The Threshold of Becoming

Holding space for the tender, in-between seasons of transformation

🌬️ Grounding Invocation

Before we begin, take a breath.
Let the world fall away for a moment.
Unclench your jaw. Loosen your hands.
Feel your feet root into whatever is holding you—floor, earth, bed, air.

Now inhale… slowly.
Hold.
Exhale… completely.
Let the tightness melt. Let the rush pause. Let the rhythm return.

You are here.
Not behind. Not ahead.
Just here.

Let’s begin.

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Today Is My Birthday—But I’m Not Rushing to Celebrate

I turn 46 today.
And as I arrive at this midpoint of the Season of Emergence, I’m struck not by a desire to mark the moment with achievement or declarations—but by a softness. A stillness. A deep sense of threshold.

Not quite where I was.
Not yet where I’m going.
Somewhere between grief and growth.
Somewhere between the last layer shed and the next self unfolding.

This is the space we so rarely talk about.
The in-between.
The ache of expansion.
The womb of the becoming.

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The In-Between Is Sacred—Even If It’s Uncomfortable

Transformation doesn’t always look like movement.
Sometimes it looks like pause.
Like silence.
Like uncertainty.
Like not having the words to describe what’s breaking open.

We’re taught that change is only real when it’s visible.
When it’s polished. Packaged. “Complete.”
But real transformation?
It’s messy.
It’s quiet.
It’s the part of the story between the pages.

It’s the ache of expansion. The womb of the becoming.

The ache that comes when you outgrow a version of yourself that once kept you safe.
The ache of holding the weight of possibility without a clear plan.
The ache of shedding and stretching at the same time.

Becoming is not always graceful.
It’s shaky. Tender. Disorienting.
It can feel like grief, even when you're growing toward joy.
Because part of you is dying.
And part of you is being born.

This is the womb-space of transformation:
Where old stories dissolve.
Where new truths haven’t yet taken shape.
Where you are still raw, still forming, still (re)membering.

There’s no checklist for this place. No shortcut.
Only breath.
Only presence.
Only trust.

And maybe that’s the real initiation—
not the arrival, but the willingness to stay in the space in-between.

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Supremacy Culture Tries to Rush the Becoming

Supremacy culture worships productivity and clarity.
It tells us:

• “Be certain.”

• “Be quick.”

• “Be impressive.”

• “Show results.”

But healing doesn’t happen on a deadline.
Becoming doesn’t come with a roadmap.

This culture doesn’t know what to do with the people in the hallway between who they were and who they’re becoming—so it tries to rush us through.

But you are allowed to linger.
You are allowed to not know yet.
You are allowed to be a living work-in-progress.

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Nature Never Rushes the Bloom

The earth is not confused by this season.
She knows the in-between.
She welcomes it. She holds it—year after year after year.

Winter doesn’t become spring in a single breath.
There’s a stretch of time when everything feels uncertain:
The buds are still tight. The soil is still soggy. The skies are still gray.
It looks like nothing is happening…
But beneath it all—life is stirring.

Roots are reaching deeper.
Seeds are splitting open in the dark.
Energy is gathering beneath the surface, quietly preparing to rise.

Nature does not rush this.
She does not panic when she’s not yet full.
She does not ask herself why she isn’t blooming faster.

She trusts the pause.
She honors the stretch.
She knows that becoming takes time.

The bloom will come. But not before the soil says yes.
Not before the chill has passed.
Not before the light returns in full.

So why should we be any different?

We are not separate from the earth—we are shaped in her image.
We, too, move in seasons.
We, too, require rest before resurgence.
We, too, deserve time to root, to soften, to not know.

Let this be your permission to follow nature’s pace.
To honor your in-between.
To trust what’s forming even when you can’t yet name it.

You are not behind.
You are becoming.

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A Birthday Blessing for the In-Between

If you’re here with me—somewhere between the shedding and the shining—
I want to offer you this:

🌬️ You don’t have to be fully healed to be holy.
🌬️ You don’t have to have it all figured out to be held.
🌬️ You don’t have to be finished to be worthy.

You are in the threshold.
The doorway between old stories and new roots.
The sacred pause before the next iteration of yourself steps forward.

So here is your invitation today:

Don’t rush the becoming.
Don’t shame the in-between.
Don’t numb the ache.
Don’t force the clarity.

Let yourself linger here.
Let the dream stretch its limbs.
Let your nervous system catch up with your soul.

You are already transforming.
Even now.
Especially now.

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Today Is Also the Last Day of the Birthday Sale

This offering is free—because every Monday, we remove the paywall to welcome people in.
And today, on my 46th birthday, it’s also the final day to receive 46% off a full year of Liberation Education.

If this space is feeding you, I invite you to walk deeper with us.
As a paid subscriber, you’ll receive every article, every ritual, and access to the full archive of this Season of Emergence and beyond.

• You can also gift a subscription to someone in transition, grief, or growth.

• Scholarships are always available: scholarships@desireebstephens.com

This isn’t just a subscription. It’s a commitment to your own becoming.
It’s a rhythm of returning to yourself, again and again—with gentleness, with truth, with community.

Read. Reflect. Return to yourself.

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Journal Prompts to Anchor Your Becoming

You don’t have to have the answers today.
But if you're willing to pause, breathe, and ask the questions…
You’ll begin to hear what’s been waiting underneath the noise.

1. Where in my life am I in the in-between? What’s no longer true, even if I haven’t found the new yet?

2. What would it feel like to honor this season—not as a setback, but as sacred?

3. What support, softness, or slowing do I need to let the next version of me emerge?

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Affirmations for the Threshold

I am not lost—I am becoming.
I am not behind—I am in bloom.
I am allowed to be both tender and transforming.

Happy birthday to this version of me.
And maybe… happy birthday to the version of you that’s coming, too.

🌬️ May we all learn to honor the sacred in-between. May we meet ourselves here—with compassion, not urgency. And may the versions of us just beyond the threshold feel us coming.

“But time makes you bolder, even children get older… and I’m getting older too.”

You are not behind. You are becoming. See you on the other side of the threshold. 💛

In solidarity and liberation,
Desireé B. Stephens, CPS-P
Educator | Counselor | Community Builder
Founder, Make Shi(f)t Happen