I Am Enough

 

May 18 is a special anniversary for me.  Some wonderful things happened to me on this day through the years ...    It all comes down to LOVE.  This is the day I committed to myself in 1996.  "With this ring, I thee wed."  No more being a door mat.  I would stand up for myself, when no one else would.  And it's been getting better ever since!    I met my then-future husband later that year.  But I had to work on this relationship with myself for that one to work.  I'm glad I did.  ;-)

My friend Scott told me once, "You are enough."  I'm sure that was something he needed to hear, too.  We do that for each other, say the things we each need to hear.  That bit of encouragement to go on, and accept who we each are.  Unconditionally.

This morning, I came across Myriam Joseph's Love Letter on the very same theme of I am Enough, found here on Tracy Clark's Blog.  I thought it would be appropriate to include Myriam's letter here because it so accurately says what I'm feeling, what I've learned :

Hello,
     It’s been quite some time since I have written you a love letter. In my first attempt, I drafted a letter full of apologies and regrets. I gave it my best effort, taking my time to detail the different choices I should have made and the opportunities I missed. I read it and reread it but it did not sit well to me. I realize that when I have written love letters in the past, I have written about the many wonderful ways in which my lover’s charms have affected my life. I write about the generosity of spirit my love shares with me and I write about the ways in which a simple glance from my love can make my heart sing.
     And then there comes you, my truest of true loves. Can it be that at 40 I am just realizing that you have been here all along? Can it be that after years of searching, reaching and longing, you sat quietly in my heart waiting until I recognized that everything I needed was within me. Thank you for staying true, thank you for staying with me, thank you for knowing that eventually I would come around.
     As you know, it hasn’t been easy, being bombarded with images and ideals that don’t reflect you. It hasn’t been easy navigating my way in a world were skinny thighs and designer anything hold the key. I’ve battled my way through, bulimia, bigotry and blond ambition and all along, there you were. I have shed many a tear on partners who supported my notion of being undeserving.  Only in moments of despair have I turned to you and asked for your help and welcomed your kindness.
     Your tender resolve to stay with me steadfast and committed has brought me to this secure place. A constant whisper among the crowd, reminding me that I too am important, that I too am worthy.
Just now I have begun to fall in love with the magnificent possibilities within myself. Just now, I begin to embrace the light that has been guiding my way for all these years. Thank you for revealing to me just how powerful and divine I am. What greater love could a woman want than one in which she is welcomed and forgiven time and again?
     Imagine my surprise when I realized, you have been the one I have been waiting for all along.

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Myriam Joseph is definitely someone I would like to sit down and talk with someday.  
Read more about her Joy Spread the Word Project.

   


I'll end this post with one more quote that has meant a lot to me through the years :
“You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.”
― Max Ehrmann, Desiderata: A Poem for a Way of Life

I am enough.