This Mother’s Day, Choose to Live Out Loud

Apr 22

Written By Lisa Williams

Before you were a mother, you were a soul with dreams.
And that part of you still matters.

This Mother’s Day, I’m not fading—I’m rising.
I’m choosing to live out loud.

I used to be a photographer.
And every year, I watched mothers shrink out of the frame.

✨ "I'll wait until I lose weight."
✨ "I'm not dressed for it."
✨ "Just the kids this time."

At the time, I didn’t fully understand the heartbreak hidden in those words.
But now, I do.

They weren’t saying they didn’t want to be remembered.
They were saying they didn’t feel worthy of taking up space inside their own story.

They had learned—like so many of us—to prioritize everyone else's memories, milestones, and needs.
And somewhere along the way, they forgot their own.

Your Visibility Is Only the Beginning

We weren’t just taking photos.
We were capturing belief systems.
Legacy blueprints.

And every time a woman chose to stay behind the lens, she unknowingly taught a lesson:
"I matter less. My joy can wait. My life is not the priority."

But what if that stops with us?
What if being seen isn’t just about showing up in the photo—but about showing up in your life?

What if the legacy you leave begins with how you choose to live right now?

Legacy Is Lived, Not Left

When I think about my mother, there are pieces I treasure with my whole heart:
✨ Her resilience—how she stood strong and made her own way.
✨ Her quiet strength when life got heavy.
✨ Her adventurous spirit and the example she lived for healthy, vibrant living.

And there are pieces I've consciously chosen to change:
✨ The selflessness that became self-erasure.
✨ The resentment she didn’t know she carried, but that weighed her down so much she couldn’t rise.
✨ The silence when her needs went unmet—and her soul learned to settle.

Both are part of my story.
Both shaped the legacy I’m living today.

Because we don’t honor our mothers by repeating their survival patterns.
We honor them by taking what was beautiful—and healing what was broken.

What You Model Matters More Than You Know

Your children—and even the younger version of yourself still living inside—are always watching.

They notice when you choose joy, even when it’s inconvenient.
They notice when you rest without guilt.
They notice when you speak up, take a breath, or show up anyway.

They don’t just inherit your features.
They inherit your energy.
They inherit your self-trust—or your self-abandonment.

This is what legacy really means.
Not just what they remember about you,
but what they believe is possible for themselves—because of you.

You’re Not Just Undoing the Silence. You’re Becoming

You crave peace—but settle for quiet.
You want joy—but keep it just out of reach.
You’re longing to be seen—but scroll, snack, stay busy, or disappear instead.

Because it feels safer to numb than to name the truth:
✨ You’ve put yourself last for so long, it feels normal.
✨ You’ve silenced your needs to keep the peace.
✨ You’ve learned to survive invisibly.

But that ache you carry?
That restlessness, that whisper of more?
That’s not a flaw.

That’s your spirit asking to live out loud.

This is not your fault.
But it is your moment.
The moment to stop disappearing.
The moment to return to your own joy, breath, body, and becoming.

Let Your Body Exhale

Your body remembers every time you swallowed your truth.
Every time you kept the peace at your own expense.
Every time you waited until the kids were grown to breathe again.

Let this be the moment your body exhales.
Let your nervous system learn what it feels like to be chosen—by you.

You don’t have to fight for your space anymore.
You just have to return to it.

What Are You Choosing to Pass Down?

Because it’s never just about the photos.
It’s about the energy that lives inside them.

Do your children see a woman who laughs without apology?
Who rests without guilt?
Who dares to follow her dreams and speak her truth?

Because what you live today becomes what they carry tomorrow.

And if your answer is “not yet”—that’s not failure.
That’s your invitation.

You’re Not Alone

All over the world, women are waking up.
Not to become someone new—but to return to who they’ve always been.

Whole. Worthy. Visible. Alive.