In honor of Latinx Heritage Month, I’m excited to share a collection of stories crafted to ignite wonder and reflection about your own lives. These stories combine my cultural roots and personal journey, with the aim of highlighting how they have fueled my growth and reflection. I invite you to read these stories and engage with the reflection questions provided. May they inspire and resonate with your own journey!

To know my mother is to know that she is a realist. Mami is a straight shooter, a direct communicator unwilling to sugarcoat for the sake of pleasing others. Her candor has supported my ability to act with discernment, and empowered me to build meaningful, trusting relationships. And although at times her words may have felt sharp, I understand they were never meant to cut, and they were especially helpful when it came time to tie myself to others.

Over the years, her words have rung alarms when problems arose in relationships, work, or from within. In those moments, my mom would quietly witness how I’d be challenged, even struggled, yet she made no interjection. One day, feeling overwhelmed by a particular relationship, I turned to my mom for guidance. Her generous offering came in the words “El amor no quita conocimiento,” loosely translating to mean, “love is NOT blind.”

In those few words, she reminded me of the importance of reassessing my choices and confronting the root causes of my resistance and unwillingness to face reality. For example, all through school my mother would toggle between feeling proud of my academic success and yet, when she would get complaints from teachers about me distracting other children, and talking between tasks, she’d simply tell my teachers, “Oh, I know she talks a lot. I love her, but I know she’s a little parrot!” El amor no quita conocimiento. Love doesn’t blind us to the truth. Years later, when I found myself in a toxic relationship, those same words echoed in my mind. They urged me to listen to my inner voice and to acknowledge the flags I could no longer ignore.

My mother understood and instilled in us the power of inner knowing- the version of ourselves that speaks truth into and through us. She taught me to listen to my inner voice and discern whether the situation calls for acceptance, adjustment, or removal. Her lesson was simple but impactful just the same: we must let go of what no longer serves us, even if we love it, and even if we’ve been holding onto it for a long time. The signals are always there; the real challenge is in our willingness to acknowledge them and having the courage to act.

When my mother received those calls from my teachers regarding my chattiness, she’d address it (my flag), by reminding me to be considerate of others (action). When finally left that toxic relationship I realized I had stayed too long because I had been listening to my inner mental trash talker. The voice told me that if I left, “I was a quitter, I wasn’t strong enough to persist, I wasn’t woman enough to help him act right.” Ultimately, I had the courage to shut that negative inner voice down and honor myself.

To my lectores (readers): Consider the stories, beliefs, histories, and people that have nourished your growth and feed the spirit of the best version of yourself. Now, reflect on those that no longer align and/or hinder your ability to show up authentically. In which direction is your inner voice leading you? Are you listening? Ready to take the next step on your journey? Click here to book a session with me and start working towards your goals today!

#LatinxHeritageMonth #LatinxLeadership #LatinxCoaching #Empowerment  #CulturalWisdom #PersonalGrowth #LatinxVoices

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