Now that we have taken the first step on our journey of self-empowerment, by taking an in-depth study of our lives, we have discovered where we would like to empower ourselves.
Each of us starts in a different place and has different growth areas, based on our own life experiences. Even family members or couples in the same home start at different places. Where you begin, how you move forward and how fast you go is entirely up to you. It is YOUR journey and it cannot be compared to another.
How do you begin to empower yourself? The idea of looking at everything you want to change and knowing that you now need to make these changes, can be daunting, so start small.
Begin by feeling the power from within as opposed to waiting for others to make you feel valuable. Emotionally empower yourself by starting with your mind and believing in your right to learn, grow and develop no matter what those around you are telling you. Never hold yourself back to please another.
Next, take little steps daily. Discover one new thing about yourself every day.
What you like to eat?
What you like to do?
What skill can you discover within, that you weren’t aware of before?
What audio, video or book can help you to grow?
These steps may take new levels of courage like:
trying a new food
developing a new skill
driving yourself somewhere you don’t usually want to drive
taking action to learn/do/experience something new
Challenging yourself to try or experience one new thing, will help you to take bigger, braver steps each day. You will then be able to tackle the really big areas where you want to empower yourself.
The true magic of self-empowerment is that by developing yourself, according to your needs, at your pace, you help yourself to grow and heal. We have all dealt with things that have left scars on us – some visible, some not. The impact of those situations has reverberated across our lives. Empowering ourselves begins the process of healing those scars and allowing us to live our lives by our own design. Next we will be looking at the ways in which empowerment can heal us.
Ichallenge you to make a commitment to yourself to do one empowering thing every day.
What simple steps are you taking each day to empower yourself? Let me know. I would love to hear from you.
This debut memoir chronicles a woman’s spiritual exploration and growth as she overcame a disturbing childhood and helped others heal.
Brought to America from the Dominican Republic as a youngster, Molina-Marshall should have led a happy life. Her father was a diligent worker, and his large family wanted for nothing. But the author recounts that her dad had a drinking problem and was a serial philanderer. Molina-Marshall’s long-suffering mother left him for a woman. Then it was all downhill for the bright, 12-year-old girl, who was shuttled between foster care and relatives. According to the author, she was sexually abused by the husband of one of her siblings. This resulted in Molina-Marshall becoming alienated and moody. By 15, she simply tried to survive. In her favor were grit and a restless intelligence. She quit school, rented a room, and found a factory job. Time went by, and for a while she was happily married. Yet when her husband left her, her life truly began. She turned to religion for answers but decided that blaming God for her woes was a cop-out.
In this absorbing and moving memoir, Molina-Marshall’s vivid storytelling is fearless. She frankly discusses the truths she discovered and the indignities she suffered. These admissions are disclosed with a touch of resignation and plenty of bite. However painful, everything she experienced was a lesson, and she bravely realized that she was part of the problem: “The fear of being hurt, rejected, or abused often led to me feeling lonely and misunderstood. No one knew the agonizing pain I felt being trapped in my thoughts and anger. I was becoming my biggest threat.”
The author skillfully recounts her intricate spiritual journey. To deal with her psychic wounds, she searched for an inspirational system. Her open-mindedness led her to the interfaith concept—cherry-picking from various religions and spiritual movements, yoga, and Indigenous beliefs as a way of finding peace. Along with her female partner, she built a therapy practice, making use of every spiritual element that aided her and others. The road was bumpy, and she found that women of color in same-sex relationships were not welcomed everywhere. To do good works—and finally live on her own terms—she effectively overcame bigotry.
An engrossing, cathartic account of empathy and success through determination and confidence.
Pub Date: May 3, 2022 | ISBN: 978-0-578-38315-6 | Page Count: 264 | Publisher: From Trauma to Triumph | Review Posted Online: June 13, 2022
