re-member: you, me and returning to us
has it always been like this? has it always felt like this? perhaps not. perhaps, somewhere in my memory, i can find new stories of you, me and a better, happier, healthier version of us.
In December 2023, I submitted the following piece as part of a writing contest hosted by
on Substack. Last week, I received the GREAT news that I won Third Place in the Inaugural Love & Liberation Daily Writing Contest! I feel so grateful for the opportunity to continue sharing my writing with you all (and now with a broader community). Thanks to each of you for your support thus far!When you finally learn to trust yourself,
When you begin to understand the language of belonging in your bones,
When your body hums to you with soothing melodies of safety,Â
When your voice begins to sound like the real you—
I hope you know that, at first,Â
It might feel reckless,Â
It might feel lonely and isolating,Â
It might break the hearts of those who love you now,Â
and the hearts of those who have loved you, through and beyond all time,Â
It might shatter everything you think you know/own.Â
Beloved,Â
Liberation, sometimes, comes with growing pains—Â
and oftentimes, with more questions than answers.Â
Remembrance, sometimes, takes away what once felt familiar—
to make room for more of what you need.Â
Returning to yourself, my dear one,Â
feels like foreign fabric rubbing on your skin,
looks like one of the many phases of Grandmother Moon,Â
sounds like the shifting shapes of ocean waves,Â
and smells like the sweet scents of any place you choose to call home.Â
You are remembering who you are, and that might mean that grief comes first and fast to remind you of all the tears you held back.
Grief will knock to remind you of all the times you went looking for love, belonging and safety in people/places that could never fill you up with what you needed most.Â
Beloved,
I am so glad,Â
so generously grateful—detours and all—
that you have finally,Â
courageously,Â
tearfully yet triumphantly
found your way back to yourself,Â
wholeÂ
andÂ
fully your own.
My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.
―Maya Angelou