the heart as it is | courage • grief • beauty

Today’s question from Onsite is “How have the messages you’ve received impacted you? How much power do these messages have over you?”

I know I haven’t responded to these in a while but in any case, I think the mssages I have subconsciously received from society and internalized from others in general are not always things I am aware of. I think they most powerfully manifest themselves as shame, and perhaps through other personal struggles. One kind of messaging in particular is messaging from the evangelical upbringing I was in, which also lead to a lot of shame in a few areas where nothing was even inherently ‘bad’.

I think before I met my husband as well, another message I received was about what love should look like and honestly I had some really ridiculous standards for the kind of relationship that I was really craving. I think that was due in part to what society was sharing but also what those close (relationally and in proximity) were saying what was desirable.

Long story short, I’m sure the messages I’ve received throughout my life have impacted me in positive and negative ways, and often I am not really aware of how much power they have over me in the moment.