Tag: healing

Healing Your Inner Child: Sometimes It’s as Simple as Buying Yourself Ribena

Mwende Musyoka, now 38 and living in the USA, listens to the little girl she once was — the one who spent her days fetching firewood, walking to the river for water, feeding cows, and raising six younger siblings.

That child didn’t ask for much.
Just Ribena.
Or even Fanta Orange — something cold after carrying a life that wasn’t meant for a child.

This is a reminder that small childhood desires often hold deep emotional weight. In the diaspora, healing sometimes looks like self-reparenting — finally giving yourself what scarcity once denied.

Because honoring those small wants is how we bridge our past and present selves.

When your inner child finally gets a say

It’s winter, and I walked myself into Starbucks for my favorite latte.
Before I order, I noticed a child sipping a drink I once wished for.

And just like that, my inner child started talking.

She wanted Ribena.

I paused. Memories rushed in — long days, small bodies carrying big responsibilities. Fetching firewood. Walking to the river for water. Feeding cows. Looking after six younger siblings. Thirst that went beyond water. Wanting something small and sweet, and knowing better than to ask.

I canceled my order.

I crossed the road, walked into Walmart, and bought myself Ribena — in the middle of winter.

That was it.
That’s all my inner child wanted.

On a normal day, catch me dead drinking processed stuff. But this moment wasn’t about nutrition or discipline. It was about listening. About honoring a need that had gone unmet for years.

And in that quiet act, something clicked.

The Quiet Grief of Small Wants

When we talk about childhood wounds, we often name the big things — neglect, abandonment, trauma, assault. But many of us who grew up in Kenyan homes carry a quieter grief.

The snack you wanted but couldn’t have.
The drink you saw but never tasted.
The day you were too tired to be a child.

These moments didn’t break us.
But they shaped us.

We learned early to downplay desire. To survive before we could dream. To say “it’s okay” even when it wasn’t.

And those lessons don’t disappear just because we grow up or move abroad.

Self-Reparenting in the Diaspora

Living in the diaspora gives you access to things your younger self could only imagine. Yet many of us still live with invisible rules of scarcity.

Self-reparenting doesn’t have to be dramatic.

Sometimes it looks like:

  • Canceling the latte
  • Buying the Ribena
  • Letting yourself want without explaining
  • Meeting a need without guilt

I’ve been to therapy many times, for many things.
But that day, I chose a different kind of healing.

I listened.

Why the Small Things Heal the Deepest Wounds

When you honor your inner child — even in simple ways — you send a powerful message:

You matter. Your needs were valid. You don’t have to earn care anymore.

These small acts calm the nervous system. They replace lack with safety. They build trust between who you were and who you are now.

Healing doesn’t always come from unpacking the past.
Sometimes it comes from responding to it with kindness.

So… What Does Your Inner Child Want?

Maybe it’s Ribena.
Maybe it’s rest.
Maybe it’s joy without justification.
Maybe it’s permission to be soft.

Whatever it is — listen.

Healing doesn’t always roar.
Sometimes it whispers.

A Word from Wordflow Studio

At Wordflow Studio, we believe healing doesn’t have to be loud or performative. Sometimes it’s quiet. Ordinary. Personal.

Sometimes, healing looks like giving yourself what no one could give you then — because now, you can.

Ask yourself today:

What does my inner child want — and how can I show up for them?

Author: Elizabeth Mwende Johnstone Musyoka
Brand: Wordflow Studio
Healing through words. Power through clarity.

    And When You Finally Make It, Change your environment.

    Elizabeth M. Johnstone discusses the complexities of personal growth, emphasizing that evolving into a higher self often necessitates letting go of old attachments. Women, conditioned to prioritize loyalty, may struggle against familiar environments that stifle progress. Embracing change requires courage and reflection, urging individuals to prioritize alignment and their future desires over past comforts.

    By Elizabeth M. Johnstone, Wordflow Studio

    Where healing meets clarity. Where growth meets truth.

    There’s a quiet grief that comes with becoming a higher version of yourself.
    Not because growth is wrong. It often asks you to loosen your grip on people, places, and patterns. These once felt like home.

    Many women are taught to endure, to stay loyal, to make themselves smaller for harmony. But the truth is this: staying attached to what no longer aligns can slowly cost you who you are becoming.

    Here’s why outgrowing your comfort zone isn’t betrayal — it’s evolution.

    1. Your Environment Remembers Who You Used to Be

    When you rise, your old environment keeps replaying your past mistakes. It doesn’t see the private discipline, the silent growth, the inner rewiring. It remembers the version of you that struggled openly. That memory limits how far they believe you can go. Sometimes, growth requires entering spaces where your future speaks louder than your past.

    2. Familiarity Often Erodes Respect

    Respect needs space to breathe. People who saw your lowest moments feel entitled to speak to you without care. As a woman stepping into authority, distance isn’t pride — it’s protection. You don’t owe accessibility to everyone who knew you before you evolved.

    3. Your Growth Triggers Unresolved Insecurities

    Your progress becomes a mirror. And not everyone is ready to face what it reflects. When others haven’t confronted their own stagnation, your expansion can feel threatening. Support cools, encouragement fades, and criticism creeps in. This isn’t about you — it’s about what they haven’t healed.

    4. Old Circles Protect Old Versions of You

    Every environment has unspoken rules. When you change, you break them. Growth disrupts comfort, and groups may try to pull you back — not out of cruelty, but out of familiarity. You do not have to stay the same so others can stay comfortable.

    5. Jealousy Lives Closest

    Envy rarely comes from strangers. It often comes from those who know your story, your flaws, your vulnerabilities. When you outgrow shared limitations, comparison sneaks in quietly. Not all resistance is loud — some of it shows up as silence, distance, or subtle withdrawal.

    6. Comfort Softens Your Edge

    Comfort removes urgency. When everything feels familiar, standards slowly slip. For women conditioned to focus on peace, growth often requires intentional discomfort. Expansion needs pressure — not constant ease.

    7. Loyalty Without Growth Becomes Self-Betrayal

    Blind loyalty keeps women stuck. Staying out of guilt, history, or emotional attachment can cost you your future. Loyalty is only honorable when it is mutual, respectful, and aligned with growth. Anything else is obligation disguised as virtue.

    8. Your Environment Shapes Your Identity

    Your thoughts, language, and sense of possibility are shaped by what surrounds you daily. Stay where small thinking is normal, and you’ll shrink to fit. Place yourself in environments that stretch you, and evolution becomes inevitable.

    The Wordflow Truth

    You don’t outgrow people by accident.
    You outgrow them because your future requires a higher version of you. This version chooses alignment over attachment. They choose purpose over comfort. They also choose growth over familiarity.

    Your Invitation

    Pause and ask yourself:
    Where am I staying out of habit instead of alignment?
    Who am I being loyal to at the expense of my own becoming?

    Give yourself permission to grow — even if it means leaving what once felt safe.
    Your next chapter begins with your choice.

    — Wordflow Studio
    Healing through words. Power through clarity

    Girl Be Stingy with Your Womb – introduction

    Elizabeth M. Johnstone’s blog advocates for women’s self-worth and boundaries, emphasizing the importance of valuing oneself over relentless giving. It challenges societal norms that equate love with sacrifice, urging women to protect their emotional and physical space. This ongoing series aims to empower women to reclaim their lives and choices unapologetically.

    By Elizabeth M. Johnstone | wordflowstudio.blog

    This isn’t just a blog. It’s a mirror. It’s a wake-up call. It’s a love letter to every woman who’s ever given too much and gotten too little.

    Introduction: A Letter To My sisters

    Hey sis. I’m so glad you’re here.

    You didn’t land here by accident. Your spirit led you here — because it’s time.

    Girl, Be Stingy with Your Womb isn’t just a catchy phrase. It’s a whole movement. A battle cry. A love letter. A reminder that your body, your heart, and your dreams are sacred ground — not a public playground.

    This isn’t your typical book filled with sugar-coated advice and tired cliches. No. This is raw. This is real. This is the conversation we should have had a long time ago. One woman pulls another woman aside. She looks her dead in the eye and says: “You don’t have to break yourself to be worthy of love.” “You don’t have to give until there’s nothing left of you.” “You are already enough.”

    We were taught to give, and give, and give some more. We were taught to nurture everyone but ourselves. We were taught to carry the burdens of others. These include their dreams, their pain, and their mistakes. We carried these even when it crushed our own souls in the process.

    But sis, it’s time to lay that weight down.
    It’s time we stop confusing sacrifice with love.
    It’s time we stop confusing suffering with loyalty.

    This movement, this message, is about boundaries. It’s about healing the parts of us we were told to ignore. It’s about finally choosing you. Loudly. Unapologetically. Sometimes we walk away limping. Sometimes we walk away crying. But we still walk away from the heavy chains of other people’s expectations. walk away even if it means crawling, just don’t allow yourself to walk away in a casket.

    This blog series will be the slow unveiling of my book, chapter by chapter. It will be dripping with truth and love. It will also include the kind of sister-to-sister honesty we don’t get enough of in this world.

    If you’ve ever poured into people who only came to take…
    If you’ve ever felt guilty for daring to say “no”…
    If you’ve ever handed over your love, your peace, or even your womb to someone who never deserved to stand that close to you…
    This space is yours.
    Here, you are seen. You are heard. You are honored.

    You deserve more than scraps.
    You deserve to feel loved, protected, and valued — not only by others, but most importantly, by yourself.

    Welcome home, sis.
    We’ve got healing to do.
    And it’s about damn time.

    Each week, a new chapter drops.

    Each one will:

    • Shake a table or two (yes, sis!)
    • Help you rebuild your self-worth
    • Teach you to guard your peace like the crown it is
    • Remind you that your womb—your energy—is not for rent

    By the end of the series, the full book will be available as a downloadable eBook. But first—we walk together, one chapter at a time.

    Chapter 1: Your Womb Is Not a Charity

    We have allowed too many people access to our bodies and emotions. We have given them our time and our futures. They haven’t earned the right. The womb isn’t just a place for babies—it’s symbolic of life, purpose, and creation. Protect it like you would a treasure. Because it is.

    Chapter 2: Love Is Not a Transaction

    You don’t owe anyone your body in exchange for attention, promises, or validation. Being chosen doesn’t mean being used. Real love doesn’t come with receipts or IOUs.

    Chapter 3: Boundaries Are Beautiful

    Say no. And when they call you rude, selfish, bitter—say it louder. Boundaries are not barriers to love; they are invitations for the right kind of love to find you.

    Chapter 4: Lessons from the Unchosen

    Let’s talk about the times we gave too much. The unreturned calls, the ghosting, the baby daddies who forgot they were fathers. These are not just heartbreaks—they are lessons. And each one makes us wiser.

    Chapter 5: You Can’t Raise a Man

    If you find yourself mothering a grown man, you’re not in a relationship—you’re in a rescue mission. And baby, you’re not his savior.

    Chapter 6: Stop Apologizing for Standards

    You want a man who prays, provides, and protects? Say it. Don’t settle because they say you’re asking for too much. What they call high maintenance, we call self-respect.

    Chapter 7: Healing Isn’t a Destination

    It’s a journey—and it’s messy. You’ll cry, you’ll remember, you’ll forgive. Not for them, but for you. Because healing is the most radical act of self-love.

    Conclusion: Reclaiming Your Power

    Sis, your womb is not for rent. It’s not a trial space. It’s a divine gift. Choose who you share it with like your future depends on it—because it does. walk with your head high, your standards higher, and your womb—stingy and sacred.

    This Series Is For…

    • The woman who’s done being everything to everyone
    • The woman rebuilding after betrayal, burnout, or heartbreak
    • The woman who wants more—without the guilt
    • The woman learning to say no and mean it

    sounds good, subscribe to wordflowstudio.blog to get the next chapter straight to your email.

    with Lots of Love, a caring sis.

    Elizabeth Johnstone's avatar

    Elizabeth Johnstone

    Wordflow Caring Hearts LLC

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