Cement Blocks tied to my feet, I call comfort.

I hope to chip away at them and eventually... be free.

The one thing I will never stop doing is learning.

Learning to heal, learning to better myself, learning to love differently, deeper, and more effectively & allow for more gratitude to fulfill me.

Learning how to see others for exactly where they are right now on their journey, or even just in this day, this moment...

Learning to hear myself and my body in what feels true and right for me.

Learning how to love.

Love deeper, more richly, more abundantly, and passionately.

Always being curious to shift my perspective, maybe just a little at a time, in order to see the light.

Knowing I am able.

Able to show up.

Know I have the power within me.

The capability.

Let go of what no longer serves me because

the realization is enough.

This is where I find my strength: showing up just like this, as many times as possible, daily, intermittently, moment to moment, even.

Rinse and repeat.

I deserve it, you deserve it, and that's enough.

I'm always so excited to share bits and pieces of myself and everything I move through.

This year, there are so many exciting events rolling through that I never know where to begin!

It's one year since Thryve Yoga has been open

(The first year is definitely a soft opening year, lmao, feeling things out, learning how to move through life and business. I love every second!)

Another major shift?

I’ve been alcohol-free for a solid year.

…Cement blocks tied to my feet, I call comfort…

Honestly, it reminds me of when I first became vegan in 2018.

I told myself, “I could never,” and listed all the reasons why.

• Birthdays

• Family gatherings

• Events

• After-work decompression

• Meeting up with friends at the bar

• Night caps

• Friend and family lunches or dinners

Oh, the list goes on. And if your brain is firing off the same lists, I feel you!

All the just because’s.

Here's a little secret: they're all excuses

Guess what?

Those people still want to see you!

Just you!

Because you’re YOU!

The moment I told myself “I could never” is the exact moment I realized I could.

That challenge lit a fire in me.

Ooo, the pressure to show myself how f*cking determined I am. I literally was like Oh yeah, bishhh, watch me!

I love to do things that excite me! That stretch me. That dare me to become who I already see in my mind's eye, and this here was my Mount Everest.

Finding my momentum beyond the everyday routine.

Creating change that drives passion and success.

Implementing new patterns that lay down stepping stones towards the person I already see myself as.

Plain and simple, my drive is my vision.

I have a person to become, and by staying exactly where I am, I cannot evolve into her.

This is my why

It may not be forever, but it’s for right now.

This hunger is my propelling force, and that's all that matters.

It's easy to continue being the person I've always been, doing the same routine I've always done, but where's the growth?

The entire reason we’re here!

Growth is what sets my heart on fire!

Growth is what makes me feel expansive!

Growth is finally where I truly and genuinely feel like myself!

A big smell in!!!

“Ahhhh, I can finally breathe again”!

To receive more, so much more, you have to let go of what's no longer serving you, what's limiting you, and what's weighing you down.

What's keeping you stuck in the quicksand?

What's making you feel fearful and hold your breath?

Your nose is barely above water.

You may just drowned!!!

I know you feel it deep within you.

Remember how capable you are.

Look how far you have come.

LOOK!

Look at how far YOU HAVE COME.

This isn't it.

There's so much more of you left to discover.

I imagine it as a blank canvas, imagine here with me…

A blank white canvas is within our minds, and with each step we take forward onto this empty canvas, our feet splatter with colorful steps and strides! Splattered all over, walking with intention and purpose because it’s all up to you.

IT’S ALL UP TO YOU!

There's creation afoot.

When we are born, we are given this body to care for it and take care of it as best we know how.

We’re also taught that we’re always learning along our journey.

Learning and listening here.

Listening to people's stories intently and empathetically.

Understanding and hearing all these differences and patterns.

Learning how to pick up our broken pieces and glue them back together with 24-karat gold, because even when we crumble, it doesn't mean it’s the end; it is the threshold.

An invitation to honor the lines where the light got in.

It’s the beginning of the rebuild.

And from the bottom, the only way is up.

You get to change the narrative.

Release your grip && let go into it.

The art of becoming whole, again and again and again.

You're only one page away from finding out what's next.

Sometimes, personal goals are the sweetest spot.

There’s no one outside of us that we really are trying to impress.

The real feat is what’s happening within.

You can tell the world all the lies your heart desires but the truth will always be held captive within.

Gnawing away like an animal in a cage…

Under the skin, behind the skull… that’s whose opinion really eats away at us.

Our own.

The one voice that echoes at all hours of the day.

The small pleasures that used to satiate me and at one time were enough (to occupy my time & distract me) have shown me how much more I crave out of my experience here.

If it challenges me and stimulates my mind, I'm hungry for it.

Ravished, starved!

It’s me against me out here

Nothing is far too great!

Impossibility wears me as a crown!

I have it all within me already, and so do you.

&& so it is.

Stop at nothing!

For even more content and pieces like this, follow Marissa on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/its._.riss/