There are so many beautiful reasons to love yourself. Here’s one to start with… Whatever you’re experiencing right now, whatever thoughts, feelings, or habits, we’re right there with you. You’re never alone in your experiences, and nothing can separate you from our shared human experience. This is the philosophy I share on Day 8 of…
self-compassion
For looking deeper in painful times and smiling at yourself with compassion.
And I smiled. It was the most amazing thing. – from There, I Might Find Peace I once was caught in the blackest night. A starless sky hung over me. Not even the moon could light the way. The cavernous great beyond swooped in to swallow me. Shadows danced upon shadows. They tapped my wrist,…
Something to tide you over through the doubt. (To rooting for goodness.)
Children run and shout outside my house. Bruised knees and sticky hands speak of good sweat and endless summers. Children look out from the tv screen with fear and hunger in their eyes. Some have no shoes, no parents. Some have innocence in them yet. She sings an aria onstage. Her elegant gown sparkles…
This is our story of love and fortitude. (I can’t believe I get to live it.)
I remember how warm his hand felt wrapped around mine. How safe it made me feel as we crossed the Dublin streets. I remember the way we laughed until we cried as the piano solo began. Front row, center, we tried to hold it in but only laughed harder. I remember the joy and innocence…
I know pain’s inevitable, but still…where’s the love?
What does it mean to love your life? Like, actively love it. I’m talking about love, the verb. As in to hold dear, to cherish, to thrive in. (You know, loving.) Speaking for myself, it’s easy to look for the feeling of love without the doing of love. I find myself thinking, I’m waiting…where’s my passion? My excitement? Why aren’t I loving this? …
Let it all drop 🍃
Once, I was a falcon, or at least I tried to be. Fast and focused, I was quick to act, quick to think, never a moment wasted. I wanted to fly the farthest and be the most ruthless. I carried with me always a sense of urgency, as if to say, “Look how much I…
For the serenity, love, and grace in you.
Serenity, Love, and Grace are my oldest friends. Before I knew their names or understood the magnitude of their tender power, I felt the peace and strength their presence gave. These dear, old friends taught me the art of looking and listening inward. In watchful stillness, they stand sentinel over me today, waving me back…
Where there was fear now stands love.
I sat at the shore, watching the water come and go. Beside me sat a basket filled with bottles, each one containing a note about my past and my secrets. Something’s wrong with me, one said. It broke me, said another. I can’t forgive myself for it. No one can ever know. For years, I kept the…
This is life, as far as I can see.
As far as I can see, there’s been nothing wrong with me. But all this time, I thought I was broken. All this time, I feared what I might find inside. All this time, I saw myself as unsafe. And all this time, I wondered why I hadn’t fixed it yet. As far as I…
To the voice in my head, I love you.
She’d tell me all the ways I wasn’t enough, and I’d shrink at her words. It’s not big enough, grand enough, fast enough. You’re not smart enough, kind enough, good enough. I don’t feel pleased enough, proud enough, sure enough, she said. I could do anything to set it right, but it was never enough, and…