“If you are never alone, you cannot know yourself.”
-Paulo Coelho
Years ago I was offered advice to write down all of the things that I wanted in my life within the following five years, seal it up and wait to open it. I stumbled across this list recently when I was organizing my office (and ironically right before leaving on my first solo vacation in over a decade). Clearly marked, “Open October 2016.” Given that the deadline had passed six months prior, I opened to see my dreams unfold.
Listed: to have found love; to be married with a child or one on the way; health; working part-time doing something that I love; security in myself; sober; have a dog and cat; feel happy.
For a long time I didn’t love myself. I understood that I had a lot to offer the world, but I couldn’t feel it in my heart. My sense of self-worth was low, and I didn’t know any different way of being.