I came across some old pictures a while back and found this one of my six-year-old self.

I almost can’t remember being this little person, but I know that she’s still a part of me. I thought it would be good to talk to her about the life that I’ve lived and what I’ve learned along the way.

Here’s what I had to say:

Hello Little Self!

So far in my life, I’ve survived a great many challenges—more than I thought I ever could.

My heart has been broken and I’ve experienced the incredible loss of loved ones. I’ve fallen and have had to pick myself up, and I’ve had to live with and overcome the heavy energies of disappointment, frustration, anger, depression, and resentfulness.

Yet, through it all, I’ve endured.

I’ve also experienced more happiness at times than I thought I ever could. I’ve smiled and laughed and danced and loved. My heart has been so full that I’ve thought it close to bursting. I’ve daydreamed and wondered and created and hoped and believed.

And because of it all, I’ve endured.

The ups and downs are part of our growth, and we need to unlock their insights to help us “Pass Go and Collect $200.” Sometimes we get to move on without too many bumps and bruises, and other times we have to wade through the muck that’s been long buried so that we can bring that aspect of ourselves out into the light. And sometimes, even though we may know what the answer should be, we’re not quite ready to live that answer and so we go along until we are ready.

We learn from the “good stuff” too. Things like falling in love, graduating from school, and advancing in a career also provide a big-time training ground for growth, and our job is to come out the other side with more soul in our next steps forward.

If I could live my life over again, I would love more, laugh more, be willing to forgive more, enjoy more, venture out more, stick up for myself more, and know and speak my mind more.

And resilience, I’ve learned, is one of the most important qualities that we can hone. It is more than having a helpful attitude about our lot in life. It is part of a deep-down knowing that who we are is meant to be an expression of good in this world, and then exercising the ability to come back to this truth again and again.

We spend so much of our precious time trying to prove our goodness and worthiness. We work so hard to get someone’s approval or respect. What if we knew that we were special “just because” and that we didn’t have to do anything at all to prove anything? Life becomes an altogether different reality with this realization.

So, when we accept our goodness, we can ultimately come to know ourselves as love. I believe that we are born as the spirit of love, and our greatest challenge is in remembering this day after day.

Now, Little Self, I’m not saying that I’ve figured all of life out, but I’m definitely onto something. I do understand the really big concept that everything is only ever about discovering that I am—we are—love!

Love is the constant that runs through all energy and is our natural essence. It’s the light that we shine, and our life is about discovering, growing, and expanding our love-light out into the world.

When I finish the conversation with my Little Self, she tells me that she’s been here all along, waiting and watching and rooting for me. She knew that I would “get here” eventually.

What would you say to your Little Self?

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