Bloom

I look in the mirror and I see a friend.

Someone's daughter, lover, some-day mother.

She is meticulously crafted from the Earth's dust and she is the universe given form. Her cheeks are red with the blood of life and her limbs are thick with nutrients and strength. Her curves are immaculate and authentic, like she is Venus reborn. She is beautiful, inside and out.

Her spirit burns so brightly, a testament to her life force. When she enters a room, those around her are lifted up under her gaze. She makes them feel seen and heard. She is incredible in her compassion. See how she holds respect for even those whom she does not understand?

I am mesmerized by the way she moves through the world: faster than the speed of light, with the inertia of a tsunami wave and yet with the delicate consideration of a deer through the forest. There will never be a moment when her bravery does not amaze me. She will never stop trying to be better and to step outside of her comfort zone. Never stop learning, never stop growing, she tells herself. Her curiosity is unusual and precious like a diamond in the rough.

I appreciate the way she gives herself grace; the way she rests when her body needs it. The way she takes care of her mind, with the gentleness and forgiveness of a wet nurse to a babe. She closes the chapter on past mistakes and steps forward with her chin up, wiser and kinder than before. She never lets her creativity die, for she always has a project of some variety in her hands. They've been called painter's hands, pianist's hands, knitter's hands, and more. She does not constrict herself with labels when there is so much further she wants to explore.

I am in awe by the way she cries - with her heart and her soul. She weeps to relieve the building tension inside of her, to make space for more love and honesty. She grieves her past selves momentarily, for she knows they are not gone completely. She tries every day to live authentically and to use the lessons she has learned to experience this world in more color.

I look in the mirror and I see a beautiful, complex woman who is strong and soft at the same time, someone who has overcome hurdle after hurdle and who is still standing. I see someone who is enough just as she is.