
Grounded in lightness.
Free to expand.
Confident in choice.
Clear in direction.
Comfort in stillness.
Peace in the quiet.
Steady in heart.
Safe in this breath.

Grounded in lightness.
Free to expand.
Confident in choice.
Clear in direction.
Comfort in stillness.
Peace in the quiet.
Steady in heart.
Safe in this breath.

Recognizing without conforming.
Allowing without absorbing.
Flowing effortlessly between the inner and outer world.
Uniquely connected.
Discerning without differentiating.
Stepping out of the rigid container of familiar and safe
to freely exercise vulnerability and authenticity.
Curious.
Open to the new and opposing.
Existing within this thin permeable membrane.
Maintaining sense of self.
Living deeply and authentically.

I’m not always going to get my way,
but I’m always going to get what’s right for me.
When I let go of forcing outcomes,
stop relying on others for my happiness,
and see obstacles not as a sign of my worth but of my courage and strength,
even what seems like a paralyzing blockage
can be an invitation to take a different path,
go a different way,
or sit right where I am for a moment
and reflect
on the beauty,
awe,
and opportunity
that exists right here,
right now,
just the way things are.
Much gratitude to Shari Irby for contributing this photo.

Releasing control.
Trusting me.
Allowing joy.
Presence
leading to
clarity.
Clarity
leading to
peace.
Slowing down
to launch forward.
Stepping into my light.

Blustery cold takes my breath away.
Frozen, alone, confined to the space of myself.
Sharing my dreams with the walls, longing for the door to open.
Holding on to hope.
Awaiting that precious moment when fingers thaw and
hearts warm.
when the wind carries through the windows the fresh scent of renewal.
Expanding into the sun,
into my knowing
my power,
my love,
Into the garden of
wholeness
where I find myself
shedding the cold confinement,
ready to dance,

Bursting with excitement.
Tempted by fear.
To hold back.
To bring less of my
intelligence,
beauty,
creativity,
power
so as not to overwhelm them.
But they feel it anyway.
They want it.
And there is a good chance they won’t be able to handle it.
But that shouldn’t stop me
from being all that I am.
My allness
is ready
to bloom,
in all
of
its
magnificence.

What if overflowing is just full enough?
Can empty overflow?
What if stillness is found in movement?
Belonging resides within one’s own heart?
Could need be an illusion, and
Beauty be best seen with the eyes closed?
What if love is a natural state of being and everything else a mistruth?
Receiving,
feeling,
all
in
love,
creates not overwhelm,
but allows joy.
What if what we need seek nothing to experience the state of being whole?

So awkward are these first steps of
holding on
and letting go,
remembering
and reimagining,
allowing love with all of its bitter suffering
and sweet consolation,
reconciling the aliveness
with the empty space.
The heart broken open
to feel more deeply
and love more ferociously.
The painful ebb and flow of longing,
overflowing with fullness,
aching from absence.
Bravely moving
with and against
the rhythms of this inescapable dance,
gently wisping and twirling
the scattered parts of the heart
back together,
slowly,
softly
coming
home.

Not chasing answers
but curiously asking questions.
Fleeting, bubbles of inquiry,
floating, popping, landing
with different degrees of impact.
Wonder and awe ignited.
Delight inspired.
Freedom found
when instead of chasing results,
I am open to receiving conclusions freely.

I am not broken.
Although, perhaps to some I may appear that way.
When I sit in stillness, in the quiet of my own heart, it is clear that I may be chipped.
I may be cracked.
Parts of me may be loose or wobbly,
but there is such a profound beauty
in all of the scars and markings of this worn and tired being,
that I can only imagine
if I were completely broken
I would be even more beautiful.