We are masterpieces and we are in progress.

"You are allowed to be both a masterpiece and a work in progress simultaneously."

This quote resonates with me extra strongly today.

I was talking to a friend today about the concept of healing ourselves, and I asked the question: What is the end point? When do we start just doing the things we want to do?

I feel there needs to be balance.

For some, the beginnings of our lives are filled (by little or no fault of our own) with gathering unaddressed hurts that compound and turn into stuck energy manifesting as physical and emotional symptoms. When we take on the task of finally healing those hurts, it can seem completely overwhelming. This quote reminds me that we are more than the pain.

For me, when I devote myself to a task, I need to do it to my best ability. This isn't always a helpful characteristic. I have realized that, while devoting myself to healing was absolutely needed for a long period of time, it no longer serves me to only focus on the healing. The reason I continuously burned out in the first place was not only because of my past, but because I wasn't doing anything to make myself happy in the present. I worked at work, I worked on myself at home, and I thought about how I needed to work on myself whenever I was not doing some form of the first two kinds of work.

I very often talk about self care. Anyone who has gotten a reading with me is likely familiar with Jill Pyle's Sacred Self-Care Oracle deck. While working on myself is definitely a form of self care, so is accessing happiness. That's where the balance comes in. I can stare at my darkness all I want, but then I'm missing out on the light. Or, I can stare at the light as my darkness grows louder from being ignored. The third option is balance.

I may not have all the answers to how to access happiness (though the cards often point me and other in that direction!), but now that I am aware of this tendency towards healing work and forgetting playful fun, I can take the steps towards my happiness. I can acknowledge all the work I have done so far, and simultaneously know it is okay to have fun and not take everything so seriously all the time!

I started in a world of hurt, now I'm at neutrality with bits of contentedness. Time to play my way to joy, while still acknowledging any hurt that arises. Happiness and sadness, joy and pain, fear and love: I'm here to feel every drop of it, sometimes all at once.✨