self reflection

Walking Through the Perception of Pain

Posted on by Kerri Elizabeth

BE AWARE OF HOW YOU SEE YOURSELF, THATS THE SAME VIEW YOU SEE THE WORLD THROUGH.

There comes a time when running no longer works—
when the ache doesn’t lessen with distance,
when the echo of pain waits for you at the next bend.
It is not weakness to pause.
It is strength to stay, to look directly into the eyes of discomfort
and ask it: What are you here to show me?

Walking through the pain is not about conquering it—
it’s about knowing it.
Seeing its colors, hearing its rhythm,
feeling the way it shifts your breath, your stance, your gaze.
Sometimes it’s a loud throb that demands your attention,
other times it’s a subtle whisper,
a pulse in the background of your choices.

Is it really pain—or is it the story you were told about pain?
Do you respond out of memory, out of programming,
or from presence, clarity, and truth?

Pain can be an ally in transformation
when we stop anticipating its arrival with fear
and start witnessing it as a bridge—
an invitation to expand.

Ask yourself:
– Why am I walking away?
– Am I avoiding hurt, or avoiding growth?
– Can I stay here, still and strong,
not to suffer but to see?

Life will test you.
That’s a promise.
But how you define those tests is up to you.
Are they punishments—or portals?

You can do hard things.
With grace.
With steady breath.
With the knowing that pain
is not your identity
but a teacher passing through.

When you choose to walk through it,
you walk into a new version of yourself.
One who didn’t skip the chapter,
but read it aloud
and found truth in its lines.

Let others react how they do—
some will shut down, some will turn away,
some will lash out.
That doesn’t define your path.
Let your response be rooted in wisdom,
not reflex.
Let your heart rate be a compass,
not a warning siren.
And let your stillness reveal
the power you’ve always had.

Poem: The Walk

I walked not because I had nowhere to go,
but because I had somewhere to arrive within.
The road cracked beneath my bare feet—
not to injure me,
but to open what I buried long ago.

Pain was not the enemy.
It was the door.
And I—
I became the key.

I stopped naming it sorrow
and started calling it strength.
I stopped listening to fear
and started listening to breath.

Every tremble became a prayer.
Every pause, a song of endurance.
I walked, not to escape,
but to enter.

Not to fight,
but to finally feel.

-Kerri-Elizabeth-

The Antidote Is Within

Posted on by Kerri Elizabeth

There’s a kind of expansion that doesn’t look like more doing, more chasing, or more becoming.

It looks like shedding.

Softening.

Listening to what’s already been whispering inside for years.

People ask all the time—

What do you take?

What do you eat?

What do you think about this herb or that cleanse?

But the deeper truth is this:

The best health advice I can ever offer

Is to turn down the noise

And ask yourself…

How do you feel?

Are you rested or are you rushing on borrowed energy?

Do you move your body because it brings you life,

Or because you’re trying to fix what was never broken?

Do you fall into sleep like a prayer

or collapse into it like a last resort?

How much of your day is spent

in silence,

in breath,

in the untangling of thought from truth?

Do you scrub your skin like punishment

or like ceremony—

exfoliating the layers not just of yesterday’s dust,

but of the weight you’ve carried too long?

We hold the antidote inside.

Not in a bottle,

Not in someone else’s method or miracle,

But in our ability to return

to presence,

to rhythm,

to the quiet knowing we’ve always had.

There’s a lot out there telling us how to feel better,

how to do more,

how to chase a version of beauty that was never our own.

But what if we’re not meant to do more?

What if we’re meant to realign where we give our effort—

To stop over-performing in some areas

and under-nourishing others?

What if your wholeness doesn’t need to be earned,

only remembered?

We are not trends.

We are not opinions.

We are not before-and-after stories.

We are stories still being told,

and no one else gets to hold the pen.

Expansion is personal.

It begins with small choices that honor what’s real:

a breath,

a stretch,

a kind word to the mirror,

a walk without your phone,

a plate of vibrant food grown in soil, not manufactured in labs.

Play your instrument.

Take the trip.

Paint what you see in your dreams.

But do it because something inside you calls you forward—

not because an algorithm says you should.

You don’t need to change who you are.

You just need to come back to yourself.

And from there,

everything expands.

-Kerri-Elizabeth-

What If We Had No Mirrors? A Reflection on Aging, Beauty, and Living Naturally

Posted on by Kerri Elizabeth

Yesterday, I saw myself in a way I hadn’t before. It was a sunny afternoon, and I was with my daughter—nearly 40 now, though I could still feel myself walking in her age. We were at a sprawling plant nursery, checking out with our treasures of green, when I looked up and caught a glimpse in a mirror near the counter.

There I was—me. But not the me I feel inside. Instead, a version touched by time, by sun, by the softness that aging brings. I stood there for a moment, surprised. Not saddened. Not shamed. Just… aware.

What If We Had No Mirrors?

It hit me: I’m almost 60. But I don’t believe in “aging” in the way society speaks of it. I believe in evolving. In learning. In living closer to the earth. I don’t wear makeup—not because I’m against it, but because I love the way nature feels on my skin. I love wind-swept hair, the kiss of sunshine, and the medicine of plants.

What would life be like if we had no mirrors?

If our reflection only came from rippling water, or from the way someone’s eyes lit up when we smiled? If we were reflected only by the kindness we gave, the presence we offered, and the energy we carried?

Would we worry so much about wrinkles or wild strands of hair? Would we still feel the need to cover, conceal, or enhance? Or would we simply be—unfiltered, untamed, and entirely enough?

Aging as Evolution, Not Decline

That moment reminded me: I want my reflection to be a thank you, not a judgment.

A recognition of how far I’ve come, of how deeply I’ve felt, and of how naturally I choose to live.

Mirrorless

Let the water be my mirror

Let the wind paint lines of grace

Let the sun write stories on my skin

And time slow down its pace

Let reflection come in ripples

Not in glass with harsh demands

Let me be revealed by presence

And not by culture’s hands

I’ll wear the earth with reverence

Let my wildness show through

For beauty is in living

And in living, I am true.

~ Kerri Elizabeth ~

Identity

Posted on by Kerri Elizabeth

Identity is in your energy
The essence of you
The beauty you bestow
The love you hold
The soul of you
Your spirit
The core of more, the DNA
The truth, the nitty gritty
Your authentic emotions and feelings
Not another
Your not another’s judgement or opinion
Your not recognition or a profile
Identity is your gift, you were chosen to be and do something more than this
What is this…what is more
More is when you hear your breathing and its not shallow and ignored
Its not taken for granted but explored
More is when your physical frame is relaxed and still able to hold you upright
More is when your heart speaks and there is no misinterpreting the message
More is when your vibration is unshakeable
More is when love flows and you are present in all that’s true for you
More is when life opens doors because you cleared space to be embraced
More is what you allow
More is a presence
An energy flow when you decide
Your identity is nothing to hide
To know yourself, is to forget yourself
Without a thought
Identity
Is energy thats free
To be

Kerri-Elizabeth

Reflection relies on truth

Posted on by Kerri Elizabeth

Reflection shows up to a varied response, but never a varied truth.

Even when a reflection invites varied responses

Truth is it’s constant rythym

Reflective responses vary by emotion and circumstance

Changing like the rivers current

Truth that the rivers current moves

That the sun rises and sets

That is a truth in constant rhythm

Even in a blur of the morning dew

Or a beautiful evening rain

The truth that is constant brings the change

Change although constant relays upon the truth

~Kerri-Elizabeth~

Crafting tomorrow with the hands of today

Posted on by Kerri Elizabeth

Perseverance will offer you a choice and it doesn’t travel alone.

Leaning into perseverance and whispering ,”I’m here.”

Perseverance replying, “yes?”

My response, “Must there be more, can’t you read my mind?”

“Must I need clarity to explain why I’m whispering?”

“Dear whisperer, I may know exactly why you are whispering, but if you are interested in my services you must speak with clarity.”

“Clarity I say,”with an exhausting defensive stance.

Perseverance responds back, “ Dear whisperer, when you are ready to speak with clarity and request your desires, I will meet with you to create a plan of action, until then , my family and I have a full schedule.”

“Perseverance, are you a small family business?”

Perseverance responds, “ oh no , we are a world wide organization known for tiring out our clients, pushing them to their knees, financial challenging them, among an array of different types of battles we will toss your way to test your strength and endurance.”

Dear whisperer, “Only the ones that are willing to experience , sleepless nights, agitation, frustration, pain and vulnerability among emotions you haven’t even experienced yet, you must face your deepest truths, stand in the hottest and coldest temperatures and don’t shrink back.”

Dear whisperer, “when you request my services my company will test every limit you have and it will be up to you if you stay on board with us to get the results you’re looking for.”

Perseverance, “ your services sound like a war zone of chaos and destruction, I’d be crazy to invest in those requirements.”

Dear whisperer, “feel free to continue on with our referral to hope, desire, love, laughter, smiles and a positive attitude, they run together and their charges although similar still require our services for longevity.”

Perseverance, “what other options do you suggest so I can process this decision?”

Dear Whisperer, “ have you forgotten your continued investments into our company over your lifetime, the investment has earned you interest and are documented for your future records, you are welcome to use those investments as a down payment.”

Dear Perseverance, I respond with a bit of a defensive wise cracking voice and posture.

“I have investments I didn’t even make?”

“How’s that possible, who made those?”

“It wasn’t me, I’d never make an investment into such a chaotic plan.”

“Whispering”, perseverance answers, you’re investing right now, it’s in arguing rather than action, maybe that’s the statement you didn’t read.”

“That one does not yield high returns, but it does have persevering effects, check your statements for more details.”

“The statements will refer you carefully to your own documented evidence in your journals.”

“You do have them , right?”

~Kerri Elizabeth~

Surrender Within

Posted on by Kerri Elizabeth

It takes a surrendering within to see your truest version in depth.

Adventure the unveiling of vulnerable truth

Surrendering within a depth of trust

A depth that has a voice, a quiet whisper and often a jolting defense

Reflecting within a depth of truth requires a willingness to feel uncomfortable

A desire to create space where new insights reveal clarity

Depth is not given, it is earned

It is not learned it is experienced

The very essence of depth is only seen by few

It requires an ability to surrender within

Love it , or not

Shaking the inner walls and rattling the windows both consciously and unconsciously

Allowing the pressure to transform

YOU

Not hold you hostage

~Kerri-Elizabeth~

Posted on by Kerri Elizabeth