Your essence is a beauty that feeds the souls of others
As important as any one, any group, any power
More than skin and bones, more than words and actions
A whole being with unexplored possibilities
Unstoppable strength
Unknown growth
What will you do with that essence
In each day of your life

When that sliver of daybreak tugs at your eyes
Wake up to unexplored possibilities
Stretch your body in gratitude
Embrace the gift of a new day
Open your heart to a compassionate view
Welcome the sun as she rises for you
Ground into this world and listen for what you need
There is work to be done
In the streets and in your own heart
Start from the root

It's not that you have to be perfect and brand new
You aren't a smart phone
It's not that you have to be loved by everyone
You don't exist on a pedestal
It's not that you need to be shiny and look good
You aren't a diamond ring
It's not that you need to be smooth and spotless
You aren't glass
It's just that you need to love yourself as much as you love those things.

Today, I hope you realize how much you are loved
And it sets off a spark inside of you that burns brighter each minute
A spark that turns into a fiery warmth from the inside out to warm your hands and melt your pain into a wax candle of memories
A fiery warmth that never goes out
Not even when floodwaters rise to your chest
Today, I hope you realize how much you are loved.

Dark nights, dark days, a broken heart stuck in bleak flurries of heat and muck
Grief pinches my throat, binds my wrists, pelts me with memories and what if's.
My eyes are glazed with blurry tears, my mind torn apart by deathly fears.
I cry and I cry and I cry

I tried forgiveness
Not to let them off the hook
But to taste sweetness again
I learned to create water
To put out that angry fire
When it returns, compassion dances in my dreams
A lightness to comfort my hungry heart

Practice accountability so I can
Take control of my story and
Visualize what I need to
Build a discipline of conscious decisions that
Value the resource rich life of
Leaning into what matters most of all
Includes stretching myself in sticky situations to
Create healthy relationships with boundaries that
Support each individual and forming stronger bonds so when I am
Aware of the lack I can be
Grateful for the abundance.

Unleash your magic and know that deep in your core is a wild one that cannot be tamed

Start a fire

Let yourself boil over, cry, scream, vent, speak up, yell, raise your voice

When you are hoarse and worn out, whisper sweetly into your own ears and let love take over

Be outraged

Feel your fear, anger, sadness, pain, hate, confusion, apathy and frustration

When it has reached levels too high to carry in your own hands, lay your body to rest

Sleep until you can wake feeling only joy, hope, love and peace

Be curious, kind, compassionate, weird, non conforming,

Make your bed, your own shape, your own choices

This is your life, your journey

You belong to no man or woman, no parent, no child

You are born of sunlight and dirt, yin and yang

Write
When that feeling arrives bursting through my door without
knocking, when it fills my stomach with dread
Write how it feels: tense, tightening muscles, nausea, intense, shaky, anxious
Write where I feel it: in my stomach, climbing up my lungs, around my heart, up into my throat, tears preparing to run
Write what it brings: sadness, memories, grief, trauma
Allow it to be here, allow it to leave,
Don't allow it to leave more scars
Write until it goes away

We are in control of what we grow
In our heart, mind and life
What do we want to cultivate?
We are all capable, all lovable
Broken or scarred
Trampled or traumatized
We can mend those breaks
Strengthen our life force
Choose to heal
How can we grow from our heart space?

Be your own inspiration
Be your own role model
Find your soul mate inside your heart
Find your success in your own dreams
Look deep into your own eyes and fall in love
Guide yourself, hug yourself, believe in yourself
Create your own music
Cultivate your own motivation
Hold your heart in your own hands
Be brave for yourself
Forgive yourself
Let go of an idea that you are not whole
Own your truth

Walk to the edge of the forest, take off your shoes.
Let your feet dance on the earth, toes squiggly in rich, fertile soil.
Place your hands on a tree and feel life flowing through you both.
Walk through the cool, dark forest to the meadow, glistening in rays of sunshine, feel the warmth.
Lay in the grass, admire flowers, whistle with birds, make friends with bees.
See, feel, taste and smell what the concrete is foolishly trying to keep out.
Connect with your old mother, protect her as she has protected your ancestors.
Remember how you were created by her nurturing grace.

I am free
like the leaf blowing away
dancing in the wind, traveling farther than I've ever been.
A new season brings change
and death so I can start anew.

Digging in the garden looking for peace of mind, peace in my heart.
A heavy day from seemingly nowhere.
The morning was bumpy; sticky with issues.
The afternoon brought me outside.
I reach for the sun, feeling the leafs of plants and the cooling air.
I wonder what tomorrow will bring.
Stay in today and don't let it go too fast; slippery in my grasp.
The day is almost done.
Night has fallen on this early winter day.
Luna welcomes us all to see the stars, feel comfort in her brilliance,  love nature and step outside for one moment in eternity.

Rekindling magic and wonder
Seeing the world in a different light
With a different kind of sight
A perspective turned upside down.
Creating, disassembling, learning
New ideas breaking through my shell
Sparking a revolution of improbable dreams.
Growing with self-love
Planting seeds of kindness
Loving myself unconditionally becomes my truth
Cultivating compassion for all is a continuous practice.
Rain cleaning the air and my lungs
Glittering sun breaking through storm clouds
Clearing my mind for new beginnings
Stepping forward with less weight
Moving slow with intention
Brimming with big ideas
Big ideas are coming.


11/2017, Leah Oviedo @ImpowerYou.org

.Digging for my roots,
Through fragrant soil,
Rocks scrape my wrists,
Moving deeper,
Entangled in the maze,
Rich with the past,
My ancestors are lost in the dirt,
Their names forgotten, but they are there in my DNA,
Marking me with their gifts, their trauma, their choices,
I am not one,
I am many.

11/2017 by Leah Oviedo @ ImpowerYou.org