How to Be Your Own Light (When Life Gets Heavy)

Real talk + rituals for staying positive when the weight of the world feels too much

When the world feels dim, become the glow.

There are seasons in life when even the sunniest spirit feels dulled—when joy flickers, hope thins, and everything around us seems heavy, loud, and too much. Maybe it’s the news cycle. Maybe it’s the never-ending to-do list. Maybe it’s that quiet ache you can’t quite name. Whatever it is, it can pull even the most positive person into a spiral of weariness.

But here’s the truth: the light you’re seeking? It lives in you.

Some seasons don’t come to break you—they come to build your glow.

Let’s be real: positivity isn’t always a sunny morning and an affirmations playlist.

Sometimes, it’s standing in the middle of your life as it crumbles around you—heart cracked wide open, bank account in the red, toddlers tugging at your legs—and choosing not to go numb. Choosing to still believe there’s light at the end of this mess. And if you can’t see it yet? You become it.

The Season That Changed Me

Years ago, I found myself in one of the heaviest seasons of my life. My marriage had ended. My financial stability had vanished overnight. The haters were dancing in the streets. I was raising two pre-teens on my own—juggling extra-curricular drop-offs, middle school angst, and raging hormones while trying to keep my emotions from spilling out all over the house.

There were nights I cried behind closed doors, praying my children wouldn’t hear the tremble in my voice. There were mornings I plastered on a smile, even when all I wanted was to stay in bed and pull the covers over my soul.

But deep down, I made a decision:
This would not be the end of my joy.

It would be the beginning of my becoming.

Because even in heartbreak, even when everything felt unrecognizable—I still had me. And I made a vow to myself in that storm: I will not lose my light.

Your Glow Is Not Conditional

The world will tell you that joy is for when the bills are paid, the relationship is healthy, the career is flourishing, the waistline is smaller. But I’m here to tell you—joy is your birthright. And you don’t have to wait until life is perfect to feel it.

Your glow doesn’t come from what surrounds you. It comes from what’s within you.

That truth kept me going. That truth is what I want to offer you now.

Rituals That Helped Me Rise

In the midst of the mess, I created rituals—tiny lifelines that reminded me I was still here, still worthy, still radiant.

Here are a few that helped me reclaim my mindset, one breath at a time:

✦ Light in the Morning

Before the world could touch me, I lit a candle. Just me, the quiet, and a flame. A reminder: the light still lives here.

✦ Speak Life to Yourself

I taped affirmations to my bathroom mirror. Some days, I didn’t believe them. But I said them anyway. “You are strong.” “You are worthy.” “You are becoming.”

✦ Music That Moves

Old-school soul. Afro beats. Gospel. Erykah. I danced in my kitchen barefoot with my babies. Even when I felt like crying. Especially when I felt like crying.

✦ Sacred Pauses

I stopped filling every crack of my schedule with productivity. Sometimes healing looks like sitting in your car, finishing your coffee with the windows down.

✦ Reclaiming My Reflection

I dressed like joy on the days I didn’t feel it. Headwrap high. Earrings bold. Boho layers flowing. It wasn’t vanity—it was resistance. It was art. It was me.

From Surviving to Shining

Sis, if you are walking through something heavy right now—whether it’s divorce, grief, a silent sadness, or a loud chaos—I want you to know: you’re not alone. And you don’t have to fake fine. You just have to keep choosing you.

Because your joy doesn’t have to wait.

It can live right here, in the middle of the mess. It can dance through tears. It can rise from the ashes. It can glow in the dark.

Your Invitation to Shine

If this spoke to your soul, I’d love for us to keep walking together.
📩 Drop your email below for bi-weekly mindset love, soulful rituals, and joyful reminders to keep choosing your light.

🎁 And your free gift:
The Everyday Joy Guide — a pocket-sized spark to help you shift your energy, reconnect with your essence, and glow through it all.

Because you, my love, are the light.
Even when life gets heavy.
Especially then.