i used to be___ and now i am ___

a communal poem from tonight’s closing ceremony of the 40 Day Journey to Remembering Soul and Spirit. with a heart full of gratitude.

I used to put others before myself and now I’m making myself a priority.

I used to feel unworthy of deep connection and now I wait for alignment knowing the Divine knows better.

I used to take my blessings for granted. Now I awake grateful.

I used to allow fear and anxiety to control me and now I see it for what it is: a distraction to my Higher Self.

I used to be plus size and now I’m a regular.

I used to tethered and now I’m going to live untethered.

I used to want the silence and now I want the music and the laughter and the joy.

I used to not trust my years of living/lived experience and now I trust to lean into the wisdom that I’ve been blessed with.

I used to be attached to some of the positional power. Now, I feel free.

I used to claim my organization; now, I claim home.

I used to be a student and now I am a teacher.

I used to be a teacher and now I am a student.

I used to be a reflection and now I am source.

I used to be lost and now I am found.

I used to untethered and now I am rooted.

I used to be an ember and now I am a flame.

I used to be a stream and now I am an ocean.

I used to be a pebble and now I am a mountain.

I used to be mother earth’s worshipper. Now, I am her daughter.

I used to be nature’s curator. Now, I am nature. 

I used to be afraid all of the time, but not I am learning to offer that to Spirit … to see where fear might also be an invitation.

I used to act from that fear, but now I am learning to move through it to love.

I used to think I needed to do and be big in the world, now I realize I already am, by the miracle of my birth.

I used to over analyze, judge, want or need the other to be different, now I see the work is within me.

I used to see the world as out there, now I see the world as in here.

I used to over consume and now I find surrender and find ease in the silence.

I used to hide and stay small, now I offer myself as a conduit to move through me.

I used to think I could do it alone, now I realize that I need you.

I used to think the Kingdom of God was out there; now I know it is in here.