I see you sitting there, covered in the filth of shame, regrets, and unmet expectations. 

I see your worries and your tears. I feel your heart breaking, believing that you’re failing.

It’s not an easy task—carrying multiple worlds on your shoulders, watching your heart stomp around in the puddles of your pain.

I see you praying that everything will be okay—hoping to love yourself someday.

The work we have to do, both inside and out, feels daunting and insurmountable.

Why can’t we just push it away? Open our eyes to our sweetest dreams and stay in the bliss of what we think reality should look like?

What we can do in this space, though, is allow ourselves some grace.

Put your hand on your heart and feel your inner love. 

I see you; I feel you; I’m with you.

And every single day, knit yourself an imaginary rug to lay on. Make a list; each knot will hold the reasons why you matter, something you love about yourself, what you value about you.

Once we have that beautiful piece of us to sit on, we can feel worthy enough to stand.

Second by second and day by day, we’ll feed our strength with self-love, forgiveness, and compassion.

Be patient with yourself, love. Start over as many times as you need to. 

The time will pass either way. 

One day, we’ll be strong enough to hold ourselves up when these worlds get heavy.

And I’ll see you full of your power, glowing in your essence.

Your soul will be at peace, and your love will flow, rinsing off the dirt that stained your unchangeable clothes.

The days of dirty tears will have washed away, and the ripples that come from you will make you proud.

Love yourself through it, love.