09 Jun Grace-I need it-maybe you do too ( Video included if you want to watch or listen instead :))
But when I reread it this morning, it connected in a new way.
What do you want to say?
Maybe something you’re not saying, or perhaps even something you’re too afraid to say.
And the most frightening part is that you’re afraid to say it to yourself.
You don’t want to allow the slice of the words to cut into your psyche,
lest they let in a sliver of your truth that you’re too afraid to acknowledge.
You feel afraid, apprehensive, and uncertain of your own voice.
It’s been subdued, locked away in some aspects for too long,
and you know—if you open the hatch door to your truth—
that life will twist on itself, and a profound change will occur.
You hear the whispers through the floorboards of your life from time to time.
“I want, I don’t want…”
You drown those out with ease.
In your busyness, the noise of your life keeps the words out of earshot.
At times, the voice grows louder, and you think:
How could I possibly—
I can’t.
If I do that, people would know—
The way you end that sentence has you tuck the truth away,
stuff it back into the darkness, sweep over it, and get on with living.
Only at times, you wonder if you are really living.
If you can’t speak up to say how you’re living isn’t okay—
this part of your life isn’t okay.
It’s not okay.
You’re not all right,
but the perceived cost of speaking your truth is far too high.
You can’t risk it.
Those who walk alongside might think you’re selfish.
Others might think you’re weak for no longer wanting what you’ve worked so hard to pursue.
You wake in the night,
and the whispers now turn to groans as you roll in your bed.
How could you possibly want this?
How could I possibly say that?
How could I possibly let this go?
Your heart twists like the sheets that you’re tousled in
and wrestle to unwind yourself from.
And as the morning comes, something else enters.
An unexpected guest arrives.
You get a whiff of her fragrance before she enters the room—
like a flower blooming.
It fills you with curiosity,
a tinge of anticipation.
You stop for a moment, take in a big inhale
to allow the fragrance to fill you.
This—this grace—allows you to slow for just a moment,
and with it, you feel your shoulders drop and your hands unfurl.
Grace, so kind and tender, whispers to you:
It doesn’t have to be this way, dear one.
It doesn’t have to be this hard.
The truth that you’ve been avoiding—
sweeping under the carpet, locking in the closet, trying to outrun—
is here to set you free.
What you fear is here to heal you
and allow you to be you.
It’s here to untie what holds you back
and tethers you to something that’s sinking sand—
a house of cards you’ve tended to for far too long.
This truth—if you allow it—
even a droplet of its life-giving elixir
will not poison you,
but will rather set you free.
Grace takes you by the hand and guides you to sit.
She says: Stay here while I bring you to what’s possible—
a cup filled with joy and peace and contentment and possibility—
if you only let yourself drink of the truth that’s been brewed just for you.
It’s been steeping for far too long.
This freedom.
This truth that will set you free.
Will you, dear one, take a sip of this truth?
Drink in the I wants.
Give in.
Sip in the I don’t wants.
One swallow at a time,
allow this liquid of truth,
with the fragrance of grace,
to set you free.
Sip in the truth, most beloved.
Sip in the truth
and simmer in its possibilities.
Lately, I’ve been feeling a pull to express myself and create in many places, and in many ways.
The other night, I was at the most delightful dinner party with my beloved and two other couples. We had such deep, real conversations. At one point, the host asked, “What’s your pet project?”
I paused, unsure how to answer.
Eventually I said something like,
“Well, my work spans a wide range. I coach senior leaders in global enterprise organizations as part of a small team of coaches working directly with Brené Brown and her research. And… I also lead meditation circles called The Womb. One very corporate and one very soulful. Both very sacred.
And yet… both are mine.
Today in meditation, I was reminded again of how much I love that span. The opportunity to coach around leadership in one moment—and the soul-deep, intuitive work I do in these sacred circles in the next.
I want to use my voice in both of those spaces.
And all the ones in between.
Including the book I’m writing—about women finding their voice and expressing themselves without apology.
And I’ve learned this:
The work we want to offer the world?
It usually starts as a quiet seed inside us.
It needs time, nurturing, and tending before it’s ready to bloom outward.
That’s what’s happening in me right now.
Just. Own. You.
JOY.
I’m being reminded of it again.
To own who I am.
To name and honour what I feel called to bring.
And to trust that it’s enough.
And here’s the thing: the starting place isn’t strategy or planning.
It’s grace.
Compassion for ourselves.
Permission to be who we are in this moment.
To bring our whole hearts to the table.
To operate from truth—not performance or hustle.
That’s how we begin to live and lead more wholeheartedly.
I’m doing that today. And tomorrow.
And the day after that.
It’s a gentle, sometimes reluctant ongoing process.
It’s permission to be graciously me.
And I know I’m not the only one.
Research shows most of us wrestle with fully accepting ourselves.
That’s the root of shame.
So maybe let’s start here, together.
Pour on some grace.
Then reflect with these prompts:
🌸 What would be possible if you allowed more grace in your life?
🌸 What would it give you to be more gracious with yourself?
🌸 Consider something that feels challenging—a person, a situation, or something from your past. What would grace bring to that?
🌸 When you think of embracing all of who you are, what could you give yourself permission for?
Complete this sentence: I give myself permission to…
Love to hear what grace is bringing you- hit reply
With love and grace,
Leona
P.S. If you would like more grace, consider listening to this month’s session of the Womb, a meditation session where we explored the concept of grace. Each song has a different prompt and a different way to explore the idea of grace. You could take a song a day and work through the content throughout the week, doing so in a nice and gracious manner. Or meditate using the playlist without the prompts: https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLqAR6MXOXWfc4I1pZpVAdil21gHVDFSuH&si=KwogXZNPykM7yVxj
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