Back To Basics

You run, you hide, you attempt to escape — until you realise it’s not working,

You cover it up, you make excuses, you change the narrative — until you start being honest and real,

You mask the pain, you hold back the tears, you keep busy — until you break,

You deny, you doubt, you pretend — until you’re forced to feel.

******

Baby girl, it’s time to accept, it’s time to heal, it’s time for self-love,

And let me tell you how!

You forgive them — you allow yourself to sit with the turmoil and you really feel it,

You surf the waves of pain, you let the unshed tears flow, you accept every moment of disbelief — sit with those emotions you usually disallow.

******

You need to heal sweet girl, and you need to give it time,

Healing doesn’t hit you like the brightness of the full moon,

It’s more of a creeping awareness like a storm brewing behind the clouds,

A slow realisation, a gradual acceptance, a clash of thunder with a built up boom.

******

Patience is the key,

You’ll feel that you’ve progressed well, then suddenly fall back into old patterns of the past,

A sense of relief that rolls back into a crippling ache,

Two steps forward, three steps backwards, each more painful than the last.

******

Forgiveness is a revolving curvature of constant waves,

It’s messy, unpredictable and insanely deep,

Some days you’ll shatter and break all over again,

And on others you’ll feel numb, a type of walking in your sleep.

******

Move the love that you so freely gave away and pour it back into yourself,

Sweetness, it’s time to choose — to choose you,

Unplug them from your world, cut off your supply, sever their shadow,

Surround yourself with others, those that honour your worth, those that stand true.

******

Hang with your people, the ones that help you laugh through the pain,

Arms that open wide to become your safe haven, offering you happiness and joy,

Surrender to the things you love — revisit a good book, wander through the rainforest,

And always remember that one day soon, you’ll come back to a life you can enjoy.

******

You forgive them by stepping away, taking a timeout, a quiet reprieve,

Stepping away physically, emotionally, mentally — an act of self respect,

Take the time to cancel the continuous mind games — the whys and what ifs,

Forget the questions that don’t hold answers, they stem from obvious neglect.

******

Hold tight sweetheart, because the pain will beg for your attention,

But it’s time to let it slip away, like a balloon caught by a wind gust,

Take the time to stop, feel it deeply, and then watch it sail away,

It no longer plays a role in your world, forget it — replace it with self-trust.

******

You forgive them by accepting the absolute truth of what they gave you to experience,

Not because it was okay for them to treat you in such a fashion,

Not because it’ll hurt any less when you grace it with acceptance,

But because you cannot change it, it is done — instead recover and take back your passion.

******

Don’t hold on because you feel by accepting you are approving of their treatment,

No, nothing will ever make what they did right,

The scar tissue will forever be a reminder of what is now their responsibility,

Their cross to bear — acceptance is your window and freedom well within your sight.

******

You forgive them by reclaiming your story,

By understanding they were but a chapter, a couple of pages in the grand scheme of your book,

There’s more to your adventure, your pages full of people to meet, places to see, dreams to follow,

It’s time to narrate your future, to strengthen your self-bond and know forgiveness is all it took.

******

You’re not excusing their behaviour, you’re not tolerating their actions,

You’re not down playing their role, nor disassembling the trauma as some mere token,

No, you’re releasing yourself from the hold they have on you, breaking the bonds of their manipulation,

Taking back your power, healing your heart, and refusing to allow them to keep you shattered and broken.

******

Baby girl, you are more than they can see, more than they can feel,

More than they can ever know you to be,

The deepest aspect of your forgiveness is your healing, as you double back to find your authentic self,

And in the beauty of this forgiveness, you’ll rescind the power you gave away and ultimately set yourself free.

******

Go now with grace and follow the healing path that you have set upon,

Wander the silence that falls within your heart,

Swim to shore through the riptide, tread water when you tire,

Take all the time you need and remember, you’re a beautifully unfinished yet perfect work of art.