The Woman Who's Almost Free

She said, "You speak life differently. I just want to put you in my pocket so I can listen to you whenever I want to."

He said, "It's been amazing to have you here. You have such a gift in how you communicate with these women."

As beautiful as these comments were to receive, I knew I still needed to walk away from something that once felt like a yes.

I spent last weekend volunteering with an organization that supports the continued healing of women survivors of sex trafficking.

It was powerful (their stories break therapists, even the trauma-informed ones).

I maintained who I am, fully embodied and capable of holding their soul and their human stories, and I left a lasting impression.

But from the moment I set foot on the land, I knew I was in the wrong place. I actually said it out loud. Even knowing that, I'd made a five-day commitment to show up the way I show up, and I did.

Over the course of the weekend, it became crystal clear: this isn't where my work is most powerful.

It was the kind of clarity that shows up when you're where you're not meant to be or not meant to stay any longer.

Sometimes being in the wrong place creates more clarity than being in the right one.

What we do with that insight is where we see whether we're letting our human or our soul lead.

Are we letting our ego be stroked because someone says, "We'd love to have you here, we need you in this space, you're so good at what you do and our community needs it," and we do it because we've been glorified, ignoring the fact that if we just look at the energetics of it, we'd see this isn't the right place?

Or are we able to let our soul lead, and ask: Is this the most aligned place to flow my energy? Is the exchange of my energy being reciprocated?

Not all spaces deserve your energy. Not all places are aligned with your gifts or what you have to offer. This is true across the board, in business, marriages, friendships, gym memberships. You get it.

You're good at what you do. You haven't gotten this far by accident. But that doesn't mean you're meant to offer it to everyone.

Just because you can doesn't mean you should.

So I wonder where you might be flowing yourself into people, places, or commitments that aren't aligned with where you're actually meant to be flowing yourself. Where are you giving in ways that are keeping you from giving to what you're actually meant to be giving to?

When we take a little inventory, we might see where we're out of alignment and need to interrupt the pattern.

We're not flipping anyone the bird. We're not leaving in a huff or feeling resentful. We're softly closing the door to what's no longer aligned, so we can shift into greater alignment with what is.

There are people waiting for you when you do.

At the end of the weekend, on our way to the airport, I was asked, "Do you think you'll come back?"

And because I'd been listening to the guidance of my soul all weekend, I just nodded no.

"Really?"

And I nodded yes.

Both were gentle but complete sentences, because I trusted my inner guidance as truth and felt no need to validate it.

The next morning, I received a beautiful sign of confirmation as I arranged flowers for my daughter's 13th birthday. The flowers were like long-stemmed daisies, and as I began to separate the stems, I realized the flower heads were all tangled up. A single stem had multiple stems at the top with flowers on each one. I couldn't just pull a single stem and separate a single flower.

I knew instinctively: diving into the tangle wasn't the way. So I searched for the flowers that were right on the edge of being free.

I freed them up, and as I held the first one, I thought, oh my gosh.

This is who I help. The woman who's almost free. She's on the verge of it because she's done so much work. It's just that last little bit she needs help with.

When I help her free herself, she becomes part of the beautiful solution. She's free to help others.

The ah-has never disappoint.

I know I'll help that community of women I was with last weekend, who have the bravest souls I've ever encountered, by honoring my truest lane.

When we stay in our lane we have a powerful ripple effect. When we don't and we play in other spaces, we limit our impact.

There are people waiting for you to own your story, gifts, purpose, and lane. This is what I help you find and expand through healing what you're tangled up in.