Midsummer has been sweet and slow.

It has been an expansive season, full of sensual wisdom and ample opportunities for finding my footing within in the life I have created here in Texas. This season has shown me that we are capable of so much more than we realize; that our ability to grow and transform from one moment to the next, is positively limitless. I’ve been reflecting on this, after confronting a deep-seated fear of which I had been previously unaware.

Facing our fears is one of the most potent forms of medicine available to us, and also one of the most difficult to digest. However, when we hold fear lightly, with just the right ratio of softness to strength, the most painful experiences have the potential to morph like magic, into the gifts we have been longing for.

In my own life, patterns surrounding intimacy are emerging—both my desire for and fear of it. And as I lean into the often unbearable discomfort of this timely realization, I find myself reliably rewarded by a near-blissful sense of release when I soften, surrender, and release my resistance.

In life, we learn and learn again.

We grow slowly, incrementally.

The most profound transformations often take place at the pace of a mountain, rising and falling almost imperceptibly from the topography of our lives. The shifts we experience are so subtle, that at first we may hardly notice them. It is easy to forget that at one time, we longed for both the valleys and the peaks we are experiencing now. So, let us remember and appreciate the determination and focus it has taken each of us to arrive at this moment in our lives.

For me, the name of the game these days has been fear of rejection and abandonment; of being unloved and unlovable. These inherited stories and limiting beliefs are burdens I have carried with me nearly my entire life.  But much to my delight, I am finding that I am stronger than I knew, and more resilient by far.  This has come largely from the ability to recognize that how others choose to respond to me is not personal—not even close. The healing available to us when we can integrate this wisdom, is wildly liberating.

Our fears manifest in an infinite number of ways, and as we navigate them, our responsibility is to remain exquisitely tender; compassionate toward ourselves and others. Growth happens when we can face our fears without needing to make anyone wrong in the process; when we can see beyond the duality of self and other, and recognize that our experiences do not happen to us—they happen for us.

Every wound we walk with is like

a locked door, waiting to be opened.

Many of us spend our lives fearing what lies behind these unseen thresholds. And though it can be challenging to trust, the painful experiences in our lives are, in fact, keys to unlock these hidden chambers of the self, which once opened, are more resplendent we could ever have imagined. The wounds we fear most contain the greatest gifts we will ever know.

When plants undergo stress, they secrete from within their cells, the very medicines needed to survive. We too are capable of this remarkable act of healing from within. But like the plants, we cannot access this innate ability until we face experiences which necessitate it.

There is no hurt so great that we cannot endure it,

and our ability to heal is truly limitless.

It seems that the medicine we need most is often the very thing we spend our entire lives resisting. But when we can bravely face our fears, they quickly lose their power, and suddenly we are set free. Whatever it is that you fear most—acknowledge it now.  I promise that you are strong enough, and that the very act of doing so, will yield the medicine gifts that you have been seeking all along.

W i t h    L o v e ,

S o p h i a    R o s e

P . S .

Thank you you so much for inviting me into your world. It is an immense privilege to be able to share with you in this way. As always, feel free to write to me at GardenPartyLove@gmail.com and let me know how these words landed with you or simply share what’s on your mind.