Sometimes it is only when we pause and look back that we realise how far we have travelled. 🌿💛
It is Saturday evening as I write this.
Today, I found myself thinking about two women.
One had just returned from court after another attempt to secure her divorce.
For years, she has been fighting for the freedom to leave. Not only a marriage, but a situation that no longer reflects the life she wants to live. Listening to her, I found myself thinking about dignity, agency, autonomy and the right to have a say in the direction of one's own life.
The other woman was wondering whether she was ready to join a dating app.
As I listened to her, I found myself sensing that the conversation was not really about a dating app.
Not entirely.
It seemed to touch something deeper.
A longing to be loved.
To trust.
To believe that connection is possible.
To feel safe enough to open herself to another person.
What struck me was not how different these women were.
The circumstances were different.
The struggles were different.
The realities of their lives were different.
A woman trying to secure a divorce in a restrictive environment is not facing the same challenges as someone wondering whether she is ready to start dating.
Yet, as I listened to them, I found myself recognising something familiar in both.
Listening to their stories reminded me of where I have come from and where I am now.
There have been times in my life when creating enough safety to take the next step felt important.
Times when freedom felt more important than fulfilment.
Times when simply getting through required much of my attention.
Yet even then, life did not stop.
There was still learning.
Still growth.
Still purpose.
Still becoming.
The focus was simply different.
There have also been periods when other concerns became more prominent.
Not:
"How do I survive?"
But:
"How do I live?"
Not:
"How do I become free?"
But:
"What do I do with that freedom now that I have it?"
As I sat with both conversations, I found myself reflecting on the many things human beings reach towards throughout their lives.
Safety.
Freedom.
Love.
Belonging.
Dignity.
Meaning.
Hope.
Connection.
The chance to create a life that feels more fully our own.
What stayed with me most was how much I recognised myself in both women.
The woman trying to leave.
The woman trying to trust.
The woman trying to belong.
The woman trying to create.
The woman trying to become.
They are not necessarily different women.
They may be different chapters of the same life.
Perhaps that is what moved me.
Not the differences between them.
But the humanity underneath them.
The recognition that, although our circumstances may differ enormously, many of us spend our lives moving between similar longings.
Listening to these conversations left me with a deep sense of gratitude.
Gratitude for freedoms I once longed for.
For choices that once felt impossible.
For opportunities and reflections that only became available once other things had softened.
And perhaps that is also where my hope comes from.
The knowledge that we do not stay in the same place forever.
The woman fighting for freedom today may one day be asking what she wants to do with that freedom.
The person searching for safety may one day trust it.
The person focused on getting through may one day have enough space to begin creating.
And often, long before we realise it, we have already travelled further than we once thought possible.
🌿💛
M.A.L.I. Neuro-Somatic Practice
Reflect. Reconnect. Grow.
