Vanilla: I Wrote a Letter to Myself

Dear Reader,

I wanted to give you an update on the state of Mean People Who Suck.

They still do.

BUT, the good news is, it is not the buzzing bee in my bonnet tonight. In fact, tonight there are no bees in my bonnet.

You see, I committed two, count 'em...TWO, radical acts of self-care today.

#1: I did not read the Mean Person's criticism about me again.

I could have. It's sitting there in my inbox, taunting me. But I am bigger than some unhappy person's mean email full of yuck.

In fact, there have even been small moments when I have felt compassion for this person. They must be in a whole lotta hurt to be so mean. I mean, they learned this behavior somewhere, right? Parents, friends, spouses, unhappy turns in life...

#2: I wrote myself a letter.

Yup, I did. Because I wanted to hear certain things regarding this situation and the folks I expected or wanted to hear them from weren't bringing it. So I brought it myself.

I wrote a letter to myself saying all the nice, supportive things I wanted to hear.

Here's the kinda crazy bit: it worked.

I felt better. Still do.

Also helped that I awoke to this quote from my second favorite Maya (that would be Angelou) in my inbox today:

"We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated."

I remain, bruised but not squished,
Jessica