Photo by Viktor Hanacek.
"To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance" said playwright, poet and novelist, Oscar Wilde. Today one of my massage therapy clients introduced me to a revolutionary concept. They had just shared with me their courageous story about how they overcame unimaginable trauma. One of the things among many that they did to regain their sense of self-worth was that they began writing them self a love letter every day. The letter could be as simple as them describing all the amazing things they did that day or as detailed as writing a letter to a part of their body that they were insecure about and describing how much that part of their body benefited them in everyday life. For instance they remarked upon how they used to be ashamed of the size of their arms and they would write how their arms helped them to carry their children or were attached to hands that allowed them to create beautiful art. I was very inspired by this idea of writing a love letter to yourself -- of giving yourself this act of unconditional love and showing gratitude for the person you are and the gifts that you give to the world. So I decided to write one for myself.
Dear Adina,
How did you make it so far in your life? I am amazed by your strength and your endurance! You could haven't given up so many times, when you went through the hell of being raised in a cult throughout your abusive, dysfunctional childhood, when you fought chronic fatigue for 2 years, when you spiraled into a crippled depression for years and struggled with thoughts of suicide, when several of your family members and best friends passed away, or even on the day your ten-year relationship ended and you didn't know if you were going to face homelessness. But you didn't. You persevered. And now you've accomplished so much! You are pursuing your creative pursuits such as singing and writing, you are healing people through massage and energy work daily, you have manifested a wonderful life partner and you are healing the spaces that still ache within you along the way. God you are so damn beautiful! I am so lucky to have you and to be able to love you for a lifetime! I am so happy that you decided to come into being in this time and space of the universe so that I am able to learn and grow with you.
With All My Heart,
xoxo
Your Home Girl A.P.
I would like to extend the suggestion to whoever is reading this blog, that they right themselves a love letter -- the one that they would wish someone to send them. Write it for yourself. Take a few minutes in the morning upon waking or in the evening before bed or on that 30 minute coffee break in your favorite cafe and sit down and write yourself a love letter on your tablet, laptop, cellphone, or in a notebook if you're kickin' it old school. Better yet go out and buy some pretty paper and seal your letter up in a envelope the mail it to yourself. Or get a lovely moleskin or fancy notebook simply to write yourself love letters on a regular basis and jot down all of the things you are grateful for each day, starting with the beauty of your unique self.
Whitney Houston's "The Greatest Love of All"
