In War: Trust Yourself
I can feel the emotions right through the phone. Breathe deep, my friend.
Just trust yourself.
I hear so much doubt in your voice — about the way you've shown up, your commitment, the things you feel you haven't done, the living and leaving what is deemed a war zone. And I just want to say: we are all doing it our own way.
I have diplomat friends who were evacuated against their will. A friend working from Egypt with her kid in online school because she feels safer there. Friends who have left who are considering coming back. Friends who are sticking it out. Friends who decided to leave two weeks early on a vacation just to get out for a while. Friends who wouldn’t consider leaving. Friends who can’t.
Everyone is doing it their own way.
You are such a brilliant, wise, intuitive human. Trust yourself.
Think of how different you would feel if you trusted your choices in life. Trusted that this is exactly where you are meant to be even if it’s not where you thought you’d end up.
The thing and the way we feel about the thing are not the same, but we treat them as if they are. I wonder if there's space for you to feel differently about your thing.
You made choices, went on adventures, moved your body, spent money, filled roles, fed yourself, met people, fulfilled obligations, and did life.
That's not nothing. That's everything.
That’s the thing.
Can you let yourself off the hook for just making decisions? You've made perfectly fine decisions. We're all making perfectly fine decisions — except for the men with the nuclear codes, they are not making fine decisions, but that's not on you.
Can you adjust the way you feel about the thing? Can you love your past self for making choices? Can you love your present self for showing up? Can you love your future self for not knowing what to do?
That’s the way you feel about the thing.
You made it this far trusting yourself, even when you didn't know that's what you were doing.
I can't wait to see you — here, or somewhere else, or wherever we end up next.
