Choosing Beyond

“To truly be free, we must choose beyond simply surviving adversity, we must dare to create lives of sustained optimal well-being and joy.”
~bell hooks 

Never has a quote resonated so deeply with me.  It was like she heard my morning meditations and took all my beliefs and desires and wrapped them into one beautifully articulated gift.  Each word felt specially chosen for me.  I felt heard. For the first time, I understood what my body had already known, where my feet had been stumbling for a path, where my words had failed.

I want to be free.

Free people have choices. 

I’ve been in a space when I felt like I didn’t have a choice.  I felt powerless.  I felt victimized.  What I didn’t understand was that not voicing my opinion to keep the peace was a choice.  Doing more than my share was a choice.  Going places that I didn’t want to was a choice. 

I was making choices all along, albeit, silently, passively, and ultimately, resentfully.  I was choosing to survive.  Once I realized that I was already making choices, I understood that I could make other choices.  I could choose beyond.

I want to be free.  I can dare.  I have courage.  I have the unmitigated gall. I have the audacity.

I am the co-Creator of my life.  I choose what I prioritize.  I choose what success looks like.  I choose what happiness looks like.  I don’t have to let the expectations of society, my peers, or even my family determine what that looks like.

I want a life of sustained optimal well-being.

Sustained is not temporary.  It is extended and without interruption.  It is ongoing.  It continues.  

Optimal is the most desired based solely on my needs and wants.  My most desired state of my mental health, my physical health, my safety, my comfort, my relationships with my chosen community.  

And then, on top of getting all my heart desires,  I also get joy! Joy sounds exquisite. Joy sounds precious. I can’t wait to cultivate it. 

In the meantime, I’m preparing my soil for the harvest of my life.  There is no scarcity in my garden.  There is no withholding.  There is no lack of trust.  I’ve been weeding out those traumas and hurts, fear of vulnerability, the need for control, and shame.    

There is only abundance. Sustained optimal well-being and joy.

If you ain’t shouting up in here.

I want to be free. Truly free.

Come with.  Let’s get free together.