"Somebody Almost Walked Off With All of My Stuff!"

Many times, the purpose of self discovery and finding one's talents or source of joy and happiness is not just to put them to use but to know how to secure them. The lack of awareness has stolen many potentials and dreams. We live in a world whereby if people could borrow you from yourself solely for their use, they would do so. You need to know your worth and discover yourself to set the right boundaries. 

One of the sentences that inspired my journey of self discovery and self love is from the movie, For Colored Girls. The line "Somebody almost walked off with all of my stuff..." was said by Juanita Sims, a character in the movie that reclaimed herself by setting boundaries. 

Prior to this 'self-reclamation,' she had a lover that constantly walked into her life and home when he had no where else to go. And then, he abandoned her when something else caught his eye. Each time he returned, Juanita will reluctantly let him in after he had convinced her with all his sweet words. Juanita on the other hand had started this community program to inform and empower women. 

On one occasion when Juanita's lover returned from one of his 'lost and found obeahs' she told him to get out. She told him that it was over this time and went further to say that 'of what example will she be to the women she was empowering if she allowed him back into her life like she his walk-in closet.' The scene proceeds to her reciting a poem to the women in the program she organized as she started with "Somebody almost walked off with all of my stuff!"

I resonate with these words a lot because, until I found what I loved and what I had, I never knew what to guard. One of Maya Angelou's wise words to her son was that he should have a sacred place for himself and for his creator alone where no one else was allowed to touch. And if someone comes too close, tell them to "back off," this place is not for them.

​Like Juanita, you should have the courage to say "You can't have me unless I give me away." I had to discover myself through the perspective of what God has invested in me and blessed me to be before I knew where to set the right boundaries.

Many times, the purpose of self discovery and finding one's talents or source of joy and happiness is not just to put them to use but to know how to secure them. The lack of awareness has stolen many potentials and dreams. We live in a world whereby if people could borrow you from yourself solely for their use, they would do so. You need to know your worth and discover yourself to set the right boundaries.