No Holding Back

There comes a time when we have to make a commitment to ourselves; to our happiness. We will always have decisions, we will always have tough times, there will always be things to overcome, but I think in life, one of the biggest commitments we have to make is the one to ourselves. The one that says, no matter what I will take care of myself and stick up for myself. I will nourish myself with good people, good books, good habits and make a commitment to be there for myself always. There was a time in my life when I became very afraid. Afraid that if I let people see me, I would get hurt. I kept everyone and everything at an arm's length because I thought I was protecting myself. I thought I was doing myself a favor. But, now, I've realized that the person I was protecting, the little one inside of me, doesn't necessarily need to be protected anymore. I think it's easy for all of us to shut down and shut off. Being human is painful. I don't know about you, but I've been through some stuff that I thought I would never get through. There were times when I felt like I was wading in mud and I would trudge and trudge and trudge, feeling like I wasn't getting anywhere. I kept trying to keep it together but slowly the light dimmed. I was in college. I looked in the mirror and I didn't recognize myself. I thought time and time again, "I just want to be okay. When will I ever feel okay?" It wasn't that I didn't have fun in college, but I somehow disconnected from myself without even really realizing it. And it's hard for me to admit these things, because I really wanted to hold myself together, I thought, surely if I fell apart I would never be able to pick up the pieces. But, about a year after college, I couldn't hold it together anymore. I had to fall apart but, afterwards I got myself back. It was only in really falling apart that I could heal. Don't get me wrong... stuff still happens,  life is always teaching us. And sometimes things show up, giving us indication that there's still more to heal. **I'm not sure it ever stops, even when we are given more challenges, we don't have to shut down, shut up or dim ourselves. This time we can choose to stay open. Stay awake. And stay bright.

I read this earlier today and I wanted to share it with you all. It's from Melody Beattie's, Journey to the Heart.

"Who told you you had to hold back? Who told you your gifts, your talents, your beauty– your natural, loving delightful self was wrong? Who told you not to be all you could be? Maybe, as some suggest, we've gotten too comfortable focusing on our flaws, our errors, our dark side. Perhaps it is not our dark side we fear. Perhaps we're afraid of our gifts, our brilliance, our light. Now is a time of light. It's time for us to shine. We've worked hard on ourselves, dealt with our issues, gone back to the past. We've learned our lessons well. The reasons to hold back and hide away are no longer there. Enjoy the fruits of your labors. Be all you can be, and enjoy being that. Don't hold back. Use your gifts with joy. Use your talents. Let your light shine for all the world to see. Finally, you are free to be all you can be.

So just remember to not be afraid of your light and to not be afraid to let others see the light that is within you. Don't hold back. Don't let other people's opinions control what you do, where you live or who you want to be. Just feel it and do it. Stay connected to your core and let yourself shine. Because we have to be our own best advocates. No one can save us, we have to be the hero of our own story. Always. And that starts with a commitment to ourselves and to our happiness.

I hope you all are having a great Wednesday. Extra long post this evening... but had to share. Lots of love to you all!

image via pinterest