I’m going to do it again.  I’m going to write this and push publish.  I’m not going to edit the life out of this and attempt perfection, because when I go back and read these blogs I know they will never be perfect.  They are enough.  Just as I am enough.

And you are enough.

Today is Valentine’s Day.  It’s a big day for me.  Two years ago today I decided to love myself enough to stop using drugs.  Mind you, I had a reason to use them.  I was in a lot of physical pain and was recovering from a knee replacement that I waited too many years to have.

For several years I hurt.  I hurt a lot.  But, I was addicted and I knew I had to stop.  So I made a choice and I stopped.  Cold turkey, which was a big mistake because I was not prepared for the anxiety I would feel.  My doctor told me I should have weaned off of them to prevent the panic and overwhelming fear I felt for almost a month.  It was terrible and I now understand what people who suffer from anxiety experience.

I made a choice and I had the power to make that choice.  For 40 years I drank and used other things to stop feeling what was true for me.  The day I made the choice to stop drinking, May 21, 2011, I stopped.  I made the choice.  Finally.  And February 14, 2014 I made another choice.

I had to make a choice.  I had to choose what was right for me.  Looking back I realize it was all about making a choice.  It’s as simple and profoundly difficult as that.

In every moment we all have a choice.  What we choose to do with that opportunity is up to us.

We all have a choice.

I beg you to listen to what is right for you and make a choice.  Don’t wait 40 years to do it.  Make the choice now.  Whatever it is you want to choose, do it.  It’s possible.  It’s do-able.  You will find the support you need when you make the choice and you will not regret it.

And the funny thing about this is once we love our selves enough to do what is right for us we naturally are there for others.  We light the way for those who come after.

So today, choose to love your self totally and watch the world open up to you.

Love Lessons