Belonging to Ourselves: Step 4 - EXPRESS
Find the courage to bloom
I'm doing a little series here on belonging to ourselves. This is Part 5 of 5. If you missed the introduction, start here. If you missed part 2 (step 1), you can read it here. Part 3 (step 2), is here. Part 4 is here.
The End - or is it?
We've reached the last step in our journey of belonging to ourselves. We've explored getting to know ourselves, love ourselves, and trust ourselves. Now it's time to put all that into practice and express ourselves out into the world. While doing so is still a bit scary, we have that love and trust in our back pockets to remind us that we are headed in the right direction and that we are worthy of being seen in our truth.
We express ourselves and thus reach the end - the ultimate place where we are expressing ourselves out into the world - except that it's not really the end. We will stumble. We will hit road blocks. We will face new truths about ourselves that require us to walk the path again. The work of belonging to ourselves is never done, it's a cycle we revisit over and over again. Sometimes I think of it like a spiral, moving ever and ever closer to the center - our most authentic selves.
Be Brave
It takes courage to be our most authentic selves in a world full of stories about who we "should be". It helps when we have people who know and love us standing beside us, supporting us on the journey. It helps when we know we are not alone in our struggles. It helps to hear the stories of others, their ability to be authentic in this world buoying us up; giving us hope.
It helps us be brave when we can take small steps. It helps us be brave when we have safe spaces to practice in. This is why I love the idea of the Garden of Belonging; the idea of a safe walled space where we can take smalls steps. A space committed to love and acceptance. A space to practice trust. A space where you are surrounded by stories that lift you up.
Find Your Garden of Belonging
Do you have space that supports you in being brave with yourself? It could be your family, whether by genes or by choice. It could be a friend group or a community you are part of. Perhaps it's a teacher or elder who creates brave space for you. It could be your place of worship. I hope at the very least you can find ways to build this space within yourself.
I hope you find love, acceptance, and stories of hope in my little corner of the internet. It's what I dream the Garden of Belonging to be and I'm grateful you are here. Thanks for joining me on this little journey.
Bloom Bravely
As you explore this idea of courageously expressing yourself, you might find The Garden of Belonging Podcast Season 4 supportive. In it, I speak with my guests about the following:
ways we bloom bravely in our lives
practices, habits, and structures that support our ability to bloom bravely
supporting others to bloom bravely
You can also find past episodes in your favorite podcast app, if you prefer listening outside of Substack.
Something is Coming
Stay tuned for my next newsletter where I'll be sharing about an opportunity for us to gather in circle and explore some of the concepts from this series. It's a little experiment in community that I hope will feel supportive to some of you and it will be free for now. More next time!
Over To You
What brings you courage to be yourself out in the world? What holds you back? Feel free to share, or perhaps you simply want to explore in your journal.
To your bravely blooming self,
The courage to bloom. Amen. How often we are chained to the expectations of others, so the courage to bloom also requires the courage to say no, I can’t do those things you expect from me. It’s tough to do sometimes, but you must live your best, own life.
It is tough, yes. People don’t like hearing no.