🌿Awakening Isn’t Enlightenment: Why Growth Feels Messy, Real, and Still Worth It

It’s not about arriving. It’s about returning.

Let’s be honest...

Most of us had a vision of what “awakening” would look like.

✨ A soul-shifting revelation
✨ A beautifully timed breakdown-turned-breakthrough
✨ An upgraded version of ourselves floating through life with answers in one hand and a journal in the other

But the truth?

Awakening is rarely graceful.
And it almost never feels “finished.”

It’s not a highlight reel.
It’s a mirror.
And sometimes?
It reflects things you’ve spent your whole life trying not to see.

🌫 I Thought I Had to Be Enlightened to Be Worthy

For years, I thought awakening was something you achieve.

That if I could just heal enough… fix enough… understand enough…
Then I’d finally cross the invisible finish line into worthiness.

But what I’ve learned is this:

Awakening isn’t a destination.
It’s a decision to return to yourself—again and again.

And sometimes, that return looks like rest.
Or silence.
Or crying in the car because you thought you were “past this already.”

💔 Leaving the Church Broke Me Open

After we left the religious group I was raised in, we tried to find a softer place to land.

We joined a non-denominational church.
The people were lovely. We got involved.
We even joined the worship team.

And yet… something still felt misaligned.

We were performing spirituality.
Not processing. Not healing.

When our favorite pastor moved away, we quietly stopped going.
And for years after that, I believed in nothing.

Not because I didn’t want to.
But because I didn’t know how to believe without betraying myself again.

🧘♀️ The Reawakening That Found Me in Stillness

I didn’t find my way back through sermons or scripture.
I found it in a quiet yoga studio.

Not the loud, power classes.
The slow ones. The quiet ones.
Where the only sound was breath.

There were no breakthroughs.
No enlightenment.
Just presence.

And somehow… that was enough.

It didn’t feel spiritual at first.
But it felt real.
And sometimes, that’s all awakening is.

🌱 I Wasn’t Enlightened—I Was Finally Becoming

While the world rushed ahead with “high vibes” and fast manifestations…
I was just learning to sit with myself.

And the more I let go of trying to catch up,
The more I realized I was already on the path.

Awakening, it turns out, isn’t about leveling up.
It’s about leaning in.

Landing in your body.
In your truth.
In your ability to say: This is where I am. And that’s enough for today.

🧠 What Psychology Says About Awakening

Psychologists call it self-compassionate awareness—
The skill of meeting yourself without judgment in the moment you’re in.

And the research is clear:
When we stop trying to perform healing,
We make space to actually experience it.

People who walk gently grow more steadily.
They become more resilient.
They trust themselves more deeply.

Because perfection blocks connection.
But presence builds it.

🎧 Listen When You Feel Like You're Not Doing It "Right"

If you’ve ever looked around and wondered why your growth doesn’t feel more magical…
If your awakening feels awkward, uncertain, or too small to count…

Please go listen to Episode 17 of the podcast: Awakened Doesn’t Mean Enlightened.

It’s not a highlight reel.
It’s my real story.

📖 Want to reread this when you forget you’re already enough? Bookmark it.
📓 Ready to explore your truth in real-time? Grab the LTS Journal: Know
🌱 Craving a path with depth and structure? Start your Quantum Leap

💬 Tell Me Your Real Awakening Story…

Not the Instagram version.
Not the spiritual flex.
The honest one.

I want to hear it.
DM me on Instagram → @lovethyselfies or comment on today’s post.

You don’t have to be enlightened to be wise.
You don’t have to be finished to be faithful.
You just have to be awake enough to show up.

And love—
You already are.

With so much softness,
xo, Melissa