Here's a photo of me when I was little.
Every time I see it I laugh. I look a bit nervous—afraid even. I can't remember what was going on in this moment, but I notice something in this little girl that I still see in myself—50-something years later: a sincerity, an earnestness, a wish to be seen and understood.
When I was a teenager, my mum pulled me aside. Like all mums, she knew me better than anyone in the world, and she knew I was holding back.
“Zoe,” she said. “Please don’t hide your light.” She could tell that the only times I was ever really at peace were when I was my full self, when I wasn’t nervous or afraid or trying to hold back.
That's my intention for Zoe's Thoughts. Not to hold back. To match the sincerity of this little girl with the light I want to share with the world.
This is for you, mum. I'm doing it.