Take up space, All of it

Many of us have been trained to shrink ourselves. We've learned to create room for everything but ourselves, so you can suck into our lungs so deeply that we can barely breathe. I began to believe that cramping (emotionally and psychologically), adjusting to everyone, and fitting in was somehow polite, and that I was supposed to find grace in shrinking. It becomes second nature to suppress one's thoughts, feelings, and views; silence is normalized and eventually referred to as "peace keeping.

What would happen if you let all that breath out? Acquired a comfortable state of being. Give in to the emotions you've been trying to ignore with your constant grin. Don't second-guess yourself; just let the ideas run. If you expressed your opinions without fear of criticism. What if you loosen your grip and give in?

Gentle self-reminder:

Today, consider a new way forward. Grace yourself with the same courtesy that you've been extending to others - Take up space, ALL OF IT.

Take up every corner - of your body, of your feelings, of your voice, of the room you're sitting in, of your thoughts, of the intentions, of the dreams, of your energy.

What happens on the other side of that kind of self-honesty is the life that you will recognize. You will be living your authentic truth in the space that will truly feel your own.