Dear Soulful Reader
I greet you with love, light, and compassion. May these words find you exactly where you are meant to be, and may they stir something gentle and true within your heart. Sometimes, returning to yourself begins with a whisper, a quiet knowing that something is ready to soften, to shift.
Healing does not happen all at once. It comes in quiet waves, unexpected tears, long silences, and soft awakenings. Each layer reveals a wound, a memory, a truth. Each layer peeled is an act of courage.
In this part of my journey, I have come to realise that coming home to myself is not a destination; it is a sacred, barefoot path woven with tenderness and truth ,a process of uncovering, feeling, understanding, and gently releasing all that is not mine to carry. Each layer I peel back reveals another version of myself: the girl who was never held enough, the woman who gave too much, and now, the soul who is learning to be. My healing did not begin in a calm place; it started in the ache. It started when I had no choice but to face the deep, silent wounds and traumas I had carried for so long: The scars that whispered: ‘You’re not worthy of staying for. ‘
For years, I avoided it. I overworked; I overthought. But no matter how far I ran, my inner child, forgotten, unheard, unseen, was still waiting for me. When I finally stopped and sat with her, I began to understand. I began to feel. I began to comfort her with the love she never received. I hugged myself every time life reminded me of those early wounds. I whispered: I see you. I love you. I’m not leaving you. ‘
That was the beginning of self-love, not the version I once believed, shaped by doing and proving, but the sacred kind: living gently, cherishing my breath, nourishing my body, my mind, and my spirit. Coming home to yourself, I have learned, means becoming the mother my soul always needed. And each time I held myself in pain, I peeled back another layer of fear and replaced it with softness.
As I mentioned earlier ,awakening has also meant peeling away the beliefs, fears, traumas, and wounds that were never truly mine to carry. Some were inherited -passed down silently through generations, like invisible threads of sorrow and survival. Others were placed upon me by a society that taught us to live in fear, shame and guilt, especially as women. We are taught to silence our needs, to dim our light, to be small and safe in a world that forgot how to honour our truth. I realised I was made of other people’s expectations, ideas, and wounds. Then, I walked barefoot on the path to finding my true Self, and I asked myself, ‘Who am I beneath all this?’
With each layer that fell, I found myself growing closer to who I truly am, to the voice of my soul. The barefoot woman I was always meant to be: wild, whole, worthy, and free. I have risen from my ashes, wounded, but reborn. Each painful layer I shed has been a spark, igniting a new flame of strength and hope within me. This sacred fire burns away the old stories, leaving space for light, love, and a renewed self to emerge. With every breath, I rise again, stronger, wiser and more whole. I no longer rush my healing. I no longer shame myself for needing time. I honour each tear, each silence, each breakthrough. Because healing in layers means I’m alive, awakening and becoming whole.
Thank you for holding this moment with me. May your path be gentle, your journey sacred, and your healing true.
Affirmations to hold in your heart
I am worthy of love exactly as I am
I honour my inner child and hold her gently
Each layer I heal brings me closer to wholeness
I nourish my mind, my body, and my soul with kindness
It is safe for me to feel and heal in my own time
I am enough now and always
