I am a mother, photographer, and artist on the beautiful ever-winding path of self-discovery on a legacy-building mission to share my talents with the world. I am passionate about seeking beauty and find it in nature, in language, and through my camera lens.
It is so damn disheartening when you overcome an obstacle that did EVERYTHING BUT kill you only to look up and realize challenge 2.0 is staring you right in the eyes. The task of becoming is so daunting when you begin, but everyone says you can do it! Nobody talks about maintaining the new person you fought so hard to become. Nobody talks about the work it takes to continue crafting the self and the life you want while also fighting doubt, fear, and old habits. We don’t talk about the pain of unbuttoning your old self to make yourself anew. Lesson by lesson, thread by thread, you unweave who you were to design a new self cloaked in the garment of purpose and passion.
The conversations between friends get shorter, aimless scrolling on Instagram gets replaced with writing, meditating, reading books, and being intentional about getting enough rest. You are moving in the right direction, being who you want to be. Finally! The progress you’ve made is significant, and you are proud of yourself, but now you have so much more to do. There are project deadlines, meetings, content creation schedules, public engagements, and more on top of all your other life duties, and you are TIRED. For a split second, you want to go back, but where you were is so far away from where you are now, and yet when you look ahead, you worry that you don’t have what it takes to continue your momentum. These moments of doubt are often followed by thoughts like ‘But this is what you signed up for, right?’ ‘How dare you complain when you have fought hard to be here?’
You are caught in the in-between, and suddenly, the quote “change happens when the pain of staying the same is greater than the pain of change” makes perfect sense. Biggie said more money, more problems. I say more wisdom, more worry. More struggle, more strength! Life brings pain either way, so you find the courage to continue to grow and shed self-destructive habits because what you are hurting for, what you are suffering for, is the life you deserve, and the legacy you will leave.
Lastly I share with you my warriors, an accomplishment of mine. A little seed that blossomed in the in between. I can officially announce that the SheEO Chronicles Volume 1 is available for purchase on ericasharber.com. January 24, 2022, my words, thoughts, and experiences about 2020 were released into the universe in the form of a book. I manifested this blessing. I also cried, laughed, yelled, and FOUGHT against myself for it. So cheers to the bloom, the in between, and all the lessons you learn along the way… it’s worth it…I promise.
Erica Sharber
