One of my role models, Mister Rogers – from Mister Rogers Neighbourhood – used to tell kids “you are special” and “I am proud of you”.

When his red sweater filled my eyes, I felt like everything was going to be okay. 

I think, sometimes, we all need someone to tell us “you are special” and “I am proud of you”. We all need to feel like things are going to be okay.

For the past three months, I’ve been working on healing some very old, very deep patterns.

Anytime I dig into shadowy work, I write a letter to little Gemma.
I scratch out the words I needed to hear during the messiest times of life.

If you are having a hard day, feeling nervous about what’s next, or looking for your own version of red sweater comfort, I wrote this for me/you/we.

I hope it supports you, like Mister Rogers supported me.

I am proud of you for having the courage to keep your heart open when there are so many reasons to shut it down. I see how hard you are working to stay steady as you face the tumultuousness of life.

I see the love you are pouring into this life, offering kindness when it hasn’t been given, having a voice when you were told to be silent, staying tender when you told you were too sensitive.

There is something special about the way you believe in going deeper in a world that’s more comfortable with the shallow.

There’s something precious about the way you create a soft place for people to land when hard things are happening.

We need souls like yours. We need people who lean into belonging in a world that avoids eye contact. We need people who have the courage to connect while wondering where their place is.

I am sorry you had to go through spirit-crushing experiences, those moments that were too big for you when you were so little. I know you spend nights alone in your mind, replaying what has been or could have been or should have been.

I am sorry you had to heal the hurt that hurt people inflicted on you all by yourself.  I am sorry, at times, life convinced you that your aloneness was the only place you could find safety and solace.

I am proud of you, for doing the brave thing, for showing up with hopeful eyes despite the disappointments.

I know, sometimes, it feels like no one sees how hard you’re working. And, I want to remind you, you don’t have to be perfect to be loved. You don’t have to figure it all out by a certain time. You don’t have to be successful to be worthy. You don’t have to save, rescue, or fix anyone. That is not your job. It never was.

You have already come so far, you have overcome, you have learned, you have healed, you have grown. Sometimes, what matters most is seen in the dark and heard in the quiet. 

Perhaps now, it’s time to rest, to be proud of who you are.