What did you need when you were younger?
What does your younger self need to hear?
Often times very adult things are happening around us and we just want to know that things are okay.
What would ease within you today, to give your younger self some encouragement?
Drop yours in the comments below or email me and I will share anonymously.
Here is mine:
Dear sweetest lil TJ,
I know sometimes you’re scared and confused. Your parents are doing the best they can and think that you’re too young to know all the truths just yet.
In the chaos of hard times, you have assigned beliefs that are not exactly right but it’s what your still-developing brain does in the absence of understanding. This sadness is not yours to carry dear one. You’re doing the best you can, it is not your responsibility to make sure everyone else is okay, even though that’s what you so desperately want.
None of this is your fault.
You’re smart and kind and it is okay to not ”fit in”. Keep going just the way you are.
You were beautifully made to be exactly who you are. Your gifts are needed.
These difficulties are teaching you the resilience and strength you will need to survive and save your life in the future.
It’s okay to not be okay.
You are so loved, by so many, especially by yourself.
Keep going!
Xoxo
T
Reminder:
In any inner work where we are engaging our younger selves, we must forge the relationship slowly and with intentions of trust, consistency, grace & fierce acceptance. Imagine yourself at each age, each change, each trauma & begin to show up for yourself the way you needed back then.
You would not rush a 5-year-old and expect them to immediately trust you. You would rarely talk to a teenager without the side-eye and heavy sigh. You wouldn’t approach a young woman who is figuring it all out and shortcut her experiences. So stop expecting to jump right into full trust from your younger self when you’ve not earned her trust yet.
We must approach ourselves with such unwavering compassion that we leave no room for self-doubt, no matter how she shows up.
Commit to never abandon yourself again.
Lean in and stay. You are living and existing and breathing and you are so worthy of giving yourself the love you have always needed.
You matter this much.