The Key Was Always Mine: A Self-Care Reflection on Freedom and Faith
- Lakeisha Lee
- Jul 26
- 2 min read
There’s a certain kind of freedom that doesn’t announce itself. It doesn’t come wrapped in loud victories or external validation. Sometimes, it quietly unlocks a cage you didn’t realize you were sitting in—because the bars were never really locked to begin with.
Lately, I’ve felt like that caged bird. Still, silent, holding space… not knowing the lock was off. The truth? I just needed to walk out. And sometimes, that means walking deep into the wilderness of yourself—by yourself.
Time alone isn’t loneliness.
Sometimes it’s the only way to hear yourself again—without opinions, without expectations.
This is not isolation. It’s restoration.
When I stripped away the noise—people’s thoughts, society’s rules, the invisible “shoulds”—I found someone I hadn’t seen in a while: Me.
My true self.
My brave, quiet, observing self who has always been drawn to the road less traveled.
The one who notices the overlooked, speaks to the person sitting alone, reaches out to the one who stays silent.
I’ve always known how to take up space gently.
But like many women, I’d been bound—caged by unspoken expectations. Not realizing I had the key all along.
And when I stepped back inside myself, something shifted.
It was like a floodgate opened. I became childlike again—not naïve, but alive.
Observing. Feeling. Trusting.
The world didn’t suddenly get easier. But I realized I wasn’t meant to carry so many of the chains I’d picked up.
Some were handed to me. Others, I accepted out of habit or survival. But they were never mine.
That’s when I knew:
Self-care isn’t always soft. Sometimes, it’s dangerous.
Because stepping back into yourself means risking the unfamiliar.
It means admitting that the old version of you might not come with you.
It means walking forward without knowing exactly what you’ll become.
And that kind of risk? That’s faith in action.
Because something in you believes the real you is worth finding.
And somewhere in that quiet transformation, you discover the key—the one you always had.
Let me tell you this:
Self-care is reclaiming your power.
It’s taking your essence, your strength, your glow back.
It’s walking in it boldly, unapologetically.
So I challenge you today—
Take one step back.
Notice the chains you’ve attached yourself to that were never yours.
If you’re brave enough, go deeper.
Find the key you allowed to be hidden.
Take your power back.
The world is waiting on you.
Will you answer the call?
If you’re craving space to return to yourself…
to rest, reset, and remember the parts of you that got buried under expectations—
you’re not alone.
I’ve created a retreat just for that.
A pause. A deep breath. A return to self. Through journaling, movement, and care, we’ll step back into ourselves—together.
🕊️ Rooted & Restored: A Retreat for Mind, Body & Soul
September 13 | 10am-2pm
Come walk it out with us.
Your key is waiting.