✨When Protection Is No Longer Required ✨

There was a time when I was trying to have a voice because I had been silent for so long.
I didn’t yet know how to use my voice — only how to protect it.
So I learned to be blunt.

There was a time when I was blunt because I had to be.
It was how I protected myself.
It was how I stayed safe.
It was how I made sure my words didn’t get twisted or ignored.

Bluntness wasn’t a flaw — it was armor.

Recently, I listened to myself speak on a video. Nothing was wrong with what I said. I wasn’t harsh. I wasn’t out of control. But I could hear it. I could hear a version of me that needed to be firm because softness once felt unsafe.

And then I realized something — I don’t live in that body anymore.

I’m in a new place now. A new way of being. And while I don’t regret who I had to be, I can hear where I can soften.

This is new for me.
Softness doesn’t come naturally.
Awareness doesn’t come automatically.

For most of my adult life, bluntness was my default. Now, I’m learning to listen to myself as I speak — to be attentive to my tone, my pace, my intention. Not to police myself, but to honor where I am now.

It’s an effort.
It’s practice.
It doesn’t always flow.

Sometimes I catch myself after the words leave my mouth. Sometimes I hear it while I’m speaking. And sometimes, I practice in small, quiet ways — even with technology — just to train myself to speak gently without shrinking.

This isn’t about becoming someone else.
It’s about becoming more present with myself.

I’m not losing my strength.
I’m learning that I don’t need armor where there is peace.

Le’Yonce

© L’Tanya Arhemaword Publishing, LLC. All rights reserved.