Sweet one, why do your eyes swell when you hear these words?

You are as important as anyone. More important.
You are the most worthy of your love and attention.

All the years you have moved and maneuvered to make others happy,
to please and appease, to ensure all needs are cared for before yours,
To find yourself here, worn out and empty,
spent on this unrelenting mission to not be “selfish”

as if the word itself was formed from shame,
while your spirit wanders like a wraith unseen,
floating somewhere in between the overdone mantra demanding “self-care”
and the body denying that it ought dare.

Processing the abandonment perpetrated by self
as you placed those needs on the upper back shelf of the pantry filled with abundance for all…
while your hunger watched and your light went small.

Do you feel the truth as it ripples through your nervous system
like the moments you buried when you justified the burden you carried
as somehow “fair” or “right” or necessary for “good enough,”
that package of feelings stuffed, and self denied,
tears uncried or hid behind conjured smiles and heavy eyes,
deep swallows while you “pulled it together” or “let it go”
but really trained your real self not to show?

Now you’re trying to show, trying to show up.
Trying to fill the cup, to mend the hole in it that you didn’t even know was there.

Of course you are scared. This is some serious shit.

Years and years and years of it. Your eyes fill up because you know it,
and you can’t escape the grief that comes with it,
and you can’t move around it, you’ve got to move through it.

But you’ve got this.

You are brave and filled with light, your heart is huge and your eyes are bright,
sparkling more in those honest tears,
beautiful from all those years you’ve kept your spirit safe in there,
preparing for this moment when you’d care enough about you,
and feel strong enough to let the pain move through.

Because you are as important as anyone. More important.
You are the most worthy of your love and attention.

And you are strong as hell to be here right now.