I haven’t been gentle with myself over the past year and a half. I ignored my body’s needs and instead pushed myself through one of the most stressful periods of my life—turning to refined sugar and empty carbs, neglecting rest, and failing to nurture my body and soul. I strayed further than I ever intended from the macrobiotic diet and lifestyle that has supported my mental and physical well-being for 14 years.

But it is what it is. Every experience—even the most difficult ones—teaches us something we need to learn or relearn in order to grow. And I did need a reminder.

It’s not that I don’t love myself. I do. But we humans are strange creatures. We long for happiness, yet sometimes we search for it in the wrong places—in habits that deplete us, in things that don’t truly nourish us.

I have wintered enough. For almost three months, I sat with my grief, explored my sadness, and allowed myself to fully feel. I believe healing only happens when we face our emotions head-on, without avoidance or suppression. Then, last Monday afternoon, I noticed a shift. Something had changed.

"I think I’m free," I told myself.

And just like that… winter was over.

In the days that followed, I felt like a survivor of a storm, waiting for the grief to return, because for three months, it had been my constant companion. But it didn’t. Now, it only visits occasionally, drifting in like a cold breeze, passing through, but never staying.

Now, I choose to do better. I commit to healing, to honoring my body and spirit, to truly listening to what they need. I choose to show up for myself.

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