Did you know that you can be born twice in this life?
Once out of the sacred womb of your mother, as you burst kicking and screaming into the world as a tiny human, your soul incarnate in this lifetime. This is the birth we celebrate every year, huddled around you in a circle, smiling with love. Even after you blow out the candles, the room glows bright with your light. We sing. We eat cake. We laugh. We dance. We party. It’s a great fucking time.
But what about the second birth?
That, my friends, is a hard fucking time. To be born twice, you must choose it. You must at your lowest point in life, choose to meet the dark parts of yourself and your past. You must choose to face the shadows, the demons, the pain, the feeling that this shit will never end.
It is for those of us who have lost people we loved, lost our way, or lost ourselves. At first it feels like an agonizing death. Impregnated with hopelessness and despair.
You ask yourself, why me? How could I possibly go on?
Until one day something magical happens. You start to feel a shift. You can breathe. The darkness lifts, making more and more space for light. And in that gentle, gradual illumination you see that it is your own light. You are making the light. You ARE light. All it takes is that flicker of light, the flame, the crack of dawn within you to spawn a new life.
Your life. Again. Reborn. A child of the Universe, emerging, once again safe from the celestial womb.
You are safe. You are home. I am safe.
I am home. I am you. You are me.
Cheers to births, to rebirths, to all the love that carries us through. Cheers to the families we are born into, and the friends who become family across lifetimes.
"Rebirth", by Jenn M Choi
I wrote this poem "Rebirth" for my birthday party recently, as a toast to my friends and this beautiful wild adventure called life.
Oh, and as a nod to my rebirth late last year, thanks to a powerful combo of therapy, ayahuasca (psychedelic plant medicine), spiritual growth, and healing through writing. Btw, an entire article dedicated to my experience with psychedelic plant medicine and its therapeutic powers is coming soon. (MANY of you have asked me about it.)
Lately I’ve been doing a lot of creative writing. Words that pour out of me.
This feels very different to me than writing my memoir, which at times can be tedious and grueling because of the deep ass life-transforming lessons I’m trying to share in it.
Writing a memoir is a long process. There's not a lot of it that can be shared for years. So it's nice to share other pieces of my writing in the meanwhile.
For me, writing poetry or speeches flows easily. I’m considering reading them out loud as mini video performances. Or hopefully one day on stage somewhere. (A girl can dream.)
I hope you enjoy reading this one as much as my soul loved expressing it.
Thank you for being part of my journey in this lifetime.
With love and gratitude,
Jenn