Birthing A New You
Many of us have stories of having to start over – in business, in relationships, or in finding our inner compass. But my story has not been one of just starting over. Starting again suggests going back to the beginning of a similar path. I experienced something more akin to a rebirth, complete with birthing pains and all.
Black woman thinking. Photo by Jessica Felicio
My life from my first birth until it was time to leave my parents’ comfortable nest was filled with anticipation of an exciting, independent new world. I was sent off, never to return, to find my way into adulthood. The path I chose seemed so well thought out, every step ordered with my feet so neatly planted for my well mapped out journey to success and happiness.
““…[But] life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.””
Somewhere along the way, I made a wrong turn like so many of us have done. I made some bad choices, forgot my commitment to myself, and ended up in a very dark space. After decades of self-doubt, buried dreams, and feet frozen in glacier-thick ice, just a small crack in that ice allowed me to break free. What had encased me almost to a smothering death died its own death. That allowed me to begin a new life.
My rebirth gave me a brand-new life, one that I couldn’t have imagined and that has introduced me to a new and exciting world. Most days, I barely remember the person that I used to be. I've chosen not to look back but to just keep moving forward in my new world.
When I emerged on the other side, it was as if I had grown wings of courage and fortitude. I almost felt as if I could fly. This newly born woman is unapologetically fearless and joyful – no longer bound by borders and limits. However, like any newborn, I had to learn to stand on my own feet. I had to find my own voice and grow into my own unique persona. The best part has been watching my inner gifts grow. Those gifts were probably always there buried within me. However, they were suffocated by forces that I allowed to take power and control of who I was really born to be. Today I can confidently speak my gifts out loud. I am so grateful for the gifts that God has given me. And I know that more will continue to come.
I am a writer that has been charged to tell my stories, but you have stories to tell too. Each time a rebirth story is told, it plants fertile seeds for other rebirths.
This is my story, this is my song…
So, what is the moral of this story, you ask?
Time for a change sign. Photo by Alexas Fotos from Pexels
We must all be willing to let those things which do not give us breath, life, joy, and peace die so that we can experience the wonder of our rebirth.
So, what is your story? What extraordinary gifts were born in you after you chose to let those things die which were really killing your spirit? Telling my story out loud for the first time was painful, but so freeing to my soul. Tell your story, speak your truth, free your soul and someone else’s too.