Midlife Butterfly: Healing, Empowerment & Self-Discovery
Midlife isn’t just a phase—it’s a powerful catalyst for transformation. Whether you’re navigating divorce, an identity crisis, a breakup, feeling lost, a spiritual awakening, empty nest syndrome, moving to a new city or country, or grief—this chapter of life is calling you to heal, grow, and reinvent yourself.
I’m Kena Siu, your host and Self-Love & Empowerment Guide, and I’m here to help you embrace midlife as a time of expansion, self-discovery, and joy.
Join me and my guests as we share personal stories, mindset shifts, self-care practices, and spiritual tools to support you on your journey. Midlife is not the end—it’s a new beginning. It’s time to prioritize yourself, reclaim your power, and create life on your own terms.
Follow and listen for inspiration, healing, and practical steps to transform your life from simply surviving to fully thriving.
You are the creator of your life. Let’s co-create together so you can spread your wings and fly.
Much love 💜,
Kena Siu
Midlife Butterfly: Healing, Empowerment & Self-Discovery
#11 - You Were Never Broken: Embracing All Versions of You
What if every past version of you wasn’t something to fix, but a love letter guiding you home to yourself?
In this episode of Midlife Butterfly, we dive deep into the illusion of brokenness and the truth of our wholeness. Midlife often brings a reckoning—old wounds, past identities, and beliefs resurface, making us feel fragmented. But here’s the truth: you have always been whole.
Key Points:
- How society conditions us to believe we are broken—and why it’s a lie.
- Shifting from a mindset of separation to one of oneness and self-acceptance.
- The powerful reflection on past versions of yourself, inspired by Branden Collinsworth’s soul-stirring piece, Versions of Me. @BrandenCollinsworth
- Learning to listen, honor, and integrate all parts of yourself—the dreamer, the healer, the one who struggled, the one who loved, the one who lost.
- Why embracing every past version of you leads to deep self-love, healing, and empowerment.
- A simple yet transformative practice to step into your wholeness and reconnect with your authentic self.
Your journey is not about fixing yourself—it’s about embracing yourself fully.
Reflection Questions:
- What past version of you is asking to be seen, heard, and honored today?
- How can you offer love and gratitude to the parts of yourself you’ve outgrown?
- What shifts in your life when you accept that you have always been whole?
If you’re ready to integrate all parts of yourself and step into your full power, book a free Empowerment Session with me: http://www.wellbeingproject.ca/empowersession. Let’s reclaim your joy, worth, and self-love together!
Find the written piece of Branden here: https://www.instagram.com/p/DGFDjHcxOgh/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
You can find all the podcast details right here: http://midlifebutterfly.ca/podcast
Download the Midlife Butterfly Guide with 5 Radical Practices to Heal, Take Your Power Back & Rise
Follow Kena on Instagram: @kenasiu
Join the Midlife Butterfly Community: http://www.facebook.com/groups/midlifebutterfly
For Coaching, Courses & More Visit Kena's Website: http://midlifebutterfly.ca/workwithme
Request a Free Empowered Call with Kena if you're interested in working with her: https://midlifebutterfly.ca/empoweredsession
Song: Reborn by Alexander Nakarada
What if every past version of you wasn't just a chapter but a love letter guiding you home to yourself? Welcome to Midlife Butterfly, where transformation gets real through every twist and turn of your journey. When you are empowered and fully love yourself, you'll embrace the messy, magical process of transformation with open arms. I am Ken Asu and this is your space to feel seen, heard and inspired by real talk. So you don't just create a life you love, you live it every single day with unapologetic joy and freedom. Welcome to this episode, to Midlife Butterfly, beautiful soul.
Speaker 1:Today we're diving deep into something that touches us all of us the illusion of brokenness and the truth of our wholeness. We've been conditioned to believe we are fragmented, that parts of us need fixing, but what if we saw ourselves as a whole instead? What if we embraced every version of who we've been with love and gratitude? That's what we're exploring today. So take a deep breath. Let's do it now. Exhale through the mouth, open your heart and let's journey together. So let's get real. For a while, the collective, the matrix society, whatever you want to call it it has conditioned us to believe that we are broken, isn't that true? But here is the truth, the real truth. We are not broken. We are whole, always have been and always will be. We are souls having a human experience, each of us unique and navigating our own journey, yet united in one thing we all feel the same emotions. Our minds, shaped by the collective narrative, naturally seek to separate and divide. That's the way it's made. What can I say? That's the default mode. But what if we shifted our perception? What if, instead of seeing separation, you embraced oneness? What about that? That simple shift changes everything. I've seen it in my life. Truly, I witnessed it in others, and today I want to invite you into that transformation.
Speaker 1:I recently came across a post to a powerful piece of writing by Brayden Collinsworth. It's a beautiful, soul-steering composition that speaks directly to all the versions of you. I already read it multiple times and let me tell you, I've never sobbed this much over an instagram post and I can promise that I won't tear up again while I read it to you, because it's word reading. His words are just. I won't tear up again while I read it to you because it's worth reading. His words are just soulful. That's what it is. So, as you listen, I invite you to pay close attention to each word. This is about you, all the versions of you, the parts of you that have fought, struggled, laughed, loved and carried you through life. When you listen to them, honor them, integrate them and welcome them with the love that you are and transform your relationship with yourself on a profound level. So here it goes. Versions of Me by Bydrin Collinsworth.
Speaker 1:I don't remember calling this meeting, but here we are, a table I never sat at, filled with faces I know too well. Some I haven't seen in years, some I try to forget, some I thought I'd never become. But tonight no one is turned away. We are all here facing other, ready to finally listen. The child who dreamed without fear. The teenager who ached to be understood. The one who loved too hard, the one who swore they'd never love again. The one who made mistakes, the one who would have done more. The one who made mistakes, the one who have done more. The addict, the healer, the fighter, the ghost, the one who forgave and the one who didn't make it. They all arrived. The younger me swings their legs wide-eyed. Is this what we became, they ask. Did we make it? I want to say yes. I want to say we got everything we ever wanted, but I have learned not to lie to myself. We are still becoming, I say, and for some reason that answer is enough. The one who made mistakes looks down we messed up. They say we should have known better.
Speaker 1:Across the table. The one who paid the price answers we didn't know until we knew. The silence between them is thick. I hold them both in my gaze. Maybe we are meant to be both, I say the ones who tried and the ones who failed. Neither of them speak again. The one who could have done more watches from the corner we held back. They say we played small where we could have been great. The one who was too afraid to leap lowers their head. I was scared, they whisper. I know. I say but we are not done yet and something between them softens.
Speaker 1:The one who loved and lost grips the edges of the table. I give everything they say and it still wasn't enough. The one who swore they'd never love again tightens their jaw. That's why I built the walls. I look at both of them. We had to love and we had to lose. We had to break and we had to rebuild. Neither answers, but they are finally looking at each other.
Speaker 1:The one who almost didn't make it. It is quiet. How did we survive? They whispered. I was sure this was the end. I reach across the table, take their hand Because of you. I say Because you broke, but you never stopped breathing. They close their eyes, exhaling years of silence.
Speaker 1:The one who died and never came back sits in the shadows. They say nothing, they are barely there. I miss you. I whisper, we all do. They don't speak, they only nod. Some losses are too deep for words. The addict slouches in their chair, arms crossed, tapping their fingers. You hated me, they say. You still do. I check my head. I never hated you, I just didn't understand. They scoff. I was trying to numb the pain. I know I whisper. I see you now. Their hands stopped shaking.
Speaker 1:The one who lost everything starts at the table. We had to let it go. They say it was killing us. The one who held on too long won't meet their eyes. I wasn't ready, they whisper. Neither was I, I admit. And for the first time they grieve together instead of alone.
Speaker 1:The one who forgave speaks softly you can't stop punishing yourself now, they say. You can't stop punishing yourself now. They say I hesitate, you did the best you could. They continue. And when you knew better, you did better. Their voice is steady. It does not ask for permission to be believed. I close my eyes. I, finally, I let it go. The one who knew the streets leans back, arms crossed. You forget about me? They ask Never. I see them sharp, fast, a survivor. I remember the nights we barely slept, the hunger, the hustle, the instincts that never left. I did what I have to do, they say, and I never said thank you. I reply. They nod.
Speaker 1:Once Joan, clenching the future me, sits at the head of the table watching. They are older, wiser, lighter. They have seen it all. What do I need to know, I ask? They smile like they've seen the ending. Stop fighting the becoming, they say. Everything that felt like destruction was just making room for you. I exhale. Something inside me unlocks. All of me is here, the fearless and the fearful, the wise and the reckless, the broken and the whole. No one is missing. No part of me is left behind. I see them, I honor them, I welcome them home and for the first time, I feel completely, entirely here. How was that for you? It's deep, isn't it?
Speaker 1:Lately I've been reflecting on the different versions of me, how each one has played, has played a role, served a purpose and carried me through different seasons of life. Some of those versions are outdated, no longer aligned, but I honor them because without them I wouldn't be here now. That's the truth and that's my invitation for you. Just like these words beautifully expressed, have a conversation with your past selves, listen to them, feel what they need to express, whether it's frustration, guilt, blame, pride or joy and journal. If you need to, let them speak up, let them be seen and, most importantly, welcome them back to your heart, because when you do that, something magical happens you step into your wholeness. You recognize that all those past versions of you were never mistakes. They were stepping stones and from that space, a deep, deep self-acceptance happens, where you keep stepping into your future self.
Speaker 1:So which is the version of you that already exists within? It is already there, and it's so much easier when we get to accept and understand them. So here I have some reflection questions for you. What versions of you or version is asking to be seen, heard and honored by now? How can you offer love and gratitude to the part of yourself that you've grown? What shifts when you embrace the truth that you are whole? What shifts in there. Are you ready to embrace it all? Stop seeing yourself fragmented because you are whole. Understand that you are whole.
Speaker 1:You are one and if you wish to do this together, you can book a free Emp session with me. I'll be honored to guide you and to serve you into welcoming all that wholeness that you already are, all that oneness Coming back to your soul. Have a beautiful day. Much love to you. Thank you for tuning into Midlife Butterfly. If this episode lead a spark in you, hit that subscribe or follow button on Apple Podcasts, spotify or wherever you love to listen, so you'll never miss the magic. If you're feeling generous, drop a review on Apple Podcasts. It helps this empowering content reach more souls ready to transform their lives. And don't forget to take a photo of you while listening and share it on your socials. You can tag me at KenSU so I can celebrate you and your expansion. Until next time, keep spreading those wings and living in joy, growth and pleasure.
