Shine

I wrote this poem in the midst of a storm of life changes. I had been working on my gratitude practice for about a year or so and was starting to reap the benefits of a more stable, positive inner life. Four years on from that rocky place, I am still riding the crazy waves of this life with all of its uncertainties. But I feel more anchored each day in the truth of my worth, have learned to embrace the waves and remain steadfast in the truth that the universe has got my back. My situation has not shifted much, but my attitude towards life has, thanks to developing a meditation practice, something my younger self could never have imagined. Me, with a million thoughts and ideas and beliefs, a mind that never stopped, decided that it's okay to let my mind do its thing. To this day I am thrilled if I make it though a minute of inner quiet before the monkey mind starts up again, but even though my mind doesn't stop, I no longer am hijacked by its circular thoughts, worries, catastrophising and second-guessing.

Creating space between my thoughts and choosing how to respond (rather than react) has helped me to realise that a lot of our thoughts are (at the very least) not helpful and OFTEN not true. Allowing the thoughts flow by without judgement or identification (not always easy to do) whilst holding my self in loving kindness (also not always easy to do) has allowed me to notice, question and drop a lot of the negative beliefs and unhelpful thoughts that were handed to me during my childhood. Our brains literally recycle the same thoughts over and over but we can shape our inner life. We can choose what we give attention to and what we let go of. As I practice turning my attention to the helpful thoughts, beliefs and ideas

and release what is unhelpful, I am starting to embody this poem that I wrote back in 2021.

Let your light shine, dear ones.

There is only one you on this planet, and that deserves to be celebrated!