Your Story Is Your Story- What will you write next?

I used to feel ashamed of my story. I felt like other people’s past chapters were titled things like, “Skipping Through Fields with a Happy Golden Retriever” and my chapters were like, “Crawling Through Darkness with a Bunch of Scary Monsters..” I also kept trying to find someone ELSE to write my story for me. I let other people write weird things that made me sad. I let people write things that didn’t resonate with me… Then one day- I took my pen back. (Also, I made friends with those monsters and now we are skipping through fields together and we are fabulous!)

I wrote the words below to myself to feel better about my story and what I will write next. What do you want to write next in the story of your life?

Your life is a book

and it’s time for you

to take your pen back.

It’s time for you to write.

Get out your eraser
and erase the things you’ve let others write

that don’t feel good.

Those words are not true for you anymore.

Others can write in their own books. But not yours.

Your story

is

YOUR story.

When she said you were ugly

When he said you were crazy

When they called you a freak

When they said, “You won’t amount to anything!”

When the TV told you about fear

When the magazine told you about beauty

When the hater told you,

“Give up.”

Hold your book to your chest.

It’s so precious.

It’s such a gift.

It’s your choice what to keep.

What to let live in you.

Make it nourishing. Make it kind.

Ask yourself,

Does this build me up

or tear me down?

You can edit.

Don’t be jealous

of other books

with shiny covers

They are all

works in progress

on the inside

Sometimes the shiniest outsides

have the saddest stories

hidden away

We can all write

something grand!

No ones pen

is more special

Everyone’s pen

is magical!

Write yourself

Love letters

Write about what brought you joy

when you were a little child

And life hadn’t crossed out

your pictures

When naysayers hadn’t

ripped out your plans

When you hadn’t given your pen away

fearful that you didn’t have the words.
You’ve always had the words.

No one

NO ONE was more qualified to write than you.

What did you want to do

when you were seven?

Let the shame and the guilt

Fall away

No one has a book

without confusing chapters

without mistakes

Those chapters

Made you a better writer

Those chapters

Had a purpose.

Look at the things you wrote

that make you cringe

Why did you make those choices?

Were you in pain?

Were you trying to find love

in all the wrong places?

Were you hurt?

It’s time to forgive that broken you.

Because guilt and shame

affect the new chapters you write.

They use up way too much ink.

Write your life without them now. 

Your book is valuable.

Your book is worth

Reading and sharing.

Your book is GREAT.

Publish it, baby!

No book is perfect

Because perfect books

Are boring books

Your book is better than perfect

It’s a joyful

clumsy

masterpiece.