So you’re still puttin’ yourself through it aren’t you? Despite all you’ve learned!?! You’ve done the work, you’ve taken the steps, you’ve grown so, so much it’s remarkable! So WHY Must you continue to entertain relationships that contain so much deceit and disrespect? Do you actually think you’re not worth the same respect, compassion, understanding, and forgiveness you give them!?!

You are so relentless at rooting yourself in love. Love for other people and love for yourself. It’s beautiful! By the way, learning to love yourself is your biggest, most bestest accomplishment by far, little lady! You make sure you let people know it’s the key life, mmmk!!

Anyway, just think of all the time and effort that went into healing your “inner child” and doing your “shadow work” and learning mindfulness and keeping an “attitude of gratitude” and meditating and doing “self-care”…ooof! Remember how selfish you felt at first for simply setting aside an hour for yourself? You stuck with it though.

How about the time you googled? “How to forgive someone who isn’t sorry?” You remember that? You didn’t even want to forgive yet, but you knew you had to in order to get those thoughts to stop going round and round in your head. It worked too, didn’t it? It took some time, but eventually, the anger and resentment were gone. Forgiveness!… another key to life! How many keys you got now, anyway?

Guurrrl! The fact that you did all this work on your own using the Internet is a whole other level of fantastic! There’s just a few more pieces to the puzzle. A few more moves on the board, if you will. You know what you have to do and I know it’s hard but enough’s enough.

You feel it every time you’re around any of them. You feel you disrespecting yourself. Keep quiet, keep the peace. Shrink down, maybe they’ll stop singling you out. Tell them what they want to hear, maybe they’ll stop hating you. Explain yourself, maybe they’ll understand you better. Prove yourself, maybe they’ll accept you more.

NO! Not anymore, lady, it’s time! You deserve the same dignity and respect that you give. Especially from those who use the words “I love you”.

Trust me, you’re worth it!

She’s not one to follow along in bureaucracies, but
She’s been known to follow along in love

Fiercely independent, and driven while on her own path, but
Easily drained, and lead astray when giving to another

Still… she follows along in love.

Full of fire that feeds off respect and integrity
She’ll defend you as an army of one… yes all on her own
Yet, isolation, loneliness and rejection is all she knows in return

Still… she follows along in love

She’s not one to avoid the storm,
Often portrayed as the shipwreck herself
False narratives, twisted details, made up truths and hidden facts ambush her reputation regularly
Reactions are the focus as she’s pushed to her breaking point

Still… she follows along in love

Broken down little by little made to feel crazy, unworthy, defeated, until she no longer recognizes herself

Still… she follows along in…chaos!

Determination for justice and revenge boil her blood
She convinced herself dishing out their own medicine, was OK
She became the tornado, the volcano, the earthquake, the SHIPWRECK… she became the shipwreck!

Desperation showed itself at rock-bottom
She stood at a crossroads in a ghost town with no map, and no compass

With all her might, one more time, she decided to follow along in love… for herself!