I know how hard it is to plaster a smile on during these “Hallmark holidays” and feel like you are playing the role.  The need to play or appear happy and vibrant to make everything seem acceptable and normal.

As life continues to educate me, I have been listening closely to its lessons.  There is no more acting. I am learning I never have to play a role when I am around my people.  There is only the rawness and honesty of me.  My self-speaking truth is grounded in goodness and healthy reality.  The years of me selling my image at the expense of my true feelings and needs is over.  The limited times my old role needs to be activated.  I play it quickly.  Then go back to my people who don’t expect me to play pretend anymore.

As a side-note; I never lost real friends, real opportunities or real relationships when I started standing up for myself and setting clear boundaries. What I did lose – manipulators, narcissists, and energy vampires who destroyed my mental health.