A letter to yourself

Dear me,

Hey there. How are you?

Hold on. Before you answer that… take a breath and let the question really sink in.

How are you?

Because I see you. And I see how hard you are working. To hold everything together. To support everyone around you. To be the person you think the world expects you to be.

I see you trying to do it all, be it all, provide it all to those you love.

I see you put a smile on your face and tell the world that you are fine. 

And I see how you try to convince yourself that it’s true.

I also see the way that you talk to yourself when nobody else is around. I hear the difference in the way you respond to yourself and the way you respond to others. I see how you keep pushing yourself lower down on your to-do list to make room for the requests of everyone else.

Remember what you told your best friend when she made that mistake last week? You told her that it’s okay. That everyone makes mistakes. That you love her no matter what.

Remember what you told your sibling when they didn’t get into the school that they had hoped to attend? That it was the school’s loss, and that they are still smart and powerful and full of potential, and that wherever they wind up going will be lucky to have them.

Remember what you told your cousin when they were going through that difficult breakup? You let them cry and you held space for their feelings. You told them that it is okay to feel hurt, but to also reminded them of their own strength and independence - that they were complete before and are still complete now.

Now… remember what you told yourself when you went through all of those same hardships? Tell me why you did not deserve the same kindness, love, compassion and space that you so beautifully held for and shared with those others? Because the truth is… you do. You deserve all of that and more. 

I see the way you have different expectations for yourself than you do for others.

And I also see how this keeps you from truly giving your heart as fully as you can to the people you love. I see how this builds - and then reinforces - barriers around your heart. 

So let me ask you another question.

Just for today… can we be friends? Can I show you how beautiful you truly are? How worthy, how deserving and how very enough you are? 

Just for today… that love you shine on everyone else… can I share it… with you?

Love, your inner self