September 10

I can be rooted in who I am and still leave room for my wings to grow.

There is freedom in knowing that I do not need someone else’s approval in order to know who I am.

That does not mean I don’t care about other people. It doesn’t mean I don’t value connection or that being misunderstood cannot hurt. And it doesn’t mean I stop listening to what others have to say.

It means their perception of me does not have to become my definition of myself.

I can know who I am and remain open to discovering more.

These are my roots and wings.

My roots ground me in what I know to be true about myself. My values. My integrity. My relationship with God, Spirit, and my own inner knowing. The life I have lived. What I have learned. What matters to me. Who I am continuing to become.

My wings keep me open.

Open to learning.

Open to being wrong.

Open to seeing something I couldn’t see before.

Open to receiving wisdom through another person.

Open to changing my mind when new understanding arrives.

Self-trust does not require me to close myself to other perspectives. It helps me discern what I take in.

Not every opinion deserves equal weight in my life.

Not every observation about me is accurate simply because someone believes it.

Not every piece of feedback is mine to carry.

And sometimes another person sees something I have missed entirely.

I can listen without surrendering my sense of self.

I can consider without agreeing.

I can receive what feels useful and leave what does not belong to me.

Sometimes I may recognize, Yes. There is something here for me to look at.

Sometimes I may need time before I know.

And sometimes I can simply say within myself, No. That isn’t mine.

All three can be expressions of self-trust.

There is a difference between wanting approval and wanting to be accepted for who I am.

I can have no need for another person’s approval and still long for relationships in which I am deeply seen and understood.

Being misunderstood can hurt without making me uncertain about who I am.

And being known does not require me to give everyone access to every part of myself.

Some parts of me are tender.

Some are sacred.

Some are still unfolding.

Discernment helps me decide where, when, and with whom I share them.

The quality of the connection matters.

So does the quality of the seeing.

The people I trust most are not necessarily the people who always agree with me. They may challenge me, ask questions, or see something differently. But when there is trust, love, curiosity, acceptance, and a genuine desire to understand, I can receive their perspective differently.

I can remain rooted while allowing another person’s perspective to move through my branches.

I don’t have to be uprooted by it.

There is another side to this practice too.

Just as I do not want someone else’s assumptions about me to become their certainty, I can be mindful of the stories I create about others.

When I don’t know, I can let myself not know.

I don’t have to fill uncertainty with assumptions about someone’s intentions, motivations, thoughts, or feelings.

I can ask when asking is appropriate.

I can observe.

I can remain curious.

I can allow more information to arrive.

And sometimes I may never know.

I don’t have to replace a negative assumption with a positive one in order to feel safe. I can simply leave room for what I don’t know.

There is humility in that.

I am safe enough within myself to look at the truth.

And I can be honest and gentle with myself at the same time.

I don’t need criticism to become self-criticism in order to learn from it.

I don’t need someone else’s misunderstanding to become something I must defend against.

I don’t need approval to belong to myself.

And I don’t need certainty about another person in order to remain grounded in me.

My roots can deepen.

My wings can keep growing.

I can belong fully to myself and remain connected to others.

I can trust what I know and remain curious about what I don’t.

I can stand firmly in who I am without becoming rigid about who I might yet become.

Grounding Questions

1. Is there a perception, opinion, or piece of feedback I am carrying that may not belong to me?

2. Whose perspective have I earned enough trust in to genuinely consider, even when it is difficult to hear?

3. Where might I be making an assumption when I could leave room for not knowing?

4. What helps me remain rooted in myself while keeping my wings open to growth?

Luma Dawn Healing