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“We get into trouble when our “shoulds” are decided for us by somebody else…” ~ Dr. Glenn Doyle

Let’s get one thing straight right here, right now.

I am me. And you are you.

I am on my own journey, and I am aware that it looks nothing like yours.

I love advice. I welcome stories. Encourage me, please. Go ahead and disagree. I do invite new ideas and perspectives. I appreciate and respectfully absorb them, although I may not live up to them, and I may reject a few of them. I may not be ready for some of them. They may not be a light bulb that forever changes my life and hops me aboard your train.

Please, do not expect me to be where or who you think I should be, nor shame me for not being so.

I’m not up for the comparison. I’m not down for the judgement. I’m not open to being belittled.

If I trigger you, I mustn’t apologize anymore.

This is not my buried wound. And I am not your punching bag replacing the mirror you may (unknowingly) be facing.

If you don’t understand, I can accept that, but do not expect me to live up to your idea of me. And do not expect your own self out of me.

It’s hard enough work, figuring out what my idea of me really is—buried beneath the beliefs I’ve held on to for far too long already.

Can you accept me as I am, now?

I am damaged. I am not typical. I am not healed. But I am healing. In that way, we may relate, and we may not.

Either way, my path is my path. And I am where I need to be, doing whatever it is that aligns with me.

Sometimes, I jump; sometimes, I crawl; sometimes, I lay still and do nothing at all.

We were not dealt the same cards. We are not playing the same game.

While my tone may be hostile, stern, or off-putting, I speak these words with love. And I’m proud that I can finally say that they come from a place of love for myself.

I hope your love is genuine enough to respect where I am on my journey through life.

Sincerely,

the “broken” one.