An open letter to anyone who needs this right now....
Hey you, yeah YOU, the one sitting there reading this. Have I told you lately how incredible you are? I know sometimes life gets tough and amidst all of the crazy and intenseness of living we forget to really appreciate ourselves.
I wanted to take the opportunity to say a few words that I think you might need to hear. Remember that time when life kicked your ass and you thought that you were done for? When the heartbreak and loss of relationships was so strong that you couldn't breathe and all you wanted to do was cry? Remember how you thought you would never get over it? Well here you are, over it! You see, the strength that exists within you is very real, it is tangible and accessible to you whenever you decide to call on it.
Life is fucking hard at times and believe me I know the feeling of absolute exhaustion and the feeling of defeat. I have had some testing moments in my life when everything I could muster went to putting one foot in front of the other as I was walking out on shitty relationships, friendships, family situations, jobs etc.
The thing is, each and every one of us experiences pain and suffering in this life, yours is no greater or less than mine, it is only different. There have been times in my life when I truly thought I would die in the situation I was in from all of the pain that I was experiencing... Heartbreak, man it is a downer for sure..BUT it hasn't killed me yet, nor has it you if you are reading this.
I can remember so many times sitting down and crying because I didn't know what else to do, the moment felt so completely overwhelming and intimidating that the only real action I could take was no action at all. To sit in the sound of my own fear, anger, anguish and pain.
The struggle of life is real, each and every day we are faced with so many opportunities that often we find ourselves in overwhelm and instead of taking massive action towards our goals, dreams and desires we take no action at all because we don't want to risk making the wrong choice and so we do nothing.
Let me tell you, there is no wrong choice. There is no failure. There is only success and growth as we take action in any direction. Your outcome is directly and entirely related to your mindset, if you think you have failed at something than you are right, however if you decide to take that so called failure and use it as an opportunity to grow.....well then you have yourself a successful experience.
For many years I felt trapped by circumstance, I was raised by a single mother to 3 children who received no help from the other parent involved. My brother battled drug abuse and was in and out of jail for as long as I could remember. My sister struggled to find herself and battled anger and frustration caused from an absentee father. I was the youngest child of a family that struggled with life and it was easy to believe that nothing more than struggles in life were available to and for me.
I spent many years of my life working hard to overcome the challenges that I had faced growing up. I worked long, hard hours to make sure that I was never poor, I gave and gave to people to make sure that I always had friends, I did what you were "supposed" to do and went to school, got a job and bought a house... I did everything right, and guess what? I was miserable. I was scared to let anyone see who I really was, and so I put on this persona of a very different person.
I gave more of myself to others than I ever gave to myself and it only ever landed me with partners and relationships that depleted me. I trusted and loved with my entire heart and soul, those who didn't deserve it or weren't honest with me and I felt the crushing weight of heartbreak and heartache. I continued on this path for many years. 27 in fact, until one day a few months before my wedding was supposed to take place. I looked in the mirror and realized that the person staring back at me was blank, void of anything real. I was in a false relationship with myself, pretending to be happy when I was depressed and angry about where I was in my life. I was about to marry someone who in no way deserved what I had to offer or who I was truly at my core.
Thankfully somewhere within I found the strength to make a decision that changed my life. I left the tired excuses behind me, I left my fiancée and called off the wedding and I challenged myself to find myself.
The moment that I walked away from everything that I had built, scrimped, saved and sacrificed for I felt FREE. My ego had kept me in that situation for so long, fearing what others would think or say about me. Not wanting to be judged by others but harshly judging myself the entire time.
I left my home, animals, friends, family, job and the only life that I knew to start over. Alone. I was fucking terrified, I cried all the time. I was emotionally exhausted and mentally drained. I was also losing my father and best friend to cancer at the time. I didn't know how to keep going some days but I also didn't know how to give up. Though I spent many years lost and wandering through life, I always knew that I was supposed to be doing more. That I was born for greatness but I lacked the confidence and authority to create that greatness and step into my power. I was scared that other people would be intimidated, or feel threatened by my success and I never wanted to risk offending someone because then they might not like me.
When I stepped into my TRUTH and my true power, life instantly opened up to me. I found confidence where fear previously resided, I lived authentically when before I was superficial and presenting my false self. I accepted love from others because I first gave it to myself.
We are fed so many lies about who or what we should be and how we should live, look, speak, think etc. and for many of us we believe these lies to be truth. I am here to tell you that the only truth that exists for you is that in which your heart tells you. No one else in this world knows what is right or wrong for you, and no one else truly knows what you are capable of other than you. You have what it takes to be who you want to be, to be all that you want to be and to live the life you desire above all else. You are filled with magic and a light that is meant to shine bright enough to push out the darkness that we so easily hide behind.
YOU are magnificent, magical, beautiful, strong, talented, kind, caring, compassionate, smart, special and no one has the ability to make you feel otherwise without your permission.
Open your mind and your heart to the potential of life, and life will provide you with the opportunities to experience all that you desire. Trust yourself before you trust someone else, believe in your abilities before you allow someone else to tell you you can't. Know that you WILL overcome and persevere when you believe that you CAN.
There is nothing in this life that is stronger than you, so please use that strength to lift yourself up not keep yourself down.