Keep On

Here’s what I know about you. You fell and got up. You wept and wiped your eyes. You did the hard thing. You sob-sang the song. When life was f–ked up you kept going. You faked it. You made it. You are the mystic, swimming.

The grandstands on the ancestral plane are full of souls cheering you on with full-throated roars of amazement and delight.

As you probably have guessed, I say all of that to you as a way of saying it to myself.

There are those who like to make fun of self-affirmation. Maybe you have done that thing where you pep talk to your reflection in a mirror while rinsing your toothbrush. Because we’ve been taught that such practices are ridiculous or some evidence of our weakness, you may do so reluctantly. It’s doubtful then that you will continue the practice long enough to benefit from it.    

That doesn’t mean that you can neglect your needs when it comes to positive self-talk. I’ve always struggled with this. Sadly, I am much more comfortable with tearing myself down than building myself up. Y’all know.

Here’s my challenge to all of us: Increase the self-love without turning into an annoying ass.

Some rules: Don’t try to be super happy all the time. Seek contentment. Satisfaction. Equanimity. I want peace or, at least, manageable excitement.

I know how and so do you. For me, it’s outside – trees, air, water, sky. It’s creativity, words, paper and ink. Every person knows what it is for them.

We’ll start gathering our stories, huh? And we’ll find our peace in each other.