In the summer of 2016, I moved into the house that I lovingly referred to as “Green Gables”. Yes, it actually did have green gables, but more importantly, at the time, I was reading Anne Shirley’s story, and I felt that a little piece of her world had entered mine.
My bedroom at Green Gables was on the second floor, high above the rooftops of the surrounding houses. When it was windy, the room actually rocked. I would wake up seasick with a pounding headache, exhausted by a night of fearing for my life. Melodramatic, yes, but I was fully prepared to jump out of bed if the window shattered or the ceiling fell in.
On the up side, it had some kind of view.
I loved that house.
A year later, I moved into my current home, my first house with a basement room. It was dark and cold then, and it’s dark and cold now. In the winter, the window wells fill up with snow and make me feel like I’m living in an igloo. Those days are fun, but some days… some days I miss feeling seasick on top of the world.
Change is powerful.
Not too long ago, I wrote this post about transparency. All the real hearts in the world still beat. Why don’t we just say how we feel?
There’s a difference between holding back because we’re not ready and holding back because we don’t think others are ready for us.
Your dentist needs to be ready for you. Your hair stylist needs to be ready for you. Your accountant needs to be ready for you.
Your friends are there for you.
And if they’re not, then by all means, get some new friends. You deserve to be heard. You deserve people who will try to challenge you, not change you. You deserve friends who make you better.
People are powerful.
A friend of mine recently introduced me to this song.
It’s beautiful for so many reasons, but I particularly love the chorus.
Let it be gentle
Let it be slow
Let it be easy
Like coming back home
Let me come home
Let me come home
Let me come home to you
When I hear these words, I’m reminded to let go, to allow, to pause, to stop trying so hard to control everything and just be. Because sometimes freedom is knowing when to take a step back. It’s trusting that everything you could ever want or need is already within you and doesn’t have to be mercilessly chased.
If it doesn’t feel like home, it’s probably not, even if it was before.
If they don’t feel like home, they probably aren’t, even if they were before.
If you’re over it, you’re no longer home.
Freedom is powerful.
I’m over basements.
I’m over fakers.
I’m over making time for things I hate.
Change is powerful.
People are powerful.
Freedom is powerful.
And, believing that, I can put one foot in front of the other and keep moving in the direction of my dreams.
You are powerful.