“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Hi, I’m Rebecca, welcome to my blog!
This is the start of self-reclamation for me, perhaps it can be for you too.
Finding one’s voice, where it has been buried, silenced, and suppressed underneath many others, takes time, effort, skill, and a hunger for wholeness. Here, I dedicate a space just for that.
When we have lost our voice, or ourselves in any way, through trauma, loss, grief, or the general unpredictability and turmoil of life, a space can be carved out to exhume and explore the faint whisper that still remains. That whisper is your once confident and reliable intuition, the compass of inner guidance and truth.
The space you carve out can be a blog, a journal, a social media page, a pilgrimage, a retreat, an artist’s corner, a yoga mat, a personal altar, anything goes! If you find that all is silent when you seek out yourself, then shout into the cavern of your soul- “I will find you!” And MEAN IT!! Go hunting in the wilderness for your voice and power, and let no one and nothing stop you.
If you’ve ever felt a self-betrayal, a complete side-stepping of your beliefs, opinions, needs, wants, or the dimming down of one’s light, perhaps this blog will encourage you in your attempts to take up more space, be braver, bolder, more outspoken, and defined in what and who you are.
We all need that, in this world, which is forever trying to break us down into pieces and parts that are too much or never enough. Self-reclamation is something that is often sought at the end of the dark night of the soul. Where one finds oneself sitting in the quiet and cold ruins of one’s former life. A new version of you is on the horizon, yet you can’t see it clearly, so you must dive into the reclamation tools.
The things we have available to us when we’re in the pits of apathy and loss are often the simplest practices. Yet they offer the most depth. When one has lost themselves, the only way to rediscover oneself is to turn within and be willing to go ALL the way through- You. Touching upon things you perhaps haven’t seen or felt for a long time
You may find yourself bewildered and frustrated whilst in the process of self-reclamation. Wondering how you exhume that tiny voice that was shoved down so hard it’s now barely audible. It is through processes like writing, self-inquiry, meditation, and discovering new hobbies or practices that we can start to come home to ourselves after a long, tiresome journey.
Whatever you’ve been through, I assure you, there is a way home. I’m doing it now. Take heart and have courage, dear reader. All is never lost.
“Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear.” ~Mark Twain
Writing is a way of life for some of us. It is like oxygen to those artistic, sometimes neurodivergent and passionate souls who need expression, space, light, colour, meaning, as it lifts the heart and calms the nerves. It requires courage, commitment, and patience.
Virginia Woolf once said, “I feel by writing, I am doing what is far more necessary than anything else”. It must be that way for us, too. Those of us who’ve been through more challenges than most. Those of us who feel this world deeply and think in intricate and expansive ways. We need to get down to the business of radical truth.
So, here I am, my friend, first to find my voice, discover myself, and then to share the things I’ve lived and the insight and wisdom those experiences garnered. As one who has been a mute in childhood and a hermit for most of my life through chronic illness and circumstances outside of my control, I feel that one need not speak if one has nothing important to say, but that one must write everything they can, for fear of never saying anything at all. Choosing to delve into one’s thoughts and emotions and put them on the page is an act of bravery, rebellion, and liberation.
We all need to be seen, witnessed, understood, (mostly by ourselves) It’s vital when one has lost all sense of identity or belonging to carve out a space, (a room of one’s own), in which our inner child can play and the things that light us up can come to life.
Here I will share whatever is on my heart, in a free-flowing manner. Then, eventually, I’ll plan content and posts that enrich the reader with tools, techniques, and guidance for their travels through life. Self-discovery, spiritual awakening, and healing from chronic illness and mental health struggles are my themes for now.
If you are seeking to discover yourself too, maybe I can help you in your writing practice. Hopefully, as I go, I’ll learn the tips and tricks to becoming a successful blogger, author, and seasoned writer.
Let’s paint a masterpiece with our words and take personal self-discovery to the edge, where we can be free to unleash anything that still burdens our hearts, resurrect old dreams, and illuminate new ones. Where we can sit back, look at our work with kindness instead of harsh critique, and say, “Well, actually, that’s some kind of wonderful!”.
My writing teachers Lisa Rankin and Nancy Aronie in the course ‘Memoir is medicine’, taught me that no one really gets anywhere when one’s raw and fragile truth is squashed by a sour and blunt, egoic troll (and sometimes that troll is ourselves) We need safety, a compassionate yet discerning eye, and praise, most importantly, from our inner critic.
We need freedom in both our writing and our self-discovery. Freedom to be a child again, to imagine again, to face our fears, and try on new archetypes. Freedom to be as messy or chaotic or refined as we desire. Whatever it is that writing is when it calls to one, it is a portal to self-expression, a way to know one’s psyche and inner landscapes more fully. It is a map that one can utilise to find their way home, no matter how far they have wandered.
So, welcome to my journey; my unfolding, my careful extraction from the things that have shaped me, perhaps harshly so. I aim to liberate, honour, own, and revel in each step of my coming home.
Let self-discovery be the light that sets us on a path, that illuminates our joy.
All my Love,
Becky Xx