All parts of me are welcome.
I choose to disown no parts.
Not the part that likes to play,
(I no longer tell her that she needs to "grow up").
Not the part who loves to work when others are playing,
(I no longer berate her for being "boring").
Not the part who is struggling or hurting,
(I no longer tell her to "be positive" or "suck it up and get on with it").
And not the part who prioritises self care,
(I no longer tell her that "we don't have time for that").
Of course, I have many parts of me;
You do too.
And they're all valid.
They're all worthy.
They all have a role in the wonderful, messy, frustrating and fascinating thing called a human life.
And while I used to try to control, minimise, ignore and justify certain parts of me in the past
my practice now is to
acknowledge
accept
be with
and love
all parts of me,
just as they are.
All parts of me are welcome here.
And it delights and excites, challenges and grounds me to acknowledge and accept all parts of you too.
--
Photos (shared with permission, in order from top to bottom) by Jamie Brown, Avel Chuklanov, Ahmed Carter and Kike Vega.
Written by my creative, prose-writing, word-loving self also known as Caroline.