who do you want to BE?

This is as close to a Valentine’s Day message as you’re likely to get from me.

I have been thinking about love this week with all the pink and red everywhere, but to be honest it’s such a surface level kind of “$1 Target section” portrayal of love which just isn’t enough. 

My wife and I are in a new phase of marriage where love is a constant turning towards one another. This isn’t a Hallmark Holiday kind of love- this is a real and raw and tears of happiness kind of love. 

This is an oh-shit-we-can-do-hard-things kind of love. (Thank you, Glennon Doyle, for this language.)

And in THAT vein, an old message circled back and slapped me in the face this week: Who do I want to BE? Who do I want to BE as I show up in love & in life? Let’s put THAT on a heart candy.

What qualities and characteristics do I want to embody as I build, create and love? 

It’s a powerful question. Who do you want to BE? I’m not talking about titles and accomplishments. I’m talking about the version of yourself that arrives at the difficult conversations, the quiet moments alone or the moment in which you find yourself triggered. The version of you that engages your loves.

The answers to this question have me thinking about self love in the most authentic way I know how. This is where it all stems from anyway because we are only able to love others to the degree that we love ourselves. 

I want to be the version of myself that is confident, unashamed, stylish and spontaneous. 

In this way, the pathway to self love is paved with desire. In who we desire to be. It takes us right up to the portal where we get to decide to move forward into radical self love, or not. Either is fine, but recognizing your choice is powerful. 

The real gem is that we get to give this kind of love to ourselves. And that shit is fun because it feels good. 

And loving from THIS place is gold. 

With so much love,

<3 B