Lumen Bird

“What questions are you pondering about the you you say you are? When you read your questions aloud, what themes do you hear? What emotion do you feel and where do you feel it most in your body?”
― Melonie B. Garrett

“Look at the bright side of life and the bright side will look at you. The reflections we send out always return.”
― Ron Baratono

“We weren’t born distrusting and fearing ourselves. That was part of our taming. We were taught to believe that who we are in our natural state is bad and dangerous. They convinced us to be afraid of ourselves. So we do not honor our own bodies, curiosity, hunger, judgment, experience, or ambition. Instead, we lock away our true selves. Women who are best at this disappearing act earn the highest praise: She is so selfless. Can you imagine? The epitome of womanhood is to lose one’s self completely. That is the end goal of every patriarchal culture. Because a very effective way to control women is to convince women to control themselves.”
― Glennon Doyle, Untamed

“She let out the breath she knew full well she’d been holding.”
― Nenia Campbell, Escape