Whenever I'm in a season of life where I feel swallowed by my role, I lie in bed at night and recite to myself all of the things about me that would be the same outside of this circumstance.
When I was working 16-hour production days, when I was a bridezilla, when I stumbled through the early days of motherhood, all of these periods forced me into journal-head, resisting immersion in whatever difficult thing was defining my time.
It varies slightly, but my list goes something like this:
If I wasn't a producer/wife/mom, I would still be _________.
*a loner by choice
I can be very good at being social, but given the choice I prefer my own company.
*a reader
Reading brings me as much joy as anything in the world.
*a person of faith
My journey is ugly and winding, but my natural inclination - when I'm able to drown out all other noise - is to look to an almighty God.
*artful
I live in a town where creativity is simultaneously lauded and destroyed, and it's easy to get discouraged. When I stop second-guessing myself, I know that there is an artist at my core.
These thoughts are a life raft when I feel like I'm drowning in the day to day, when I worry about Who I'm Becoming or get nostalgic for Who I Was.
Maybe your sentence looks something like this:
If I wasn't battling cancer, I would still be _____.
If I wasn't unemployed, I would still be _____.
If I wasn't stuck in a bad marriage, I would still be _____.
I hope that everyone has at least one thing written on their very soul that they can cling to when they're swept away by everything else.
If you're brave enough, share yours in the comments. I want to know a fundamental thing that makes you YOU.
photo by striatic
