Live Truly

Dear Friend,

Your phone call meant the world to me the other night.  I regret my being under the weather left me feeling like a rambling fool.  The truth is you turned to me in an hour of need.  Maybe you were prompted by someone else to call, but regardless, you called just the same.

There's something to be said about someone leaning in for a talk.  For a shoulder to cry on.  An ear to listen.  Words of wisdom when we feel suspended in the balance of life.  Both walk away feeling a sense of assurance and peace I believe.  A renewed sense of purpose.  Which only reinforces my belief that we are made for relationship.  That people need one another to get through.  We aren't intended to tackle life all alone.

Sometimes I wish I had more answers. A better ability to assuage the pain and confusion others carry.  But I don't.  The truth is, at thirty-three years old I still wrestle my own demons.  The battles never stop I suppose.  They just come in different packages.

There is something special to be said about those that step forward though.  Those who stand on truth.  Who step out in the midst of it all and dare to be honest.  To admit that we fall.  To admit that sometimes the hurt feels unbearable.  And dare to walk forward anyways.

Sometimes it feels blind.  Like walking around in the dark in search of a switch to turn on the light.  We stumble.  We knock things over.  We stub our toes.  It can be scary.  I too get overwhelmed.
Keep searching.  We always find the switch that turns on the light.  And we find it in the dark.  Because that's when we arduously seek after the light.

We are fighting the same fight you and I.  The search for truth.  The unveiling of beauty in the midst of pain.  Peeling back the scars of the past and attempting to walk firmly in the present.
Somedays you'll walk with confidence.  Other days you'll stumble.  You want a useful tip?  Love yourself in the midst of it all.  Love yourself when you falter.  And love yourself the same when you soar.  Because true love is not conditional.  And you deserve love that's pure and lovely and kind.  And when you learn to love yourself in such a way, your ability to love others will grow as well.

Believe that you deserve love and truth and respect.  And when others say or do things that lead you to believe otherwise; keep your eyes forward.  Hold tight to hope and the beauty that is within you.  Because it's there.  It never subsides.  Sometimes we just allow it to shrink.  But when you hold it fiercely......it regains it's strength, and it grows.

I told someone once that when I ride my bike I often tell myself my bike is made to handle the trails I ride.  That friend told me he reminds himself the trails were made to be ridden.  We were both right.  This life was created to be journeyed through.  And we are equipped to take on the journey.  There will always be peaks.  And plenty of valleys as well.  You'll traverse all of them you encounter.  The good times and the sad....they'll ebb and flow.  And the light within you will keep you afloat.  Because you were made for this.  We all were.  And we are in this together.  And there's no such thing as alone.

Persevere.  And hold tight.  Experience the beauty.  Experience the pain.  And you will be able to honestly say......"I truly lived......"

Peace,
Betty