I Was Raised By the Sun
An ode to nurturing as we approach Mother's Day.
Welcome to Love + Travel where identity and the world collide.
Take a trip to Trinidad via last week’s I Can Stand the Rain, or check out the entirety of my writing, here.
In my childhood home, my bedroom window faced east.
Each morning, the dawn began its slow climb, scaling the walls of my room on its way across the sky, as I learned the ways of the sun.
How rising is a slow thing.
Imperceptible at first, until the sky is streaked with light so certain you wonder how darkness ever felt real.
A quiet arrival is full.
In the dark of winter, it fractures the night. In the summer, it becomes heat itself.
At all times it is relentless in the pursuit of radiance.
And on days when the sun couldn’t cut through the clouds to find the ground below, I knew my mother always would.
Her, drawing the blinds to one side so the day could meet my face.
Me, wiping away the last threads of sleep knitting my lids shut.
From her, a perpetual early riser, I learned the ways of the sun.
How all heavenly things, retain a halo.
A silent threshold between where the world ends and the divine begins.
Alongside reminders not to merge the two.
Her beams of love heat me from within, whispering that I deserve good things.
A promise I look to over and over.
To know the sun, to be loved, is to know something eternal.
It is the assurance of renewal
From the east and my mother,
I learned to shine.
To face what’s to come by welcoming it head-on.
And the power of meeting that which revolves around me with warmth and light.
If something from this piece stays with you, I invite you to like, share, or comment on this post to help carry it further. You can also upgrade your subscription, buy me a coffee, or purchase a book for my library to keep the winds of inspiration at my back.
TODAY’S TIDBIT
Icon status solidified. SZA visited Sesame Street to teach Elmo and friends a song about gratitude because who couldn’t use another reminder to be kind to themselves?
COMMUNITY CORNER
💎 There are SO. MANY. GEMS. in 28 slightly rude notes on writing. My fav is #14.
, thank you for the reminder to always be in service to the neck. Brilliant.🌤️ Grief happens & life goes on. It’s bittersweet, even when a loss feels like the fracturing of our very foundation, to know the only thing that can stop us is ourselves. You snapped with this one,
.😮💨
, if you took a peek into my brain say so next time. I’m in a season of choice over reluctance, I’m surrendering and things are moving fast. I’m Finally Understanding What It Feels Like When I Actually Do the Work.LET ME KNOW
What does radiance mean to you?
Who taught you to nurture yourself?
Do you have anything planned for Mother’s Day?
When are reminders that you need to return to the light strongest?
No one taught me to nurture myself. I had to figure it out on my own.
I'm still learning how to nurture myself, but I'll say that life's experiences and my desire to create a life of peace and joy inform how I nurture myself. This is beautiful, and thanks for the share! I'm glad it resonated 😊.