up as yourself, and let your right people find you.
It is honoring your desire for the delectable journey that you have been waiting for.
It is about sharing your stories and honoring your truths.
Belonging to yourself is about being brave enough to begin again – as many times as you need to.
This moment, for example.
If you are reading this post with an aching heart and desire blooming in the pit of your stomach – this is your moment to begin again.
Mara, incredible. “Belonging to yourself is about being brave enough to begin again – as many times as you need to.”– poignant. We *are* deserving of our best efforts, our best energies, our most positive and gorgeous thoughts.We CAN create a society that told us to put ourselves and our deepest needs first instead of last… one sweet and tender moment of belonging at a time.
Thank you, love.
Thank you so much. Especially the part about just beginning again. Just now, today. Thank you.
This is the second, actually third thing I have read today about coming home to myself. I think there is a sacred echo happening and I need to pay attention. Thank you for these words. So beautiful and poignantly written
Had to leave this page open for a couple days to let it sink in and come back to it a few times…and I copied/pasted the questions into a Word doc to answer slowly and truthfully. I definitely come from a place (especially as a writer, but even as a friend) of “no one wants to hear what I say,” or “no one reads my blog” and even “no one cares.” Honoring my thoughts, creativity and desires is just starting to take root as important in my soul. Radical and extreme self care is very difficult for me right now, but I can see the vision. And once you see the vision, you know it’s possible!