A Love Letter to Myself

Dear me,

You've spent so much of your life caring for others, being strong, and finding a way forward even when life asked more of you than it should have.

And somewhere along the way, you forgot that you deserved that same care.

Healing hasn't been easy, and you still have a way to go. But look at how far you've come.

You've created a life with more quiet in it. You've learned to slow down. To enjoy spending time with yourself. To find comfort in nature and happiness in creating something with your own hands.

Even the little rituals you've come to treasure, like soaking in the bath at the end of the day, have become a way of saying something you needed to hear:

I matter too.

Creating began with a candle, but it became so much more than that. Every time you allowed yourself to explore, make something beautiful, or simply do something because it brought you joy, you were choosing yourself.

You were learning that you don't have to earn your worth.

You don't have to be strong every moment.

You don't have to have everything figured out.

You are allowed to simply be who you are, exactly where you are in your journey.

So be gentle with yourself.

Forgive yourself for the things you wish you had done differently.

Be proud of the woman who kept going.

And on the days when you forget, come back to this:

You matter.

You are worthy of care.

You are worthy of joy.

You are worthy of love.

Not someday.

Not when you're completely healed.

Now.

With love,

Me