I’ve decided a good name for these posts on self care days is Sunday Shorts. The title reminds me to keep it brief, although I’m still working on brevity! I am enjoying unpacking a few thoughts around quotes or memes that catch my attention during the week and inspire me.
I smiled when I saw a meme that featured a young girl playing in the water. It had these words written across the photo.
Remember her? She’s still there…inside you…waiting. Let’s go get her.
I’ve thought about the truth of those words all week. I was inspired to pull out photos from my childhood and look at the little girl I used to be. I used the quote and one of my own pictures to create a new meme, which is included below.
When did I disconnect from that adventurous child who climbed trees and created stories and marvelously quirky artwork? As I pondered that question, I realized that while I was a creative and imaginative kid, I was also extremely fearful of my intuitive abilities and connection to spirit. Unable to understand my gifts, I tried to contain them, even if I couldn’t block them.
The older I got, the less I wanted to associate with my odd little self. I kept her gifts and her fears secreted away, losing her and important parts of myself.
I am grateful that part of my healing journey the last few years involved facing my fears and embracing all of me, quirks and gifts, sorrows and joys. Little Me had much to teach me. Moving past my fears opened the door in my deepest heart, and there that little girl sat, waiting patiently for me.
Three years ago, on my birthday, my granddaughter Aubrey and I discussed time travel. She was six years old at the time. When I asked her where she would go, if she could travel anywhere, forward or backward in time, her answer surprised me and brought tears to my eyes. “I’d go back to your childhood, Yaya, and be with you when you were a little girl. I’d want you to know I was with you and that you didn’t have to be afraid.”
I was so moved by Aubrey’s answer. And then I took her words to heart. I could go back and be with my younger self, and help us both understand what was going on. I could help my inner child release her fears. Through Julia Campbell’s The Artist’s Way series, I have done much writing about my childhood to help me return to my past. And I’ve spent hours and hours meditating, praying and thinking and ultimately embraced who I was and who I grew to be.
In return, my inner child has offered to me gifts of renewed creativity in all areas of my life, fresh perspectives, the ability to play at a deeper level and that adventurous spirit. I’m still learning from her, and she’s still accepting love and courage from me.
I deeply appreciate that little girl who waited and waited for me to come and get her. What wholeness she brings into my life.
