Rain
Beloved Soul Shelter friends,
The rain collected on the leaves in the driveway yesterday - but only on the leaves that were upside down, their bellies exposed. It was there that these tiny sparkling jewels sat, balanced carefully in a moment. I thought of you, and of the way your life has been turned upside down, and how your tears gather themselves together in your heart, comforting each other. They bear silent witness to your grief at being treated in a manner that should never happen from one human being to another. This should not be. Not last year or the ones before that. Not this new year. Not any year going forward.
You are worthy of love and respect. Always. (Read that a few times. It probably goes counter to what you’ve been trained to believe about who you are and what you’re worth. Stay with it till is doesn’t bounce off and you soften a little about being able to receive these words as your own.)
Next, I invite you to speak it out loud: “I am worthy of love and respect. Always.” Be somewhere where you feel safe to be loud if needed. (Alone in your car is an option.) Say it like you mean it. Listen to yourself saying it. Look at yourself in the mirror as you say it. Yell it. There’s something good that happens when we say what’s true about who we are. We remember. We start finding our way back to ourselves again. It might feel weird and unfamiliar. That’s normal. All the more reason to keep practicing.
Stay safe. Be wise. Know that you are beloved, no matter what.
You are not alone,
Wendy
Just in case: 24/7 U.S. National Domestic Violence Hotline, voice: 800-799-7233, text: “START” to 88788