Tag Archives: freedom

Why We Write It Down

I’m doing my reluctant room-clean, going through the piles that have stacked up, and I came across an old “Goals” list. Bake bread, jog/walk neighborhood, gratitude practice, weekly clean 1 task a day. Now these goals may seem elementary to you (congratulations on your achievements), but to Then-Me, these were significant. To current me theseContinue reading “Why We Write It Down”

Notes to Self: Dear Brooklyn Dancer,

Note to self: Sweet baby girl, you take up as much space as you can. The world is vast and the universe expanding. Cowards will try to make you small. They will line their pockets with your insecurities. Starve them. Deny THEM. Not yourself.Restriction won’t help you grow.And you can’t hate yourself to happy. TheyContinue reading “Notes to Self: Dear Brooklyn Dancer,”

Rough few days/What I’d Tell My Daughter

It’s been a rough few days. And I’m proud of myself. I haven’t succumbed to the sinkhole of self-pity (though I’ve certainly dipped my toe into the pond of self-righteousness). I’m able, for now, to maintain perspective. And that is new. In my process of breaking out of the binary, I’m beginning to recognize moreContinue reading “Rough few days/What I’d Tell My Daughter”

Whispers of Autumn

It’s starting— the weather’s shifting, coughs are getting deeper, green is fading to gold, and I get to wear scarves. GAME ON. California catches a lot of flack for “not having seasons,” which we do, they’re just kinda chill about it. Nothing too extreme. (Until everything catches fire again but shhhh) Our neighbor’s tree isContinue reading “Whispers of Autumn”

Caged, Curious, or Free

I have lived my life in a cage built of rules, close quarters with a lot of requirements.I yearn to raise a free daughter, I imagine what that would look like. I encourage curiousity, letting her wonder and wander,Saying yes more than no because after all, why not? I ask her to notice and sheContinue reading “Caged, Curious, or Free”

Divorcing the Shoulds

I’ve lived under the weight of Shoulds for as long as I can remember. The “supposed to” Unspoken and unspeakably high expectations. Through the last decade or so, I’ve been breaking free of the Shoulds.Liberating myself bit by bit,Loosening, though not breaking my shackles. The external ones were easier to see, “Don’t Should on me!”Continue reading “Divorcing the Shoulds”

This is not a scale

This is a trap.This is going in Time Out. It can come out when I no longer imbue it with the power to determine my mood. I know who I am.I know how I feel. Yet time after time I forfeit that power— I hand it over to a number that tells me only myContinue reading “This is not a scale”