how do you live wholeheartedly in the middle?

In this episode, we gently reflect on what it means to stay present when clarity hasn’t arrived yet. To keep showing up with honesty, even when things feel messy or unresolved.

Because wholehearted living isn’t about having it all figured out—it’s about choosing to remain open, grounded, and connected to yourself right here.

Right in the middle.

Take a breath. You’re allowed to be here. 🌿

Transcript

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Hi, and welcome back to The Right Voice. I'm Jessica, and if you've been here for a while, you know that this space is more than a podcast. It's where stories meet the truths that we don't always say out loud. It's where we explore the characters on the page and the ones we're becoming in real life. I created the right voice because I believe that there are parallels between every story read and every life led. And when we can't quite find the words for what we're feeling, a story finds them for us. The right voice is a part of my story, and I'm inspired to leave it behind for my children to come back to. That leads us to week four, the final episode in the April series inspired by the gifts of imperfection by Brene Brown. And this is where it all comes together. Week four is about reflection, wholeheartedly in the middle, about what we're carrying forward and what we're finally ready to release. It's about recognizing that growth doesn't always feel like progress. Most of the time it feels uncomfortable, like letting go, like becoming someone unfamiliar, but more you than ever before. So wherever you are right now, whether you're driving, walking, or lying in bed trying to quiet your mind, I'm really glad you're here. Let's take a breath together and step into week four. Wholehearted living in the middle. It's the life that exists at the start of your new beginning, but before the promise of a polished finish. It's the middle where most of life is actually happening. A lot of us tend to imagine transformation as something instantaneous and big. Think of Cinderella with her fairy godmother when she's transitioning right before the ball. Growth doesn't really look like that, does it? Growth looks like small choices that we repeat. Think of practicing new beliefs and how it doesn't come naturally in the beginning, or when you set a boundary, but your voice still shakes just a little, speaking firmly, openly, honestly, and then wondering if you spoke too much. It looks like hope existing alongside grief. That's the middle. Living in the middle is where life transforms you, where you learn that becoming isn't found in the beginning or the end, but in the courage to stay present while everything inside of you is unfolding. In the gifts of imperfection, Brene Brown describes wholehearted living as engaging in our lives from a place of worthiness. And that doesn't mean life becomes easier. All it means is that we stop abandoning ourselves while we live it. Wholehearted living is integration, integrating peace without waiting for everything to be resolved. And if we think about peace, what if it isn't something that we arrive at? What if it's something that we choose and we practice in daily living? Living wholeheartedly in the middle means accepting that some questions remain unanswered. It means you can be healing and still triggered sometimes. You can be strong and still tired sometimes. You can be hopeful and still grieving sometimes. These things aren't contradictions, they're human. And when we expect ourselves to be fully healed before we allow ourselves joy, we delay living, we postpone delight, we suspend softness, but life isn't lived at the finish line, it's lived here in the in-between. So let's talk about what this looks like practically. Wholehearted living is a daily choice, and here are three practices to help anchor you in the middle. The daily truth check. Once a day pause and ask, What is true right now? And I really love this because I don't know about you guys, but for me, I have a very creative mind, and my imagination can run amok. And so we're not focusing on the catastrophic stories or the worst case scenarios. We focus on just the truth. And that truth may look like I'm tired, but I'm trying. This is hard, but I'm handling it. I'm disappointed, but I'm still worthy. I'm not clear yet, but I have integrity. Truth is our stabilizer, and it brings us back to the present. And in the present is where life is actually happening. The joy practice. Joy can feel vulnerable sometimes, especially after loss or disappointment. Sometimes we hesitate to feel it fully because we're bracing for something to go wrong. Well, joy doesn't look for permission from your past to be present. We notice it in small moments. Sunlight through the window, laughing, calm conversations, deep breathing. Don't rush past those moments. Stay there for an extra five seconds. Be mindful of them and allow your nervous system to register safety. It won't erase your pain, but it can coexist with it. Being able to have joy and those uncomfortable feelings coexist is maturity. The self-trust muscle. Wholehearted living depends on self-trust. Self-trust is built through consistency. Keep your promises to yourself and others. If you say you'll rest, rest. If you say you'll speak up, speak up. If you say you'll stop overexplaining, stop overexplaining. Every time you follow through, you send yourself a message. I stay with me. And that's pretty powerful because so much of this series has been about not abandoning yourself. Self-trust is the opposite of abandonment. And there's something else quite delightful about living in the middle. It's the ordinary days with steadiness. It's making dinner, going to work, having conversations, setting boundaries, breathing through discomfort. It's choosing not to return to patterns that once felt familiar. Even when they call to you, that consistency, that's your transformation. And it lasts. If you're in a middle season right now, unsure, rebuilding, redefining, I'm gonna say this to you You're not behind, you're not failing, you're not late, growth is not linear. And there's gonna be days where you feel strong, and there's also gonna be days where you feel small again. But it doesn't erase your progress, it deepens it. Because now when you wobble, you notice you don't spiral the way you used to. You recover faster, you speak kinder to yourself, and that's change, even if no one else sees it. Before we close this series, I want to reflect back to what we've uncovered together. You didn't lose your worth, you learned a story about it. You didn't become weak by setting boundaries. You became sustainable. You weren't wrong for shrinking to survive, you were adapting, and now you're allowed to expand. Here's the question I want to leave you with as we end this series. What would it look like to live this next season from the belief that you're already enough? Not striving towards it or proving it, but starting from it. How would you speak differently? Rest differently, choose differently. The answers to those questions are in the present, and that's wholehearted living. Thank you for walking through this series with me, for listening, for reflecting, and for being willing to look inward. As we move forward, I hope you carry this with you. You didn't lose yourself. You're remembering yourself. And remembering takes practice, it takes kindness, it takes courage, and you're capable of all three. Stay true to yourself, stay soft, and just be. And if my daughters are listening, this episode is dedicated to you. I'll meet you here next week. Take care of the