“When I dare to be powerful — to use my strength in the service of my vision — then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid."-Audre Lorde
Dear Reader,
I have been struggling for the past few months and I realized I had become entangled in the very thing I help other women unhook from.
Even after years of doing “the work” — choosing authenticity over performance — I found myself caught in an old pattern.
I had joined a yearlong business mentorship program to bring my work online. I wanted structure, systems, mentorship, and community. It was exactly what I needed — and I’m glad I joined.
But somewhere along the way, in trying to do it “right,” I lost myself.
I became stuck.
I saw it clearly: I had been trying to make myself palatable again.
For the masses.
For the algorithm.
For some invisible standard of “professional” and “acceptable.”
But here's what I'm learning…
That voice — the one that says "make yourself easier to swallow, tone it down, be palatable" — is not my truth.
These are messages we have internalized — and they aren't random.
Every message we've received about what's "wrong" with us — that we're too loud, too quiet, too much, too little — comes from the same source:
- Oppressive voices inherited from family and culture
- Patriarchal, colonial, and capitalist structures
- Systems that thrive when women stay small
It's the voice that whispers:
Don’t be too much.
Don’t make waves.
Smile more.
Be grateful for what you have.
It shows up when we edit our opinions in meetings, apologize for taking up space, dim our light to keep others comfortable.
It's not just in our thoughts, its in our bodies — it's in our strategies, our business plans, our self-doubt.
It’s the water we swim in.
They are embedded into the very fabric of our being and we forget it’s toxic.
This pattern of making myself palatable wasn’t just about my business — I saw it everywhere.
This week, I watched society uphold the same tired patterns — celebrating what fits the mold in the name of faith and free speech while silencing what challenges it.
And I realized: every time I shrink myself, every time I edit my truth to be more "acceptable, I am feeding that same beast.
🗣️ The hypocrisy was suffocating.
I felt a familiar rage… the kind that comes from being told to diminish yourself and rise above, while others' voices are rewarded for taking up all the space and spewing their hate.
So I screamed “NO MORE” at the top of my lungs until my throat was raw.
Then I let my pen unleash five pages of uncensored truth.
I danced to music that cracked me open.
I let desire flood in.
I allowed myself to be witnessed in all of it.
And I came home…
Home to the part of me that is freedom, authenticity, aliveness, pleasure, love and truth.
Because when we make ourselves small, or shrink or hide...
We uphold the very systems that devalue all life, reward division, and silence the sacred.
We dim our power, our magic, our creative fire.
We lose our connection — to ourselves, to each other, to earth, to Source.
You know that moment...
When you have something real to say but you water it down?
When you edit your truth until it’s barely recognizable?
When you hold back because your truth might be “too much”?
☠️ That’s where our creative power goes to die.
I’m done.
I’m done diminishing myself.
I’m done being palatable to keep others comfortable.
I’m done apologizing for being whole, powerful, and alive.
I’m saying yes — to my voice, my desire, my grief, my body, my truth.
To being a woman who is visionary, embodied, and messy.
To feeling it all and expressing it anyway.
💌 My Invitation to You
If this feels familiar to you, you are not broken.
You’re waking up.
This is how we transform.
This is how we evolve.
This is how we start a revolution — and create the world we want to live in.
It will take you and me and all of us.
The result?
I’m choosing to show up as the unedited version of myself — in my emails, in my writing, in my work, in my life.
I may not do it perfectly.
But I’m willing to try.
✨ YOUR TURN
👉 Think of one conversation where you held back this week.
- What would you have said if you did not censor yourself?
- What would happen if you let just a little more of your real voice into the world?
Hit reply.
I want to hear your truth.
I want to hold space for it.
(And if replying feels like too much today… whisper it to yourself. That counts, too.)
“When we stop colluding with the system, we come home to ourselves.”
You are not alone in this.
With You on the Journey,
Teresa
Soul Prompting Questions
Take a few quiet minutes today—maybe with a cup of tea or under the summer sky—and journal on these:
|
|
|
Affirmation
"My truth is sacred. My voice is valid. I am worthy."
|
Let Poetry Remind You:
“You Are Not Too Much” by Jeanette LeBlanc
You are not too much.
You have never been too much.
You are exactly enough.
You are a goddamn wildfire.
Don’t let them tame you.
Movement Practice: Unshrink Your Body (5–7 minutes)
As you listen, close your eyes, take a slow breath, and let the words wash over you and allow your body to move to this song.How does your body want to move and dance?
- With each breath, expand just a little more.
- As you move allow your self to take up more space. Feel the places where you shrink and gently invite more exapnsion.
- Say internally: “I am here.”
- As the song comes to an end. Let your arms open wide, your chest rise, your jaw and knees soften. and just hold that position for at least a minute
End by placing one hand on your heart, one on your belly. And say out loud: “I do not need to be palatable to be powerful.”
I am here: by PINK
Here is a second song as an option. This is the one I danced to.
Or a 1:1 Call ("Private Guidance with Teresa")
If you’re craving personalized guidance and a safe space to untangle the “shoulds” and finally step into who you’re becoming, book a private call with me here. Sometimes one conversation can shift everything.
|