I am here.

My heart is wide open.

I am ready to receive.

I am ready for the pain and tension of a childhood trauma to be released from my body. I am ready to open my heart to deep, vulnerable, and terrifying love. I am ready to live with so much confidence in my intentions that a simple smile can inspire a revolution.

I am ready to engage fully with the human spirit. I am ready to resurrect compassion, as well as transform shame and guilt into obsolete veils of the past.

I will breathe. I will be here. Present. Fully engaged. Enlivened and centered with every breath.

I will speak my truth, and I will listen to my body. Not just to the aches and pains, but to the subtle intuition that lies within every cell of my being. I will allow myself to listen to the knowledge of plants, mountains, and raindrops on the window.

I will recognize that there is magic and insight in every facet of the universe.

I am here to live with my heart wide open. I will hold within me the timeless strength, grace, and softness of the majestic redwoods.

I am here to share with the world my process of working through the layers of my immense consciousness. I will share what inspires me and ask others to share what inspires them. I am here to turn every interaction into a learning experience. I am here to reveal to others that our shadow sides are not something to hide, but rather something to cherish and grow, like the full moon.

I will allow every bite of food, sip of tea, and slice of chocolate cake to nourish my body and soul. That is the intention I will set as I caress them with my hands and allow them to pass through my lips.

I will see the beauty in the disfigured vegetables at the farmers market and intricate designs of cracked pavement. I will cherish the sweetness of the solitary rose growing from the brick wall. I will celebrate the blue sky, as well as the rain that truly gives sunshine its value.

I will be in love with everyone and everything with no shame. After all, we are all the same love, just in different forms.

I will release myself from all inklings of self-consciousness because this world is just too darn big. Time is too immense for me to live only for myself. I will peel off my protective layers and set aside my masks until my next costume party. I will challenge myself to play my way through life with the vulnerable curiosity of a child.

I will give myself to the world without hesitation because not only are we living within this world, but this world is also living within us. I will be so fully alive, so curiously compassionate, that fear itself runs and hides.

I will do a dance every morning to remind myself that the simple act of waking is a perfect expression of abundance. I will starve my ego and nourish my soul.

I will be the change I wish to see in the world.

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Assist Ed: Kerrie Shebiel/Ed: Sara Crolick

{photo: via Michele on Pinterest}