Greetings Beloved,
May this post/blog/message find you all in the best and calmest of spirits. I trust all of you had a peaceful, joyful, and full of life entrance into the year 2019!
It has been seven (7) months since the last post, titled “Emotions from Different Cultures” (June 4th, 2018). I wanted to return with something that moves smoothly and in line with this last post; specifically, how emotions show up for us during our journey towards self-discovery. The result came to me in the form of this question; “Who do you want to be or become?” I was grateful to inspire 17 women* warriors that dove deep to discover their being/essence.
Although, the population sample** were derived from women of diverse cultural background (Vietnamese, Cape Verdean, Mexican, African-American, African), socioeconomic status (students, working professionals, entrepreneurs, therapists, healers, & artists), relationship status (married, single, divorced), and age (early 20’s to late 50’s), I truly believe that their responses will resonate with everyone on some, if not, all levels.
It is my wish, to you all, to find inspiration and motivation through these women’s heartfelt, honest, and authentic responses^. It is now my honor to share these words^^ of healing, guidance, and wisdom from the warriors I have been grateful to have connected with.
Who Do You Want To Be or Become?
“…a financially stable, home owning individual with a healthy happy family that is progressive in our community.”
“I want to be me…whoever that is. I don’t want to be Tracey Chapman, Nia Long, Beyoncé, etc. I am enough now, during my chosen growth and at the time of my ascension.”
“All that is nature, all that is in what we were created for.”
“Just keep it coming…whatever I set out to do here…I mean just keep doing what i set out to do here, you know. We all came here for a reason before we were born. We all choose the life circumstances, and the people we meet and our families in order to learn certain lessons, and I am still learning every day. I mean we’re gonna be learning infinitely, always; we’re always going to be here in one form or another so i guess it’s just allowing…following my intuition…become more of what I am…the point is not knowing and just flow with it.”
“To be my most authentic self in regards to just being. …I want that [blogging and business] to be an expression of my authentic self tapered with the gifts that I have to offer, which I believe are connections to other human beings based on life experiences.”
“I want to be successful… I want to be motivated… I want to be productive. I want to be a peacemaker… I want to be gentle and sensitive… I want to be kind, I want to be understanding, patient, and I want to be a person that keeps her word and that does what she says she is going to do. I want to be of assistance.”
..”A wise, compassionate, understanding, courageous guide.”
“More at peace…more trusting in my process [of] learning to let go; more patient and kind.”
“To continue being my authentic self and to continue to step into this role and path of doing healing work with music and sound.”
“A better version of myself…I want to grow from my past, let that shit go and live…become more open to feeling and not allowing my past to like…have this negative effect on me. I want to be happy…and good enough in a sense. I want to be me…a happier, confident, self-aware…like I’m the shit and I know i am the shit and i am smart as hell and i don’t need anyone to tell me that I am that. I want to be a fucking bad ass!”
“Closest to what my mom is like…really always looking to grow and be a better person. Just always challenging yourself…always trying to do the next best thing. [asking the questions]; how can I improve myself, how can I become better for me and the world?”
“I would like to become the absolutely best version of myself. No one else.”
“I want to be Oprah.”
“I wanna be my best self. I wanna become my best self. I wanna be the happy, resilience, easy-going, whatever comes come kind of person I used to be.”
“I want to be authentically me..so profoundly… that… all of the gifts, all of the abilities, even just down to the minimum, the energy that I present is unadulterated, unfiltered for the people that it’s meant to reach. I want my area of responsibility to gather and gain everything from me that they are meant to. I want to be exactly who I… was designed to be…a world changer…a life giver…and creator in every sense of the word…peace.”
“A proprietor, supervisor, [and I want to] travel.”
“I want to become the version of myself I often hide, the part that is fully confident and proud, silly, strong, intelligent, brave. She comes out sometimes, with those she trusts. But I want to fully become her. I want to let that version of me radiate through every piece of me, not just show its face when it’s the last resort. I feel I am closer to becoming my full self now than ever before. Every year I inch closer. I hope to continue striving for fullness in myself…maybe never quite reaching it, but never stopping the growth…I want to be a woman who advocates and uses her voice. I want to be a daughter who shows unconditional love. I want to be a partner who pays attention and never gives up. I want to be a mother who encourages, challenges, and never stops learning. I want to be connected to earth and universe. I want to be someone who makes a difference.”
With Gratitude
Breathe Love Laugh Dance (BLLD)
H.U.M. & Ynav Avlis
I.N.V.AL.I.A Holistic Center (I.H.C.)
Healing United Movement (H.U.M.)
*Names/identifiable information were omitted for privacy and confidentiality purposes.
**This is a small-scale qualitative research/study. It is primarily intended for inspirational, motivational, and educational purposes.
^Question was asked (1/6/19) and responses were provided/recorded between January 6th ~ January 20, 2019 by Ynav Avlis via text messages and Marco Polo (a video messaging app).
^^ Responses were verbatim and grammar is ignored to keep the authenticity of the women’s energetic response at the time they presented it. Brackets were solely used to offer readers clarity and flow of reading.
