Not too long ago, I looked up the dictionary definition of the word "becoming." I have written this word in my work for years, but there was something about this definition that caused me to think of "becoming" in a different way: "the process of coming to be something or of passing into a state." (Oxford Languages).
In reading this definition, I got stuck on the second half: "passing into a state." This was interesting to me because I tend to think of "becoming" similarly to how I think about "blooming..." the act of a flower coming to life.
But the truth is, I am no flower.
I have not stayed in one place and slowly come to life right in the place where I always was. In a literal sense, I have lived in 5 different U.S. states. And beyond the literal movement, I feel as though I am always changing...I admire the flower for her ability to bloom right there where she is, but that hasn't been me. I have spent time wondering, "have I moved too much? Have I changed my mind too many times? Is it is too late to find a rhythm? A flow? A place to truly bloom?”
This definition of "becoming" reminds me that becoming is the act of passing into a state, not just being in the state itself.
So here’s what I am learning to tell myself:
All of the steps it has taken to get from one place to another is a part of the process of becoming. Becoming is not about simply arriving at a state…it’s about everything it took to get from one place to another. Becoming is not about being a perfectly bloomed flower in one stationary place. You can admire the flower for the beauty created by the process of blooming while also recognizing you are a human being. You are a living breathing soul is who is allowed to move. You are allowed to change. You will grow beautifully and still become who you were meant to be whether or not you stay in the same place.
- MHN
