I think we all have turning points in our lives where there is a you before and you after.
In 2009, I weighed 275 pounds and was miserable and depressed. I lost 100 pounds over the next couple of years thinking it would solve all my misery. And yeah, there was a before and after me and I am grateful.

BUT

as great as I felt outwardly, I looked in the mirror one day
and realized it didn’t solve me.
Inside.
The same things weighing me down were still there – I was still so heavy.

And then one day, finally,
when I couldn’t go on another day,
I chose me, all of me,
and that created the real before and after.

I remember it as vividly as
waking up this morning.
I said to my before me,
I won’t live like this anymore.
And through pain, hurt, and
desperation to get to me,
I didn’t.

It was like taking a chisel
to my soul and chipping away
to get to the me that had been lying dormant underneath.

And once I saw her,
I ran to her.

What do I say to those of you
who may still be in your before…
look at the one you want to be after.
Do you see her there up ahead?
She’s calling to you.
She’s waiting.

The grief can be chiseled away,
the judgment can be thrown down,
the loneliness can be filled,
the anger can be released…
the doubt, fear,
all those things holding you back
from reaching that girl
there up ahead
are in your hands.

Look at her and say,
“I’m coming,
I’ll get there,
I’m on my way.”

And choose.
Choose you.
And run.

Tracey

#chooseyou#youareworthit#youareworthy#beforeyouafteryou#inspirational#ajoyfulpen