The Healing Power of Self-Reclamation

You don’t realize how much of yourself you’ve lost until you’ve had time to truly reflect on who you once were. Over the last couple of weeks, I have had the pleasure of working with coach Myleik on breaking through a personal plateau I’ve experienced for some time. Not only has this coaching opened my eyes in such a couple short weeks, but it has also charged me to reclaim myself in a way that has been liberating and transformative. While I initially sought out guidance in my work as a licensed therapist, what I received was much more — a reminder of who I have always been and a petitioning to return to the parts of me I have long suppressed.

The last couple of weeks have not only been a reminder for me of how much I once gained from making creativity a part of my everyday expression, but it has also been a reminder of the parts of ourselves we lose in the crux of living through things whether life-altering or subtly ground shaking. Growing up, I was highly creative and intuitive. I learned to read at age two and constantly immersed myself in a world of color from painting well, to free-hand drawing, sewing, sketching, and dancing. From cutting up and repurposing clothes in high school to dying my own hair whenever I well pleased. Somewhere along the way I lost the parts of me that thrived off of creativity and self-expression. Throughout college I took up photography, creative writing, captured weddings, participated in art exhibits and so much more. Looking back, the turning point was an emotionally abusive relationship that silenced me and also the societal views of progression that comes along with deafening expectation that blinded me to my dyer need for creative expression. When we get so busy with surviving, we forget that being who we innately are is exactly how we learn to live. Reclaiming who I once have been now about leaving behind expectations and fear and dancing joyfully with curiosity as well as the unexpected.

Since starting this journey of self-reclamation, I’ve chopped off my hair (a once usual for me and a way I have always expressed who I am). I’ve began having fun with my wardrobe as a form of expression, I’m pouring more color into my life, and I’ve begun to truly think about how my love for people and healing as a therapist intersects with who I am as a creative. Reminding myself daily of Toni Morrison’s adage, “You are not the work you do; you are the person you are” has been a north star for journeying my way back home to myself. For me, creating isn’t just a maybe, it is a must and part of the way I am intrinsically wired. The beauty of self-reclamation is about figuring out what parts of you have long been suppressed and why, then taking action to free yourself up. Myleik’s coaching for me has been a significant reminder of who I am to my core and while I still have more to discover I have already given myself permission to exist and take up space in ways that I have long put off. If I don’t find anything else within the confines of this experience, the beauty of it all is that I have found myself again.

From my heart to yours, Q.

CHALLENGE: Consider what parts of yourself you have suppressed lately, what have you been itching to revisit or reignite within yourself. How can you begin reclaiming yourself in that area starting today?

HEART to HEART is a love letter focused on healing through writing, creativity, and self-discovery. This space holds personal lessons from my adventures of creative exploration combined with the healing power of everyday creative living.