Dig where you’re Standing
Today I'm sharing with you a poem I wrote in my journal at the beginning of the year. I don't remember what exactly I was thinking at the time, but it's a feeling that's familiar...
It's like losing your glasses, and after fumbling around for ages, realising that they're on your head.
Or that time I lost my pearl earring (my wedding gift!), and after desperately scouring the drains, bars, toilets and streets of Hong Kong for over 2 hours, going home - utterly defeated - and it falling out of my bra.
It's the deep relief you feel when, after frenetically looking outside of yourself for something, you realise you had it all along. You already know. You already are.
This reminds me of a chapter in Glennon Doyle's book Untamed when, during a kids' gathering at her home, she asks who's hungry. The boys, without taking their eyes of the movie they're watching, say, 'ME!'. The girls, after scanning each other's faces for the answer to their own hunger, say, 'We're fine'.
That one little scene says so much about our conditioning, especially as women, to look outside of ourselves for permissions and answers.
And so, if you're drowning out your own voice with everybody else's, or suppressing your hunger for what really brings you alive, or looking everywhere but within yourself for gold that only you possess, this poem's for you:
Stop wandering, love. Stop wondering.
There’s so much gold right where you stand.
That idea that you buried before it got a chance to breathe.
Those words you swallowed but are exactly what we need to hear.
That thing you poured your heart into, but stuffed into a drawer before it saw the light of day.
Give them a chance, darling. Give you a chance.
It might all look a bit murky right now.
But go back in.
Keep digging.
You will get dust in your eyes and dirt in your nails.
But you’ll find treasures that only you can find.
Here's to the little stories of your life.
P.S. If you want help excavating your own inner gold, I’d love to support you.
Hey there!
I’m Christina Paul, a therapist turned Brand Therapist, here to help women share their medicine with the world through branding, websites, and visibility.
I work mainly with coaches, therapists, creatives and change-makers - women who are part of the gentle revolution our world so desperately needs.
If you’re feeling a connection, feel free to explore my offerings, find me on Instagram or subscribe to my e-community for love letters sent straight to your inbox.
