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This too shall pass:

These days of feeling

Unloved & Unlovable,

Broken,

Dirty,

Like a burden:

Heavy,

Needy,

Annoying,

Clingy.

This too shall pass:

These days where your sensitivity makes it feel

Like you’re too fragile to live in a world like ours.

Like you’re an alien walking this earth for the very first time;

A stranger, trying to figure things out,

But you can’t quite get it.

Strange.

Like you don’t fit in anywhere.

Like an outsider.

Separate.

Lonely.

This too shall pass:

These days of hating your body.

Hating your earth suit.

Your crawling skin.

These days of hating your legs:

The vehicles with which you move amongst the people.

These days of hating your female parts.

These days of hating your arms:

Those desperately reaching for something,

Wanting to hold on to ANYTHING.

This too shall pass:

The anxiety & obsession.

The vise in your head.

The pressure.

The depression.

The wounds of your past.

The pit in your stomach

The darkness & dimness.

The hole in your chest.

The ache in your heart.

The emptiness in your soul.

This too shall pass:

The days of working so hard but feeling like you get nowhere.

Like you never accomplish anything.

Of people telling you that you never accomplish anything.

People questioning your commitment.

You questioning your commitment.

Of feeling too sick to commit.

Of feeling too exhausted to move.

Of feeling done.

And when it passes:

You’ll have days of feeling

Loved & Loveable,

Whole & Good & Wanted.

And sometimes you’ll still have days of feeling

Heavy & dark.

But you’ll know how to cope,

And you’ll know it will pass.

So you’ll be still & skillful & patient.

And rest & wait

For the good days of wholeness to come again.

And when it passes:

You’ll stop viewing your sensitivity as a flaw

And recognize that your sensitivity is actually a gift.

It is THE gift that will create connections in your life.

And grow connections into friendships & romances.

And be the thing that separates you from other people

In a good way.

In a way that is cherished & appreciated & loved.

In a way that makes people want to keep you close

And to know you for the rest of forever.

And when it passes:

You’ll understand that it was another person’s hope

That you would hate your body.

Because your insecurity was a way for them to profit.

And maybe then you’ll get angry at THEM instead of at yourself.

And hopefully then you’ll start to heal,

And forgive yourself,

And find acceptance of yourself,

And learn to like yourself beyond your body.

And then look in the mirror and realize that

You like your body sometimes, a little.

And then that you like your body sometimes, a lot.

And then that you like your body more often than you don’t.

And then realize that you love yourself so much

And that your body is a part of you.

So how could you ever not like it again?

And when it passes: 

The anxiety & obsession will have taught you

The spaciousness of peace & freedom.

The pit in your stomach will give way to hunger.

Yes, for food, but for more than just food.

Hunger to achieve all that you hope for,

And all that you have yet to hope for

But will indeed hope for one day.

The emptiness will stop feeling lonely

And start feeling exciting.

Because when you’re empty

You can fill yourself up with anything.

That ache in your heart will stop feeling painful

And start feeling holy.*

And when it passes:

You will realize that you can stop working so hard.

And that the current of life will take you places.

And that grace will open doors.

And YOU can decide whether or not to walk through them.

And that decision will come with less effort & more ease.

You will realize that the glory of surrender

Is worth the struggle of letting go.

Let it pass.

*line adapted from The Radiance Sutras by Lorin Roche