Today Can Be Different
No matter how littered the landscape of your yesterdays may bewith brokenness,with bad choices made despite the best of intentions or a belief, however misplaced, that you “should’ve known” or “could’ve done” better,with too many missteps and regrets to count,with guilt borne of a sense that you let yourself or those who love you down,with unkept promises (yours and others’),with substance abuse,with lies told to hide truths you were simply too ashamed or too embarrassed to acknowledge, let alone speak out loud,with breaches of trust,with periods of disillusionment, isolation, loneliness and abandonment,with self-loathing, anger, bitterness and resentment,with days, weeks, months – maybe even years – when you felt invisible, unwanted, unloved or, worse yet, unworthy of love,with loss and grief and pain that never seems to take a day off -TODAY CAN BE DIFFERENT.Today it can be enough that you're still standing. You can breathe that in, rest, and resume the fight for you tomorrow.Today you can entertain the possibility that those who know you best and love you most are right about you – that you are strong, resilient, courageous and worthy.Today you can decide to stop living small, to step out of the shadows and into the light where you belong - just as you are.Today you can pull back the curtain and begin letting the world in on one of its best kept secrets: Your authentic self.Today you can begin to realize that to those who matter most you are not a burden, but cherished beyond measure.Today you can search for your beauty not in a mirror, but in the imprints you've left on hearts grateful for the gift of you.Today you can decide that you are worth living for, worth fighting for, worth a moment of grace – worthy of forgiveness.Today you can love you a little more gently, compassionately, gracefully - with gratitude, rather than disdain for what makes you unique.Today, you can accept an outstretched hand, a warm embrace, a word of affirmation and encouragement- the truth about your worthiness.Today you can speak your truth – openly and honestly – and trust that in doing so those who love you will not abandon you, but love you more deeply.Today you can refuse to let a mirrored reflection define you and, instead, seek your truth in the eyes of those who love you.Today you can treat "you" with the same tenderness, empathy and kindness you so unhesitatingly extend to your best friend.Today you can muster the courage necessary to take that critical first (or next) step on the road to recovery.Today you can let grace and love in.Today you can realize that, while many may have gotten it wrong where loving you is concerned, you don’t have to be one of them.Today you can love you differently, treat you with the respect your heart is due, and begin honoring her in earnest.Today you can turn the page, pick up a pen and start writing your comeback story!
