11 Comments
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Stephanie Oswalt's avatar

Happy belated birthday!

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Maria Bæk's avatar

Thank you Stephanie! 💖

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Jack's avatar

the happiest of birthdays! and I'm so proud of you<3

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Maria Bæk's avatar

Thank you so much Jack <3

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Christine's avatar

Happy birthday dear Maria! I love how you write about reclaiming your authenticity. It’s okay to be misunderstood - as long as you’re true to yourself. Wishing you many more blissful years of honey & thunder ♥️

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Maria Bæk's avatar

Thank you so much dear Christine <3

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Elizabeth Aman's avatar

"honey and thunder" - LOVE THAT. And happy birthday!!

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Maria Bæk's avatar

Thank you so much Elizabeth!!

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Fiona Vanessa 🇫🇷 🇬🇧 🪶 📚✨🌿's avatar

First things first, happy happy happy birthday dear Maria ! May this year bring you precious gifts that will serve you all the way !

Now I must say, congratulations ! You are my son’s age and have already figured out what I did only this winter, but have been breaking onto in waves for so long, that hiding behind a mask is too expensive in this life.

Apart from the age, I could have said every word. A lifetime of decoding human behavior on their faces. Masks. And I was a comedian, I really wore them. And discovered that I became myself on stage when a mask was put on. So strange. I love your honey and thunder metaphore.

And what it feels like to be inside myself in front of the world. You said the word, raw. And honest. I have to feel safe yet to let the mask fall. I am still learning how to navigate being me in some circles. That is why I stay at home, my sanctuary. That is why I need the ocean and birdsong to restore my strength. I was quiet so long, I will not be hushed anymore !

As you felt perhaps, sister, we are alike in this duality.

I have suffered for being like this, misunderstood, hushed, crushed, a very long time. I barely understood what was going on. The suffering shifted when I realized that this was my beauty. I bear art in my soul. I am truthful and I seek truth and purpose. I am loving and generous to those who don’t crush me. That is who I am, different and sensitive, different and intense.

Sending you waves of love and music to your ears for your birthday and for your beatiful discovery about your sacred self 🫶🏻🌿🤍✨🎂🥂🎁🦋🌊⚡️🐝🍯🎼🎹🎻🏆

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Maria Bæk's avatar

Thank you so much, my dear sister artist <3

Not only for your beautiful birthday wishes, but for sharing all of this with me.

It’s so touching to hear how you found yourself on stage, through a mask. There’s something paradoxically beautiful about that. Sometimes, it’s only when we “put something on” that we feel safe enough to take the real layers off. The stage becomes a sacred space where you get to be more “you” than anywhere else. I find that so powerful!

I’m truly grateful that our paths have crossed. I see you. I admire your strength, your truth, your intensity - and I believe in you. So so much. The way you’ve embraced your sensitivity, even after being misunderstood and hushed for so long, is deeply inspiring. There’s such a rare beauty in who you are when you allow yourself to just be. Pure, raw, unmasked. That’s when you shine the brightest <3 You're such a beautiful constellation lighting up my night sky.

Thank you for being you. I’m honored to walk this path of honey & thunder alongside you.

(writing this on my computer, so I'm in lack of all the wonderful emojis, but just imagine that they're all there!!!)

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Fiona Vanessa 🇫🇷 🇬🇧 🪶 📚✨🌿's avatar

Your words have brought me to tears, my dear Maria ! Not sad but grateful ! Your beautiful words have made me feel so seen and so right to be on my little journey back to myself. I know you know, I know you understand. That loving power makes any mask crumble to dust !

Hope you had fun publishing this essay and a good birthday too !

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