💫 The Day I Finally Said "It's OK to Leave" and Everything Changed

*My spirit was unsettled* and that’s when I knew. 

I stayed, too - not just with him or with that job or with that friendship, but also in that church, in that homeless shelter, and in those isolated, dysfunctional environments, mental and physical. 

I get it, it’s hard. And no one likes hard. Just like no one likes discomfort, confusion and the back-and-forth mental drama of reasoning. 

We stay because we think we should, because leaving feels selfish, because what will people think?

We've been taught to endure, to push through, to stick it out no matter what. And then we convince ourselves that our discomfort is just part of life, that everyone else seems to manage just fine.

But behind closed doors, we're all struggling with the same quiet desperation, the same sense that this can't be all there is.

Staying in a space that drains your soul isn't healthy, it's lethal - to you, to your future, to the vivid and fiery dreams that wake you up in excitement with a fresh degree of impatience to "hurry up and let's do this already!"

Your inner voice knows the difference between temporary discomfort that leads to growth and chronic misery that leads to nowhere, and it's been trying to tell you something, hasn't it?

The truth is, you're not broken for feeling unsettled in spaces that don't fit your spirit. You're not ungrateful for wanting more than survival mode. Your restlessness is information, not a character flaw.

There’s a solution, however, and one that very few want to talk about, but I will. And it’s not about quitting, or giving up, or walking away from people you love. 

Rather, it’s about living in your now, your present, with the profound realization that all you have is this moment. It is your friend, your ally, the silent nudge to boldly exist without the need to follow someone else’s rules. Honor it, give it your attention, and be thankful for it. 

The miracle of life is continually unfolding within and around you. Stop and see it, smell your roses, taste the sweetness of morning dew. Surrender to the goodness of your life, the miracle, and say yes to you right now. 

And just in case no one has ever told you this or given you permission, I will do that, too:

✨It’s ok to leave the place of your struggle to find the place of your peace

✨It’s ok to want your presence to be missed and appreciated

✨It’s ok to search for and create your future in a healthier, more supportive environment 

✨It’s ok to lay down this burden so you can stop hiding your light

✨It’s ok not to do things the way your parents or friends or society are doing them

✨It’s ok to throw caution to the wind, loving another with the deepest of your core, bleeding willfully and joyfully, trusting that your moments together are exactly what is needed for such a time as this

✨It’s ok to live life on your terms because it’s better than living a bloated half-life on someone else’s terms

✨It’s ok to rattle and shake your feathers as you blossom in independence 

✨It’s ok to do you, for you, to settle your spirit, because at the end of the day, at the end of your life, only you will account for you

Say yes to you, yes to the miracle of your life, and you’ll suddenly see how things start to work for you rather than against you.