Falling In Love with Life: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
“I love that Karen taught me years ago to imagine a square, and inside that square is a circle, and it encompasses almost all of the square except for those four corners. Sometimes in life we have those four dark corners that we’re ashamed about or embarrassed about or maybe others will see us as weak or think of us differently. My goal today is to create a safe place so you can get rid of your corners. So you will know you’re not alone. You have so many friends, even friends that you don’t know personally that will be there to support you, and just say, ‘You know what, I understand, and I can be here to help you and support you.’”
-Emily Cox, Mothers Who Know, Podcast #133
My first podcast with Mothers Who Know went so well! I could hardly believe I was a guest on a podcast, but it was great to be able to connect with an audience that needs to hear about self-love so much.
In this podcast I talk about the importance of learning how to love all of life: the hard, the easy, the beautiful, and the heart-breaking. This is such an important topic for survivors – and every human – because after a traumatic event, life will not be the same. We may struggle with shame, self-harm, addiction, and other challenging behaviors. I talk about the fact that every human being has their own dark corners and how acceptance is part of overcoming them. I discuss my essential principles for overcoming these dark corners. I hope you enjoy listening and take something away that you or a friend needed to hear.
“...it’s amazing how when you start preparing to share something important how your life kind of goes down the tubes. And that’s why I have this sign in the back to remind me to embrace all the things. It reminds me every day to embrace all those little imperfections. And behind that sign is an imperfection, so it has a purpose, too.”
-Emily Cox, Mothers Who Know, Podcast #133
My sign in my house reminding me to embrace life’s imperfections.
The sign I discuss in the quote above says “Embrace the Suck” and is taped on a wall that is old and peeling and needs a lot of love and work. Symbolically, this reminds me to embrace all the imperfections life throws at me and to remind myself that from some of the harshest moments, beautiful things can be born. I got the words “Embrace the Suck” from the movie Beastly, a film loosely based on Beauty and the Beast. This film follows a popular, good-looking high school student who gets cursed by a witch to be ugly until he can find a way to truly love someone other than himself. She says those words as she is cursing him. I love these words because they remind me to accept the difficulties that life brings and learn to have gratitude in every moment.
I hope you enjoy listening to this podcast and take something away that you or a friend needed to hear.
Do you need someone to speak to your school, church group, or business about personal safety practices? Schedule a time to meet with me.