If you live in a place like New England, you know how quickly the seasons change. It feels like summer just started, and here I am outside looking at the same woods behind my house that just had flowers that now have berries and the leaves are changing colors. This changing of the seasons can serve as a reminder of how quickly life can change.
I’ve experienced so much change in my life in these past few years – from losing my mom, becoming a mom, ending my marriage, buying my own house, dealing with my daughter’s seizures, and navigating this new normal of being single and being a single mom. At times, that change has felt unfair and overwhelming and I’ve been fearful of what would come next. At other times, I’ve been excited about what will come next. But the one constant remains, I am here. Despite all the changes around me and all that I cannot control, I am still here. And I stay grounded in the fact that I get to live another day and that I even get to see all of this change, including watching the seasons change. I stay grounded in the fact that if I can get through all of those huge life changes, I can get through anything that comes my way.
So this is my message to you to live, like fully live. And even though I’m guilty of it too, I challenge you to not take all of the small moments for granted. I challenge you to take risks, love hard, forgive, and move on. I challenge you to see that change is hard and scary, but it’s inevitable, and the sooner you can see that you are strong enough to make it through those changes, the sooner you will be able to feel released from the chains of that change.
Do I wish my mom was still here? Absolutely, with everything inside of me. Do I wish I wasn’t a single mom? Of course. Some days I hate that I have to do so much on my own. But did those moments make me stronger than I ever thought possible? You betcha. I navigate each day with as much strength and compassion for myself as I possibly can because I know I can get through anything.
Change is scary and hard, but you are here. Despite the changes that you’ve experienced that have caused pain and hardship, you are here. You are breathing. You are taking in another day.
So I challenge you to pause and look around you. See the beauty around you, even if you’re sitting in a cubicle at your job right now. Find the beauty. Live. Like truly live. Because you’ve gotten through so many momentous changes and you’re still here doing the best you can. And that says so very much about your strength.
Just like changes will continue on, so can you. Keep going. I’m so proud of us both.
Xo,
Be Beautifully Simply You