**Before you read, take a moment.**

Close your eyes.
Place a hand on your heart or your belly.
Breathe in gently through your nose…
and exhale slowly through your mouth.
Notice where your body softens.
Ask yourself, quietly:
**What am I carrying right now that may no longer belong?**
You don’t need the answer yet. Just ask.
Let’s begin.

I’ve walked away from a lot.
Not just things,
but versions of myself.

Friendships that once felt like home
until I realized I was the only one holding the walls up.

Jobs that pulled from me
but never poured back into me.

Partnerships that promised support
but delivered silence.

At first, I questioned myself.
Maybe I was being too much.
Too direct.
Too sensitive.

But over time, I realized,
I wasn’t walking away because I failed.
I was walking away because I could finally feel what no longer fit.

Because the version of me that once tolerated the weight of misalignment
was dissolving.

And in her place,
a deeper truth was rising.

But if I’m being fully honest…
there’s another layer underneath all of it.

The reason I found the courage to walk away wasn’t just clarity,
it was the realization of why I had stayed in the first place.

And what I saw wasn’t easy.

I stayed because I was afraid.
Afraid to take up space.
Afraid to be seen fully.
Afraid to disappoint people.
Afraid to be called disloyal.

I grew up in an Italian-American family in Utica, New York,
surrounded by mafia influence, where the word loyalty carried heavy weight.
It was spoken often in family, in community, in survival.

But loyalty didn’t mean truth.
It meant obedience.
It meant silence.
It meant self-sacrifice.
It meant standing by people or behaviors you didn’t align with, because that’s what you were expected to do.

That story of loyalty shaped me.
It taught me to stay.
To shrink.
To question myself before I questioned others.

But meditation changed that.

It gave me space to hear my inner voice.
Not the conditioned voice that feared rejection,
but the one underneath, whispering:
“You don’t have to stay in what hurts. You can be loyal to yourself.”

That’s the kind of loyalty I hold now.
Not self-centered. Not cold. Not reactive.
Aligned.

I am loyal to my values.
To my peace.
To the truth that rises in stillness.

So when I find myself in a job, relationship, friendship, or business partnership
that no longer aligns,
I don’t shame myself for walking away.

I thank myself for listening.

I no longer sacrifice who I am to prove I’m loyal.
Because real loyalty… starts within.

**Pause here.**

Gently bring to mind one place in your life, past or present,
where you stayed too long.
Not to judge yourself,
but to witness the moment your body *knew*…
and you didn’t yet act on it.
**Can you feel where that knowing lived in your body?**
Breathe into it.
Offer it compassion now.
**Self-inquiry:**
Where in your life have you mistaken staying for strength?
Where have you confused endurance with alignment?
Let your pen or your breath follow the answers as they come.

Walking away isn’t always loud.
Sometimes it’s a quiet shift,
a stillness where your energy used to be.

Not a slammed door.
Just the sound of your own light withdrawing
from spaces it was never truly held.

I used to explain myself.
I used to give people a second, third, fifth chance.
Because I wanted to believe in potential.
In goodness.
In redemption.

And I still do.

But now I believe in me first.

I trust my body.
I trust my inner knowing.
Even when it feels uncomfortable.
Even when fear still lingers.

I don’t abandon myself anymore.

And that is my triumph.

Not that the fear is gone,
but that it no longer drives.

**Ask yourself now:**

What has your body been whispering lately?
What has your soul been quietly asking you to leave behind?
No need to rush the answers.
Let them rise.

Yes, there’s grief.
Yes, there’s space.
Yes, it can feel hollow at first.

But the hollow space isn’t empty.
It’s sacred.
It’s the space of return.

And in that space,
I found the version of me
who no longer explains her value.
Who no longer waters herself down to stay connected.
Who no longer needs to be understood
to be at peace.

I found the woman who walks away
not to escape,
but to come home.

**A Closing Practice:**

Place one hand on your heart, one on your belly.
Breathe in for a count of 4…
Hold for 4…
Exhale slowly for 6.
Repeat twice.
Then ask inward:
What am I walking away from?
And what am I walking toward?
Write down whatever arises.
One word. A feeling. A knowing. A prayer.
Let it be enough.

You are not broken for leaving.
You are becoming.
You don’t owe your loyalty to your past,
you owe it to your becoming.

Let your clarity be your compass.
Let your boundaries be your devotion.
Let the sacred space you’ve created be a homecoming to your truth.

Loyalty is not staying. Loyalty is honoring who you’ve become.

Want to go deeper?

If this message stirred something in you, I invite you to journey further with me, one-on-one.

My Journey Within series is a private, guided experience that meets you exactly where you are virtually. Through six personalized sessions, we’ll gently explore your inner landscape using meditation, reflection, and deep self-inquiry. Together, we’ll create space for clarity, emotional release, and aligned action.

This isn’t a self-paced course, this is intimate, live support. Just you, me, and the space in between.

If you’re ready to honor who you’ve become, and return to the truth of who you are, this journey was created for you.

Learn more

Wherever you are on your path, I’m honored to walk beside you.

May the wisdom of your Meditative Insights light your way, and may each step be a graceful dance toward your truest self.

With heartfelt gratitude,

Danielle