This video changed me. Gilbert’s revealing, with such raw truth and insight, of healing herself and letting go of the need to “do” was liberating. She blatantly, yet gently, owns her shit. For much of my life I have been saddled with both real and phantom expectations, both familial and societal— I haven’t done enough, I didn’t work hard enough, I should have done it differently, I should have millions in my bank account. For decades shame weighed me down, causing me both physical restriction and emotional anxiety. They held me back from a healthy mind and a gentle, loving self image.

Gilbert speaks with such ease about her own self sabotage and the subsequent reckoning that it freed up pieces of me that were still clinging to that paradigm of “shoulds”. Her voice is clear and undemanding and her understanding of her own healing process profound.

Good health serves me now (for the time being!) as I move on with the continual unfolding realization that so much of what I held closely for decades was complete bullshit. And it took up soooo much space! I now navigate my dwindling years seeking balance, self love and contentment while my self care practices keep me in the moment, in the honesty and in the love.

I thank Elizabeth Gilbert for enlightening me further and helping me to, once again, grasp that I am right here, right now and that’s enough.

Tricia