Growing Up

 Taking Up Space: What It Means to Grow Up

There’s a moment in every woman’s life, sometimes,several times , when she has to pause and ask herself: Am I taking responsibility for the time I take up, and the earth I occupy?

That’s what it means to grow up. Not just to age, not just to survive. But to grow.

We live in a world that encourages us to either shrink or overextend, never just be. As a girl, I was taught to apologize for taking up space. To sit quietly. To make others comfortable, even if it hurt. And as I got older, I swung the other way, filling silence with noise, stretching myself thin to prove I belonged. But neither extreme felt true. Neither felt right .

It wasn’t until life cracked me open, through grief, through aging , through the slow ache of healing, that I understood the kind of maturity Maya Angelou spoke of. She once said, “We need much less than we think we need.” And in another breath, she reminded us that when we know better, we do better.

Taking responsibility isn’t about perfection or martyrdom. It’s about reverence. It’s about realizing this earth doesn’t belong to us, we belong to her. And the way we live, the way we breathe, the way we speak and consume and create, it all leaves a trace.

Growing up means asking: Is my presence a blessing or a burden? Am I giving as much as I’m taking? Not out of guilt, but out of love. Out of deep respect for the miracle of being alive.

For me, this looks like making peace with my body. Speaking truth, even when my voice shakes. Loving people fully, without holding them hostage. Making beauty from pain. Growing food. Growing community. Walking more softly. Listening more deeply.

It means composting what no longer serves.

It means returning to prayer.

It means honoring my yes, and trusting my no.

Maya also said, “I’m grateful to be a woman. I must have done something great in another life.” I feel that. I carry that. I offer that to every woman reading this.

Take responsibility. Take your time. Take your space.

Just make sure you offer something sacred in return.And show up whole heartedly......

~Shanti Freedom Das