By Aaliyah Moore
“You can literally feel when it’s time to move into your life’s next chapter…”
I’m always a reflective person. But this time of year, I’m especially in deep thought as I prepare to enter another year of life. Birthdays make me deeply reflective because they make me think about how I want to show up in the next year.
As I close the door to 26, I feel myself shedding a lot and walking away from what no longer serves me—setting boundaries and honoring them—not responding to texts and calls that threaten my peace and mental health. Yeah, I can feel myself leaving it all behind.
The shedding feels a little isolating, but it also feels so freeing at the same time. As someone who has welcomed toxicity in my space in the past, this sense of peace also feels foreign. However, I truly believe that when you’re about to walk into a new season of life, there are some parts of a previous season that you can’t take with you.
As I leave some stuff behind, there are some things I plan to replace it with. I recently got back active in the gym and have since then been creating new daily habits. Each day my mind feels refreshed, and my body feels better than it has in a long time. I plan to continue eating cleaner and being active because I know how beneficial it is to my health and well-being.
I have also found myself forced to let go of connections to people I’ve been close to for years. And I’m not talking about acquaintances, but people I hold near and dear to my heart. But it’s like the more I do my inner work, the more I’m able to see how these people aren’t growing within themselves, and it’s almost as if we’ve just grown apart. This doesn’t mean I love them any less; it just means where I’m going looks different from where they’re going, and that’s okay too.
Growth and new seasons sometimes feel like punishment because we’re being forced out of our comfort zone. I think we also struggle with letting go because of the fear we hold about the unknown. It’s natural; we’ve all been there.
As for me, though, I know I am being asked to let go and make room. I am not sure for what yet, but I feel it’s going to be real good.
What are you making room for?
Aaliyah Moore is a contributing writer for the Pedestal Project, LLC.
The Pedestal Project 