No more working harder. No more carrying heavier. No more chasing the carrot on a stick.

No more accepting every armload of expectations and rules and responsibilities that they hand me in the subconscious hope for some meager scraps of validation.

No more living like my purpose is to become resilient and my happiness must be earned like some commodity that can be bought and sold.

Now I am working softer. And I’m carrying less. I’m learning to say no.

I will not accept their rules of engagement because I’ve broken them all already. The moment that I realized that I am worth more than what I was agreeing to. That I can do and be and have more than I was allowing.

I broke the entire energetic economy the moment I realized that it starts on the inside. With how I treat myself. With how much space and time I devote to finding my center. My peace. My natural expression and flow. Free of the pressures of conformity, of need for validation, approval, or acceptance of an outdated and expired system of thought.

I won’t work myself into the ground to earn my joy. Because it can’t be earned. It can only be nurtured. So I’m tilling the soil and planting the seeds, whispering love notes and lighting candles and listening to the rain.

No more lowering myself to meet their demands. Instead I am rising to meet my purpose.

Where I was rushed, now I am slowing down. Where I was asking, now I am giving. Where I was wanting, now I am accepting.

No more working harder. Those days are fading. Now I am working softer. And better days are blooming.

©️Cristen Writes