every time you dare to lift a corner of yourself in search of freedom and peace, you are inhabiting the word, ‘brave’.
it would be so much easier to hide from the truth of who you are, so much simpler to take a brush and whitewash the outside and nobody would know, except you.
listen to me! you are a soft mammal body that has made mistakes.
you are a soft mammal body that has regrets.
they live inside the rooms that you wander around in.
some of them still fresh and young.
how they demand so much attention in order to keep existing.
others, are cobwebbed and speak with their own voice.
how they love to hold court in the centre of your days.
do you really want them to hold the map of the rest of your life?
perhaps it is time to let them be.
let the scars be the scars. let the wounds be the wounds.
things heal when you pay attention, when you make peace.
you might begin by opening a window.
see how the light is waiting outside, the breeze straight off the ocean.
this has always been there, even whilst you were hiding from your life.
lift the corners of what remains.
you are a life worth blessing.
if nobody has ever told you this, then let me give this to you.
you are brave.
it’s time for you to live.

© Liezel Graham 2023

{image, the ‘I am brave’ affirmation}

do you remember the story of the Edwardian child’s dress that I cut up a few weeks ago?

here is the first textile piece that is stitched from some of the pieces of that little dress.

a reminder if you would allow me?

it is easier to turn our eyes from the parts of ourselves that need healing, or that need work, and we all need work in some areas of our lives. we do this tenderly, and gently, but always with the knowledge that where we face those parts, we do this with courage.

our healing isn’t just ours. it ripples out, and spills over onto others.
the act of choosing to heal, not only what was done to us, but the parts of us that caused us to hurt others?

it is always worth pursuing. the journey is always inward.
that is where we begin.

this little piece is now in my Studio Shop and waiting for a new home.

love,

liezel