this heart won’t give up…

i have to believe that pain doesn't just wear our hearts out; that it stretches them with purpose - butterflies rising

this love story
has been a slow fall.
and these wings
have been a slow unfold.
and there has been a fight here
for my worth, and it sure has
been a hard-fought one,
and this road home has been a long one…
but there’s a little bit of light here now.
and even though it’s been a long
time coming… the light is coming.
and as uncertain as i am
of how much farther i have to go,
i know now that i’ve got it in me to keep going.
and until i feel free… i know now that
this heart won’t give up.

– butterflies rising

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the same kind of fierce and reckless passion…

i have to believe that pain doesn't just wear our hearts out; that it stretches them with purpose - butterflies rising

we can fall into others with so much intensity and gravity, but then, when it comes to ourselves, we can struggle just to find a simple acceptance. but what if self-love is so much more than just a tolerance of yourself. and what if the things that feel like they are just leaving you on your own are not, but they are asking you to learn to choose yourself… and to do it with the same kind of fierce and reckless passion that you have chosen others. and what if that’s what this part of your journey is for.

– butterflies rising

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i have to believe that pain doesn’t just wear our hearts out…

i have to believe that pain doesn't just wear our hearts out; that it stretches them with purpose - butterflies rising

i have to believe that pain
doesn’t just wear our hearts out;
that it stretches them with purpose,
that it’s meant to give us a pulse…
in breakdown, we are broken open,
and in hurt, we find more humanity,
passion is stirred from our aches,
and empathy is a muscle that grows
the more we feel… and so we
come out brighter from our darkness.

maybe if we let it… our pain can have
beautiful purpose.

– butterflies rising

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we so easily let our fears be these uncontrollable, raging monsters…

we so easily let our fears be these uncontrollable, raging monsters

don’t you ever wonder… why you are
so quick with questioning the good and
so sure in believing the bad?

we so easily let our fears be
these uncontrollable, raging monsters,
and yet we see our dreams as such
tiny little seeds…

why are we not letting the beautiful things
be the ones that grow wild?

– butterflies rising

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why are we not letting the beautiful things be the ones that grow wild…

we so easily let our fears be these uncontrollable, raging monsters

we so easily
let our fears be these
uncontrollable, raging monsters,
and yet we see our dreams as such
tiny little seeds… why are we not
letting the beautiful things be
the ones that grow wild?

– butterflies rising

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beautiful in the unknown…

i think i've always fought stillness with chaos… maybe because it feels easier - butterflies rising

i think i’ve always fought stillness
with chaos… maybe because it feels easier…
you can’t be shaken from your footing if
you’ve never even had it, right?

but now i’m being asked to
stay still in the uncertainty, to try to learn
to breathe easy in all this delicate nuance…
to start to question the way i’ve made such a habit
out of fearful, so breath-held and chest-tight,
always just hoping for gentle in the unknown…

because what if life doesn’t have to just “not hurt”…
what if there could be something so beautiful
waiting for me in the unknown

– butterflies rising

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wider-winged and brighter-lighted…

what if today i breathe easy here in my skin, and exhale - butterflies rising

what if today
i breathe easy here in my skin,
and exhale, unafraid, trusting that there is a
destiny-kissed grace saving me from any cruel wind that
may blow back. i could stand a little stronger in my space…
knowing that it’s universe-given and me-shaped.

maybe i’ll even glow a little here,
be a little wider-winged and brighter-lighted.
let myself consider that everything i am
and all that i want to be is ok.

and maybe not just ok… but what if i am perfectly on purpose.
and what if i can trust that every next step is the one i’m meant
to take and that even when i feel wayward, i’m still always
on my destiny-blessed way.

– butterflies rising

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something i can trust…

if i'm being honest... my relationship with trust is a distant one - butterflies rising

something i can trust…

if i’m being honest… my relationship with trust
is a distant one, and my trust in the universe is a timid thing
because life has felt bigger, and this path has felt harder
at times than i’ve been able to take.

and i’m still trying to believe that i am growing wings
that were measured just for me, that are right-sized just. for. this.
strong enough to lift me through it and beautiful enough to
make it all worth it. but this distance with trust has made me
feel anything but sure… and i guess trust is a muscle memory
i just don’t yet have.

but i want to.

so when the light seems quiet, and the guidance
feels hushed, i’m going to lean in. because maybe it’s gone
quiet to get me to lean in… just so i can learn that when the voice
inside has something to say… that it’s something i can trust.

– butterflies rising

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trying to believe that i am growing wings that were measured just for me…

trying to believe that i am growing wings that were measured just for me - butterflies rising

trying to believe
that i am growing wings
that were measured just for me,
that are right-sized just. for. this.
and when the voice inside
has something to say…
that it’s something
i can trust.

– butterflies rising

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i said, i want to learn to trust you, but i don’t know how…

learn to trust you. then see what your heart has to say about me, and follow that. - butterflies rising

i said,
“i want to learn to trust you,
but i don’t know how.”

and you said,
“then don’t. learn to trust you.
then see what your heart has to say about me,
and follow that.”

– butterflies rising

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