A Note to Self

In Elizabeth Gilbert’s Big Magic, she shares about how when she writes, she writes for herself. She doesn’t write for the potential reader that will buy her book. She doesn’t write for me or you, or her haters. Isn’t that interesting? Isn’t that so powerful to think of writing to yourself? What do you need to hear? What do you need to write?

In between reading Big Magic and caring for my babies ;), I like to listen to Liz Gilbert’s podcast, Magic Lessons. First off, isn’t that the coolest podcast name ever???!!! And fittingly so, she is truly magic. Just hearing her voice is therapeutic, if you ask me. But more to the point, one of her episodes on her podcast discussed this idea of writing for yourself. Be the model you seek. Be the voice of reason you yearn to hear.

Another piece to this that comes to mind based on my daily routine these days is CBS This Morning’s segment entitled, “Note to Self,” where they have various celebrities and guests on their morning news show to write a letter to their younger self and read it outloud to themselves. Particularly powerful is the ever so lovely, Ms. Michelle Obama, writing, “…share your story with them. The struggles and the triumphs, and everything else. Show them that there’s more beauty inside than they can see right now. That’s how you’ll answer that question that’s following you around. The one that sometimes keeps you up at night.” You should definitely check out the full video of her reading her Note to Self!

So what would my note to self be? What would you write to your younger self? I’ll definitely give this a “go” here, but I also know that this will be a continual process in digging down deep and staying true and focused in writing for myself.

So here it goes:

A Note to Self

I hear you.

Give yourself more credit. This shit is hard! You don’t have to do it all. Don’t worry. It will all work out! Even on days when you question how you can hold on for another hour, you will. Then you will do it again, and again, and it will become easier in ways. But its never easy. It is hard, but worth it.

Keep doing what you’re doing. Lean the fuck out. “Lean with it, rock with it.” No, really! There’s no correct way to be a working-stay-at-home-mom-badass that you are. Self-define and trailblaze on!

Your story is definitely worth sharing and mahalo for sharing yours.

I hear you.

I see you.

Keep holding on. Keep pushing. Keep striving. It will all be worth it.

You are not alone. Your ʻohana, kūpuna, ʻaumākua are with you.