Day 176: “Lessons From Mom”
How to be open
Welcoming
Giving
Kind
Smart
Empathetic
Caring
How to smile
Laugh
Give great hugs
Say ‘I love you’
How to be brave
Confident
Strong
Proud
How to make friends
Smile at strangers
Talk to people
How to release
Feel
Surrender
How to be there
For others
For myself
How to grow
Learn
Evolve
Day 175: “You Can Set You Free”
Knowing yourself
Gives you freedom
If you truly know who you are
What makes you happy
Where you feel most aligned
Then judgment means nothing
You don’t believe the negativity
Because it simply isn’t true
To you
You don’t take on anything that dims you
You don’t accept the shame others try to give you
It’s not easy though
But spending time with yourself
Paying attention to what makes you feel incredible
Alive
Centered
That’s the makings of an authentic you
You want to be unapologetically yourself
You want to be unashamed
Then get to know yourself
And do what makes you happy
Watch what holds you back fall away
And rise as the most you you there is
Day 174: “Never Leave”
Even without her
She’s still teaching me
Helping me
to learn to be alone
be with myself
To enjoy the stillness
And quiet
To get to know myself
She’s not physically here
But her love is still teaching me
To love me
Day 171: “Life is a Constant Change”
I haven’t met the me
That will wake up tomorrow
Or the me that will be walking down the street
A week from now
I’ve said goodbye to many me’s
Some linger
But I’m a new me
Every day
Every minute
Growing
Changing
Getting older
Hopefully wiser
Living
So I’ll rest my head tonight
And say goodbye
Ready to greet the new me in the morning
Day 168: “Life Exists in the Resting”
Stillness
Quiet
I can see the mountains
Hear the birds
Feel my heart
My chest
My body
Feel the soil
Grounded
Still
Perched
Resting
Until I’m ready to take flight
Day 163: “Fear is a Synonym of Grief”
Grief is a lot of things
But a big one is fear
Fear of absence of physical presence
Fear of being left all alone
Fear of the unknown
Of having to be resilient
Of being pushed to resilience
Fear of missing someone
Every day
So badly
It hurts to your core
Fear of being in pain
Fear of the despair this pain brings
Fear of not being able to crawl out
Of the dark hole
Of loneliness
Sadness
Deep, deep despair
Of loss
It can really be debilitating if you let it
Day 159: “Something New”
I put myself out there today
I tried something new
I spoke into my camera
And I recorded audio too
I jumped
I laughed
I recited
I chaffed
I did it scared
I did it nervous
Hell, I did it nonetheless
Day 142: “Each Poem”
Each poem I write
Is a love letter to myself
It’s permission to explore
To dive deep
To be unapologetic
To be myself
It’s a chance to try something new
Write something new
To go back in time
To look to the future
All while being completely in the present
To escape into this moment
To know myself
To get to know myself
To have fun
Be fearless
Put myself out there
Be okay with putting myself out there
To be silly
Carefree
To learn to relax
Not take myself so seriously
Poetry is a magic wand
A powerful tool
I wonder who I’ll be when this is done
Day 101: “Smiling on the Street”
I’m a lot nicer
When I’m visiting places for work
I smile more
Say hi to everyone
Want to make everyone feel welcome
Even when I leave the building
I’m smiling on the street
Warm and welcoming
It honestly feels good
I feel connection
Why am I not like that regularly?
Fear that a smile might invite something unwanted
Not wanting a rude reaction
Not getting paid to do so
And honestly, it can be a bit exhausting, interacting with everyone I cross paths with
Trying to smile and make others feel comfortable
Sometimes I just want to look forward, avoid eye contact
It’s less energy, safer
But maybe there’s space for both
Faking It Made 