{"id":118998,"date":"2025-12-28T22:52:49","date_gmt":"2025-12-28T22:52:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.adhazelma.com\/az2\/?p=118998"},"modified":"2026-01-19T06:19:43","modified_gmt":"2026-01-19T06:19:43","slug":"what-i-learned-while-listening","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.adhazelma.com\/az2\/reflections\/what-i-learned-while-listening\/","title":{"rendered":"what i learned while listening"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row row_height_percent=”0″ override_padding=”yes” h_padding=”2″ top_padding=”5″ bottom_padding=”5″ overlay_alpha=”100″ gutter_size=”3″ column_width_percent=”100″ shift_y=”0″ z_index=”0″ row_height_use_pixel=””][vc_column column_width_use_pixel=”yes” align_horizontal=”align_center” gutter_size=”3″ overlay_alpha=”50″ shift_x=”0″ shift_y=”0″ shift_y_down=”0″ z_index=”0″ medium_width=”0″ mobile_width=”0″ zoom_width=”0″ zoom_height=”0″ column_width_pixel=”600″ width=”1\/3″][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/3″][vc_custom_heading heading_semantic=”h3″ text_size=”custom” text_weight=”300″ text_uppercase=”” uncode_shortcode_id=”481058″ heading_custom_size=”40px”]a listening year[\/vc_custom_heading][vc_column_text text_lead=”yes” uncode_shortcode_id=”452862″]<\/p>\n

There are years that ask us to perform.<\/span>
\n<\/span>And years that ask us to listen.<\/span><\/p>\n

This was a listening year.<\/span><\/p>\n

I did not arrive at the end of it with tidy conclusions<\/span>
\n<\/span>or polished certainty.<\/span><\/p>\n

I arrived with a quieter knowing.<\/span>
\n<\/span>A softer spine.<\/span>
\n<\/span>A deeper relationship to myself<\/span>
\n<\/span>than I\u2019ve ever had before.<\/span><\/p>\n

adha zelma has always been more than jewelry for me.<\/span>
\n<\/span>It has been a record.<\/span>
\n<\/span>A witness.<\/span>
\n<\/span>A way to hold what could not be spoken yet.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the aftermath of a thirteen-year relationship ending in 2023,<\/span>
\n<\/span>I learned that healing is not linear<\/span>
\n<\/span>and it is not loud.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sometimes it looks like standing still<\/span>
\n<\/span>long enough to hear your own breath again.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sometimes it looks like choosing yourself<\/span>
\n<\/span>without knowing exactly who that self will become.<\/span><\/p>\n

Out of that ending, Perlemoen emerged.<\/span>
\n<\/span>Not as a response to loss,<\/span>
\n<\/span>but as a reminder of what endures.<\/span><\/p>\n

Like the inner layer of a shell,<\/span>
\n<\/span>it reflects light<\/span>
\n<\/span>only after weathering pressure,<\/span>
\n<\/span>salt, and time.<\/span><\/p>\n

This collection,<\/span>
\n<\/span>and this year,<\/span>
\n<\/span>taught me that beauty does not come from perfection.<\/span><\/p>\n

It comes from staying.<\/span><\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/3″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row unlock_row_content=”yes” row_height_percent=”57″ back_image=”119007″ overlay_alpha=”50″ gutter_size=”3″ column_width_percent=”100″ shift_y=”0″ z_index=”0″ content_parallax=”0″ uncode_shortcode_id=”113850″][vc_column width=”1\/1″][vc_empty_space empty_h=”2″][vc_empty_space empty_h=”5″][vc_empty_space empty_h=”5″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row row_height_percent=”0″ override_padding=”yes” h_padding=”2″ top_padding=”5″ bottom_padding=”5″ overlay_alpha=”100″ gutter_size=”3″ column_width_percent=”100″ shift_y=”0″ z_index=”0″ row_height_use_pixel=””][vc_column column_width_use_pixel=”yes” align_horizontal=”align_center” gutter_size=”3″ overlay_alpha=”50″ shift_x=”0″ shift_y=”0″ shift_y_down=”0″ z_index=”0″ medium_width=”0″ mobile_width=”0″ zoom_width=”0″ zoom_height=”0″ column_width_pixel=”600″ width=”1\/3″][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/3″][vc_custom_heading heading_semantic=”h3″ text_size=”custom” text_weight=”300″ text_uppercase=”” uncode_shortcode_id=”543604″ heading_custom_size=”40px”]the ending that changed everything[\/vc_custom_heading][vc_column_text text_lead=”yes” uncode_shortcode_id=”201386″]<\/p>\n

The ending of a thirteen-year relationship<\/span>
\n<\/span>did not undo me.<\/span><\/p>\n

It clarified me.<\/span><\/p>\n

What it revealed,<\/span>
\n<\/span>slowly and without drama,<\/span>
\n<\/span>was how both healed and unhealed wounds<\/span>
\n<\/span>shape who we become.<\/span><\/p>\n

Not as flaws to erase,<\/span>
\n<\/span>but as evidence.<\/span><\/p>\n

They inform how we love.<\/span>
\n<\/span>How we protect ourselves.<\/span>
\n<\/span>How we show up<\/span>
\n<\/span>when things get difficult.<\/span><\/p>\n

For better or worse,<\/span>
\n<\/span>they live in the body<\/span>
\n<\/span>and in the choices we make.<\/span><\/p>\n

But listening taught me something else<\/span>
\n<\/span>just as important:<\/span><\/p>\n

we are not required to become a product of our wounds.<\/span><\/p>\n

Environment matters.<\/span>
\n<\/span>History matters.<\/span>
\n<\/span>What we\u2019ve survived<\/span>
\n<\/span>leaves fingerprints.<\/span><\/p>\n

And still,<\/span>
\n<\/span>there is a moment<\/span>
\n<\/span>where responsibility enters the room.<\/span><\/p>\n

A moment where you decide<\/span>
\n<\/span>whether you will keep repeating<\/span>
\n<\/span>what was handed to you,<\/span>
\n<\/span>or do the quieter, harder work<\/span>
\n<\/span>of choosing differently.<\/span><\/p>\n

This ending reaffirmed that growth<\/span>
\n<\/span>is not passive.<\/span><\/p>\n

Healing asks for participation.<\/span><\/p>\n

It asks you to look honestly<\/span>
\n<\/span>at your patterns<\/span>
\n<\/span>without shame.<\/span><\/p>\n

To take ownership<\/span>
\n<\/span>without self-punishment.<\/span><\/p>\n

To remain curious<\/span>
\n<\/span>about who you might become<\/span>
\n<\/span>if you stop outsourcing your worth.<\/span><\/p>\n

There was no performance in this season.<\/span>
\n<\/span>No reinvention for an audience.<\/span><\/p>\n

Only the steady work of alignment.<\/span><\/p>\n

Of learning how to stay present<\/span>
\n<\/span>long enough to recognize<\/span>
\n<\/span>when something no longer fits,<\/span>
\n<\/span>and trusting yourself enough<\/span>
\n<\/span>to release it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sometimes,<\/span>
\n<\/span>what forms next<\/span>
\n<\/span>is not visible at first.<\/span><\/p>\n

It gathers slowly.<\/span>
\n<\/span>Layer by layer.<\/span>
\n<\/span>In response to pressure.<\/span><\/p>\n

That, too,<\/span>
\n<\/span>is a form of listening.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/3″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row unlock_row_content=”yes” row_height_percent=”0″ override_padding=”yes” h_padding=”2″ top_padding=”1″ bottom_padding=”1″ back_color=”color-xsdn” overlay_alpha=”50″ gutter_size=”2″ column_width_use_pixel=”yes” shift_y=”0″ z_index=”0″ content_parallax=”0″ uncode_shortcode_id=”277890″ column_width_pixel=”1700″ back_color_type=”uncode-palette”][vc_column column_width_percent=”100″ position_vertical=”middle” gutter_size=”3″ overlay_alpha=”50″ shift_x=”0″ shift_y=”0″ shift_y_down=”0″ z_index=”0″ medium_visibility=”yes” medium_width=”0″ mobile_visibility=”yes” mobile_width=”0″ width=”1\/4″ uncode_shortcode_id=”158331″][vc_single_image media=”119140″ media_width_percent=”100″ media_ratio=”one-one” shape=”img-round” radius=”xl” uncode_shortcode_id=”462618″][\/vc_column][vc_column column_width_percent=”100″ position_vertical=”middle” gutter_size=”2″ overlay_alpha=”50″ shift_x=”0″ shift_y=”0″ shift_y_down=”0″ z_index=”0″ medium_width=”7″ mobile_width=”0″ width=”1\/2″ uncode_shortcode_id=”205378″][vc_row_inner row_inner_height_percent=”0″ overlay_alpha=”50″ gutter_size=”2″ shift_y=”0″ z_index=”0″ limit_content=”” uncode_shortcode_id=”417478″][vc_column_inner column_width_percent=”100″ gutter_size=”3″ overlay_alpha=”50″ shift_x=”0″ shift_y=”0″ shift_y_down=”0″ z_index=”0″ medium_width=”5″ mobile_width=”5″ width=”2\/3″ uncode_shortcode_id=”180592″][vc_single_image media=”119023″ media_width_percent=”100″ media_ratio=”three-two” shape=”img-round” radius=”xl” uncode_shortcode_id=”197957″][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner column_width_percent=”100″ position_vertical=”bottom” gutter_size=”3″ overlay_alpha=”50″ shift_x=”0″ shift_y=”0″ shift_y_down=”0″ z_index=”0″ medium_width=”3″ mobile_width=”3″ width=”1\/3″ uncode_shortcode_id=”297468″][vc_single_image media=”119006″ media_width_percent=”100″ media_ratio=”one-one” shape=”img-round” radius=”xl” uncode_shortcode_id=”216708″][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner row_inner_height_percent=”0″ overlay_alpha=”50″ gutter_size=”2″ shift_y=”0″ z_index=”0″ limit_content=”” uncode_shortcode_id=”417478″][vc_column_inner column_width_percent=”100″ gutter_size=”2″ overlay_alpha=”50″ shift_x=”0″ shift_y=”0″ shift_y_down=”0″ z_index=”0″ medium_width=”3″ mobile_width=”3″ width=”1\/3″ uncode_shortcode_id=”118411″][vc_single_image media=”119033″ media_width_percent=”100″ media_ratio=”one-one” shape=”img-round” radius=”xl” uncode_shortcode_id=”789807″][vc_custom_heading heading_semantic=”h6″ text_size=”h5″ text_weight=”400″ text_height=”fontheight-357766″ uncode_shortcode_id=”951710″]growth is not passive<\/em><\/span>[\/vc_custom_heading][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner column_width_percent=”100″ gutter_size=”3″ overlay_alpha=”50″ shift_x=”0″ shift_y=”0″ shift_y_down=”0″ z_index=”0″ medium_width=”5″ mobile_width=”5″ width=”2\/3″ uncode_shortcode_id=”255245″][vc_single_image media=”119021″ media_width_percent=”100″ media_ratio=”three-two” shape=”img-round” radius=”xl” uncode_shortcode_id=”461406″][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][\/vc_column][vc_column column_width_percent=”100″ position_vertical=”middle” gutter_size=”2″ overlay_alpha=”50″ shift_x=”0″ shift_y=”0″ shift_y_down=”0″ z_index=”0″ medium_visibility=”yes” medium_width=”0″ mobile_visibility=”yes” mobile_width=”0″ width=”1\/4″ uncode_shortcode_id=”122767″][vc_custom_heading heading_semantic=”h6″ text_size=”h5″ text_weight=”400″ text_height=”fontheight-357766″ uncode_shortcode_id=”216183″]what we\u2019ve survived leaves fingerprints<\/em><\/span>[\/vc_custom_heading][vc_single_image media=”119142″ media_width_percent=”100″ media_ratio=”one-one” shape=”img-round” radius=”xl” uncode_shortcode_id=”151385″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row row_height_percent=”0″ override_padding=”yes” h_padding=”2″ top_padding=”5″ bottom_padding=”5″ overlay_alpha=”100″ gutter_size=”3″ column_width_percent=”100″ shift_y=”0″ z_index=”0″ row_height_use_pixel=””][vc_column column_width_use_pixel=”yes” align_horizontal=”align_center” gutter_size=”3″ overlay_alpha=”50″ shift_x=”0″ shift_y=”0″ shift_y_down=”0″ z_index=”0″ medium_width=”0″ mobile_width=”0″ zoom_width=”0″ zoom_height=”0″ column_width_pixel=”600″ width=”1\/3″][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/3″][vc_custom_heading heading_semantic=”h3″ text_size=”custom” text_weight=”300″ text_transform=”lowercase” uncode_shortcode_id=”170458″ heading_custom_size=”40px”]continuing to learn, grow,
\nand discover myself[\/vc_custom_heading][vc_column_text text_lead=”yes” uncode_shortcode_id=”213375″]<\/p>\n

After the ending,<\/span>
\n<\/span>there was space.<\/span><\/p>\n

Not the kind that begs to be filled,<\/span>
\n<\/span>but the kind that asks<\/span>
\n<\/span>to be honored.<\/span><\/p>\n

I learned that growth<\/span>
\n<\/span>does not always arrive with momentum.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sometimes it arrives as restraint.<\/span><\/p>\n

As choosing not to rush into answers.<\/span>
\n<\/span>As allowing yourself<\/span>
\n<\/span>to be a beginner again,<\/span>
\n<\/span>even when you are deeply experienced<\/span>
\n<\/span>in other areas of your life.<\/span><\/p>\n

This season asked me<\/span>
\n<\/span>to meet myself<\/span>
\n<\/span>without urgency.<\/span><\/p>\n

To notice where I was still reaching<\/span>
\n<\/span>for certainty,<\/span>
\n<\/span>and to practice staying instead.<\/span><\/p>\n

To let curiosity lead<\/span>
\n<\/span>rather than expectation.<\/span><\/p>\n

To understand that becoming<\/span>
\n<\/span>is not a straight line,<\/span>
\n<\/span>but a conversation<\/span>
\n<\/span>between who you\u2019ve been<\/span>
\n<\/span>and who you are willing to listen for.<\/span><\/p>\n

I began to see myself<\/span>
\n<\/span>less as a finished identity<\/span>
\n<\/span>and more as a living practice.<\/span><\/p>\n

One shaped by attention.<\/span>
\n<\/span>By choice.<\/span>
\n<\/span>By the willingness<\/span>
\n<\/span>to remain open<\/span>
\n<\/span>even when openness feels tender.<\/span><\/p>\n

This way of moving through the world<\/span>
\n<\/span>changed how I worked,<\/span>
\n<\/span>how I designed,<\/span>
\n<\/span>how I rested,<\/span>
\n<\/span>how I loved.<\/span><\/p>\n

It reminded me that learning<\/span>
\n<\/span>does not end because we age or achieve.<\/span><\/p>\n

It deepens.<\/span>
\n<\/span>It becomes more nuanced.<\/span>
\n<\/span>More honest.<\/span><\/p>\n

And then,
\nwithout warning,
\nlife asked me to listen
\nin a different way altogether.
\n<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/3″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row row_height_percent=”75″ back_image=”119035″ back_position=”left bottom” parallax=”yes” overlay_alpha=”6″ gutter_size=”3″ column_width_percent=”100″ shift_y=”0″ z_index=”0″ content_parallax=”0″ uncode_shortcode_id=”293926″][vc_column column_width_percent=”100″ gutter_size=”3″ overlay_alpha=”50″ shift_x=”0″ shift_y=”0″ shift_y_down=”0″ z_index=”0″ medium_width=”0″ mobile_width=”0″ width=”1\/1″ uncode_shortcode_id=”153901″][vc_empty_space empty_h=”5″ desktop_visibility=”yes”][vc_empty_space empty_h=”5″ desktop_visibility=”yes”][vc_empty_space empty_h=”5″ desktop_visibility=”yes”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row unlock_row=”” row_height_percent=”44″ parallax=”yes” overlay_alpha=”6″ gutter_size=”3″ column_width_percent=”100″ shift_y=”0″ z_index=”0″ content_parallax=”0″ uncode_shortcode_id=”204697″][vc_column column_width_percent=”100″ gutter_size=”3″ overlay_alpha=”50″ shift_x=”0″ shift_y=”0″ shift_y_down=”0″ z_index=”0″ medium_width=”0″ mobile_width=”0″ width=”1\/3″ uncode_shortcode_id=”153901″][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/3″][vc_empty_space empty_h=”2″ desktop_visibility=”yes”][vc_custom_heading heading_semantic=”h3″ text_size=”custom” text_weight=”300″ text_transform=”lowercase” uncode_shortcode_id=”795784″ heading_custom_size=”40px”]Grief Without a Map:
\nLosing My Father[\/vc_custom_heading][vc_column_text text_lead=”yes” uncode_shortcode_id=”934704″]Nothing prepares you<\/span>
\n<\/span>for the sudden loss of a parent.<\/span><\/p>\n

There is no gradual loosening.<\/span>
\n<\/span>No time to rehearse the absence.<\/span><\/p>\n

One day the world is structured<\/span>
\n<\/span>the way you understand it,<\/span>
\n<\/span>and the next<\/span>
\n<\/span>it is not.<\/span><\/p>\n

When my father died unexpectedly in 2024,<\/span>
\n<\/span>grief arrived<\/span>
\n<\/span>without instruction.<\/span><\/p>\n

It did not move in a straight line<\/span>
\n<\/span>or announce itself<\/span>
\n<\/span>in predictable ways.<\/span><\/p>\n

It lived in pauses.<\/span>
\n<\/span>In the spaces between thoughts.<\/span>
\n<\/span>In the quiet recalibration<\/span>
\n<\/span>of who I was<\/span>
\n<\/span>now that he was no longer here.<\/span><\/p>\n

What I learned,<\/span>
\n<\/span>slowly,<\/span>
\n<\/span>was that grief is not something<\/span>
\n<\/span>to resolve.<\/span><\/p>\n

It is something to carry.<\/span><\/p>\n

It reshapes you<\/span>
\n<\/span>not through force,<\/span>
\n<\/span>but through proximity.<\/span><\/p>\n

It asks you to stay present<\/span>
\n<\/span>even when presence<\/span>
\n<\/span>feels unfamiliar.<\/span><\/p>\n

In listening,<\/span>
\n<\/span>I began to understand that inheritance<\/span>
\n<\/span>is not limited<\/span>
\n<\/span>to what we are given materially.<\/span><\/p>\n

We inherit ways of seeing.<\/span>
\n<\/span>Of enduring.<\/span>
\n<\/span>Of standing upright<\/span>
\n<\/span>when the ground shifts.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some lessons arrive through words.<\/span>
\n<\/span>Others through watching.<\/span>
\n<\/span>Still others reveal themselves<\/span>
\n<\/span>only after someone is gone.<\/span><\/p>\n

There were days<\/span>
\n<\/span>when creating felt impossible.<\/span>
\n<\/span>And days<\/span>
\n<\/span>when it felt essential.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jewelry became less about adornment<\/span>
\n<\/span>and more about grounding.<\/span><\/p>\n

About marking time.<\/span>
\n<\/span>About holding something tangible<\/span>
\n<\/span>when language failed.<\/span><\/p>\n

This kind of loss<\/span>
\n<\/span>strips away excess.<\/span><\/p>\n

It clarifies what matters,<\/span>
\n<\/span>not as a list,<\/span>
\n<\/span>but as a feeling.<\/span><\/p>\n

It teaches you<\/span>
\n<\/span>how fragile<\/span>
\n<\/span>and miraculous<\/span>
\n<\/span>continuation is.<\/span><\/p>\n

How love does not disappear.<\/span>
\n<\/span>It changes form.<\/span><\/p>\n

Grief, I learned,<\/span>
\n<\/span>does not ask us<\/span>
\n<\/span>to stop living.<\/span><\/p>\n

It asks us<\/span>
\n<\/span>to live<\/span>
\n<\/span>with greater intention.<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/3″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row row_height_percent=”70″ back_image=”119037″ parallax=”yes” overlay_alpha=”6″ gutter_size=”3″ column_width_percent=”100″ shift_y=”0″ z_index=”0″ content_parallax=”0″ uncode_shortcode_id=”573374″][vc_column column_width_percent=”100″ gutter_size=”3″ overlay_alpha=”50″ shift_x=”0″ shift_y=”0″ shift_y_down=”0″ z_index=”0″ medium_width=”0″ mobile_width=”0″ width=”1\/1″ uncode_shortcode_id=”153901″][vc_empty_space empty_h=”5″ desktop_visibility=”yes”][vc_empty_space empty_h=”5″ desktop_visibility=”yes”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row unlock_row=”” row_height_percent=”44″ parallax=”yes” overlay_alpha=”6″ gutter_size=”3″ column_width_percent=”100″ shift_y=”0″ z_index=”0″ content_parallax=”0″ uncode_shortcode_id=”204697″][vc_column column_width_percent=”100″ gutter_size=”3″ overlay_alpha=”50″ shift_x=”0″ shift_y=”0″ shift_y_down=”0″ z_index=”0″ medium_width=”0″ mobile_width=”0″ width=”1\/3″ uncode_shortcode_id=”153901″][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/3″][vc_empty_space empty_h=”2″ desktop_visibility=”yes”][vc_custom_heading heading_semantic=”h3″ text_size=”custom” text_weight=”300″ text_transform=”lowercase” uncode_shortcode_id=”209807″ heading_custom_size=”40px”]Watching My Daughter
\nBecome Herself[\/vc_custom_heading][vc_column_text text_lead=”yes” uncode_shortcode_id=”105211″]There is a quiet kind of wonder<\/span>
\n<\/span>in watching your child<\/span>
\n<\/span>become who they are.<\/span><\/p>\n

Not who you imagined.<\/span>
\n<\/span>Not who the world tried to shape them into.<\/span>
\n<\/span>But who they choose to be.<\/span><\/p>\n

My daughter is now thirty-one,<\/span>
\n<\/span>and witnessing her move through the world<\/span>
\n<\/span>with her own voice,<\/span>
\n<\/span>values,<\/span>
\n<\/span>and rhythm<\/span>
\n<\/span>has been one of the most grounding experiences<\/span>
\n<\/span>of my life.<\/span><\/p>\n

It reminds me that becoming<\/span>
\n<\/span>does not end<\/span>
\n<\/span>at any particular age.<\/span><\/p>\n

It evolves.<\/span>
\n<\/span>It expands.<\/span>
\n<\/span>It asks new questions.<\/span><\/p>\n

Watching her has softened me.<\/span><\/p>\n

It has taught me<\/span>
\n<\/span>how to release<\/span>
\n<\/span>without disappearing.<\/span><\/p>\n

How to offer presence<\/span>
\n<\/span>without control.<\/span><\/p>\n

How love can remain steady<\/span>
\n<\/span>even as roles change.<\/span><\/p>\n

There is pride here,<\/span>
\n<\/span>yes,<\/span>
\n<\/span>but also humility.<\/span><\/p>\n

She is not an extension of me.<\/span>
\n<\/span>She is her own becoming.<\/span><\/p>\n

In moments of grief,<\/span>
\n<\/span>her growth became a counterweight.<\/span><\/p>\n

A reminder that life continues to unfold,<\/span>
\n<\/span>even when it carries loss alongside it.<\/span><\/p>\n

That what we tend,<\/span>
\n<\/span>what we nurture,<\/span>
\n<\/span>what we love into being,<\/span>
\n<\/span>matters deeply.<\/span><\/p>\n

There is something profound<\/span>
\n<\/span>about standing between generations.<\/span><\/p>\n

Holding grief for a parent<\/span>
\n<\/span>while witnessing the strength of a child.<\/span><\/p>\n

It places you<\/span>
\n<\/span>in the middle<\/span>
\n<\/span>of a living lineage.<\/span><\/p>\n

One that moves forward<\/span>
\n<\/span>not through perfection,<\/span>
\n<\/span>but through care.<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/3″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row row_height_percent=”72″ back_image=”119094″ parallax=”yes” overlay_alpha=”6″ gutter_size=”3″ column_width_percent=”100″ shift_y=”0″ z_index=”0″ content_parallax=”0″ uncode_shortcode_id=”854943″][vc_column column_width_percent=”100″ gutter_size=”3″ overlay_alpha=”50″ shift_x=”0″ shift_y=”0″ shift_y_down=”0″ z_index=”0″ medium_width=”0″ mobile_width=”0″ width=”1\/1″ uncode_shortcode_id=”153901″][vc_empty_space empty_h=”5″ desktop_visibility=”yes”][vc_empty_space empty_h=”5″ desktop_visibility=”yes”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row unlock_row=”” row_height_percent=”44″ parallax=”yes” overlay_alpha=”6″ gutter_size=”3″ column_width_percent=”100″ shift_y=”0″ z_index=”0″ content_parallax=”0″ uncode_shortcode_id=”204697″][vc_column column_width_percent=”100″ gutter_size=”3″ overlay_alpha=”50″ shift_x=”0″ shift_y=”0″ shift_y_down=”0″ z_index=”0″ medium_width=”0″ mobile_width=”0″ width=”1\/3″ uncode_shortcode_id=”153901″][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/3″][vc_custom_heading heading_semantic=”h3″ text_size=”custom” text_weight=”300″ text_transform=”lowercase” uncode_shortcode_id=”181347″ heading_custom_size=”40px”]What I Carry Forward[\/vc_custom_heading][vc_column_text text_lead=”yes” uncode_shortcode_id=”140551″]What this year has taught me<\/span>
\n<\/span>is simple,<\/span>
\n<\/span>but not easy.<\/span><\/p>\n

To listen.<\/span>
\n<\/span>To stay.<\/span>
\n<\/span>To choose depth over speed.<\/span><\/p>\n

adha zelma continues<\/span>
\n<\/span>as a living practice,<\/span>
\n<\/span>not a destination.<\/span><\/p>\n

A place where story,<\/span>
\n<\/span>Ritual, and adornment meet.<\/span><\/p>\n

Where what we carry inside<\/span>
\n<\/span>can be honored on the body,<\/span>
\n<\/span>not to impress, but to remember.<\/span><\/p>\n

As we move forward,<\/span>
\n<\/span>I carry the understanding<\/span>
\n<\/span>that healing and grief,<\/span>
\n<\/span>strength and softness,<\/span>
\n<\/span>can exist at the same time.<\/span><\/p>\n

That beauty is not something<\/span>
\n<\/span>we chase.<\/span><\/p>\n

It is something<\/span>
\n<\/span>we allow to form<\/span>
\n<\/span>when we are willing<\/span>
\n<\/span>to do the work<\/span>
\n<\/span>and remain open.<\/span><\/p>\n

If there is an invitation here,<\/span>
\n<\/span>it is this:<\/span><\/p>\n

wear what reminds you<\/span>
\n<\/span>of who you are becoming.<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/3″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row unlock_row_content=”yes” row_height_percent=”75″ back_image=”119151″ back_position=”left top” parallax=”yes” overlay_alpha=”6″ gutter_size=”3″ column_width_percent=”100″ shift_y=”0″ z_index=”0″ content_parallax=”0″ uncode_shortcode_id=”476920″][vc_column column_width_percent=”100″ gutter_size=”3″ overlay_alpha=”50″ shift_x=”0″ shift_y=”0″ shift_y_down=”0″ z_index=”0″ medium_width=”0″ mobile_width=”0″ width=”1\/1″ uncode_shortcode_id=”153901″][vc_empty_space empty_h=”5″ desktop_visibility=”yes”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A personal reflection on loss, becoming, and the quiet work of staying.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":119000,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[474],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-118998","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reflections"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t