While out shopping today I found this candle that has clear quartz in it along with a hidden piece of clear quartz jewelry…I needed a new candle for my meditation…I generally meditate with the hopes of receiving directions/answers in my life. Tonight as I lit that candle I decided not to seek anything and as I lit it I spoke words of forgiveness to myself and honoured every version of myself that journeyed through some very challenging times to become the Woman I am today and I gave gratitude for all the painful lessons and for every soul both seen and unseen that helped me get to this version. I am proud of myself for having the strength and courage to endure this path and I finally feel like I am not afraid anymore of what life has waiting for me around the corner. Thank you to this group and the important contributions each of you have made in helping me along the way with a special shout-out to @Robin Bender…much gratitude and love to you all🙏💜

there is a strange idea we grow up with that life is something you’re supposed to get right. like there’s a finish line somewhere. a version of you that finally feels complete, sorted, certain. like if you just make the right decisions, avoiding the wrong turns, pick the “correct” path eventually everything will lock into place and stay there. but that’s not really how it works. life doesn’t feel like a straight road when you’re actually in it. it feels more like walking through fog with moments where the light breaks through and you think, “oh, I’m okay even here.” and then the fog comes back again. that’s the part no one really prepares you for, the repeating unknown. not once, not at the beginning but over and over again. you trust, then you doubt. you open, then you close. you feel clear, then suddenly you don’t. and still, life keeps moving. there’s something intelligent about that rhythm though. it doesn’t ask you to figure everything out in advance. it asks you to stay in relationship with what’s happening now. trust isn’t this big dramatic leap people talk about. it’s actually smaller than that. almost ordinary. it’s choosing not to abandon yourself when you don’t have certainty. it’s staying present when your mind wants to sprint ahead and solve everything. it’s continuing to take the next step without demanding to see the whole staircase first. and sometimes trust doesn’t feel peaceful at all. it can feel like standing still while everything inside you wants to control the outcome. that counts too. we tend to think trust means you feel calm. but more often, trust is what you do while you’re not calm. life has a way of stripping away the illusion that you’re in charge of all the outcomes. not to punish you but to bring you into something more honest. because control is heavy. trust is light. and over time, you noticed you’ve survived every unknown you thought you wouldn’t. you notice clarity always returns. you notice detours weren’t detours, they were just the shape of your path.

My biggest takeaway from our circle yesterday is self love. We cannot love anything or anyone until we have unconditional love for self. What was your takeaway? @Sherry Bachelder @Kathryn Nichol @Courtney Walsh @Jess Stephens

For you @Robin Bender

https://www.myliferetreats.com/blog/your-path-was-never-meant-to-look-like-theirs