Why does September seem like not just a new month but a new chapter? A major pivot? It’s not January, it’s not time for a resolution but here it is. September is the new January and something has hit and hit hard.
It’s time to be unapologetically me. Unapologetically you. It’s time to stop beating around the bush to placate and make other people’s lives better at the expense of your own. It’s time to put your foot down in a way that says, thanks very much but I am done listening to everyone, being quietly taken advantage of or misdirected. It’s time to put that niggling doubt aside and say THIS is the first day of the rest of your life and if you can’t live it the way you want, living your true self, having a true sense of place and inner peace that brings a calmness to your world - is it even worth it?
I struggle with that fine line between empathy and the obligation to do what you can to help others experience a full life and having the full life myself. Why is it your responsibility to take care of everyone’s wellbeing but your own? I am constantly trying to figure out how I can balance what I know God wants me to do with sharing the good, (nobody wants to shoulder the burden and share the bad with me), and keeping enough for myself to survive. Survival isn’t just about having food and shelter, it’s about having peace and health.
So, it’s time for us all to more than survive. In my case, here’s what I know: First and foremost, I love being Mom to my little family of four leggeds, I love Maine and my little corners that I truly blessed with and treasure. I want to continue my quest to build a cruelty free, kind, existence for animals. Humans who share the light and love of being kind, not hurting animals, not eating animals and subtly helping others see the light are welcome to come along for the ride.
What do you know? Think simply, think what gives you peace? What, if you didn’t worry about being judged, would you say is your unapologetically me ethos?
Who knows how many chapters any of us have, how many opportunities to adjust the sails and start over? The older you get the bigger the question has become. So no more walking on eggshells, no more turning a blind eye, no more trying to dim your light in order to brighten others’. That’s not the way it should work.
The lightbulb has gone off here, t’s time for me to be me, it’s time for you to be you and it’s time for us all to live the life we would want if we could fulfill every dream we have ever had. Because in most cases, the real dreams are simple and based on achieving peace, health and happiness.
It’s time for this Mom to celebrate all the good things she already has and surround herself with humans and critters that celebrate the same. It’s time to live unapologetically me in unapologetically Maine.