To See

Friend,

Today I saw me.

One wouldn’t think that this would be any sort of revelation, but for me it was. Today I saw the me that I’ve left behind, the me that I used to be, and I realized with a certain amount of awe, what a stranger she has become to me.

So often I am able to see the events behind me for what they are, experiences that have become a part of who I am, melding together to form the me that I am today. It is even difficult to look back and remember that girl that I was, for I am looking through the eyes of the woman that I am today.

Due to this I’ve been able to look back on those things I once saw as failures with a new appreciation. The hurt of being left behind by a loved one, the devastation wrought by betrayal, and the sense of not being enough in so many ways, has plagued me.

However, I am constantly reminded that it is all about perspective. It all comes down to how we see ourselves, our experiences, and our journeys. This, and only this, is what determines how those things impact and affect us.

We decide this. No one else. We decide to wallow in the filth left behind, or to pick ourselves up, dust off, and move forward.

When I truly observe my past, the experiences and people that have had a hand in creating the person that I am today, I am able to look at the people around me with profound appreciation and to, also, be thankful for the former wounds.

My wounds have created empathy, common ground, shared experience, wisdom, strength, confidence, love.

Everyone has their own story. The true human experience is full of sorrow, joy, and the boring bits in between. Omit one and you cheat yourself from being made.

Our experiences make us.

My past has made me.

Now I see me, friend.

Can you, also, see you?

The miraculous ways in which you’ve grown and changed?

The ways that your former sorrows and wounds have shaped and created you into the person that I see before me today?

I do, and I am amazed.

Always,

Your Trusted Friend ♥