Notes on Hope

There were 3 solitary months during Covid quarantine when I was very still.  I was sad, and slow, and still.  I stayed with family during my separation from my (now) ex-husband, and did very little aside from sleep, read, and pray.  Each day grated past, with hope feeling as foreign as the life pulled out from under me.  I had been depressed before, but I had never been so hopeless.

Perhaps it's strange now to look back on that time with a certain fondness, but standing upright where I am today, growing, even flourishing, the memory fills me with gratitude.  I was so broken, completely empty, totally ignorant of anything good within or without me, and yet - I survived.  

Divorce teaches you a lot about a person, especially yourself.  I don't recommend it, but under certain circumstances, I don't regret it.  What was the most catastrophic event to ever occur in my life became a catalyst for rebirth and healing wounds I didn't even know I had.  

These days, I'm learning to reserve my passionate energy only for those who respect my heart, my body, and my boundaries.  This looks like dating on my own time and terms, and setting healthy limits around working and personal time.  For the first time in my life, I'm making myself proud - not because of my accomplishments, but because I know how to make myself happy.

I'm the sort of stubborn who learns her own hard lessons, but the heart of MAVEN was borne from this - it can be a lot easier, and a lot more fun, too.  Whether you see it or not, there's something beautiful on the other side.  That's style, and we're here to share it.

“And once the storm is over you won’t remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won’t even be sure, in fact, whether the storm is really over. But, one thing is certain - when you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in. That’s what this storm is all about.”

-Haruki Murakami

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