I used to worry about being big
and important
and beautiful
and loved.
I used to want to shine so bright
they could see my light on the other side of the world
and every soul
seeking a way out of the dark
could find its way.
I tried to live life
as best I could
to be a good girl,
full of fake smiles,
hiding behind empty eyes.
My heart was broken
in a million pieces
and stitched back together
with hope for the future.
Until one day,
I sunk into my bathtub
having lived a quarter of a century
with pills and tears,
searching
and never finding.
There I heard the smallest sound imaginable,
a whisper.
I felt the smallest movement perceptible,
a stirring.
For the first time,
I recognized my soul.
It showed me the truth.
In trying to shine so bright,
I was casting a long, dark shadow over my life.
In trying to be loved,
I had built my life on a foundation of fear.
In trying to gain approval,
my ego had kept me hostage.
In following the path others had laid for me
I had wound up lost and confused.
My soul wanted
to guide me into
my Great Life.
Not the biggest life or the brightest life.
My life.
Not for love,
not for approval,
my soul awakened me
to the possibility that
my Great Life
was dying to be born.
My soul promised me
it will be the greatest
love story
that has ever been told.
The tale of how I learned to love
my life.
I know that you will spend your days
as you must,
for your path
is not mine.
But please know you already are everything
you need to be,
and you already have everything you need
to live your Great Life.
What your Great Life is,
and how you will live it,
I cannot know.
I only know that you must
because …
… the world needs your love story
in order to be complete.
Photo credit : Stefan Makwana captured the love