The Kindest Thing You’ll Ever Do
"Forgive yourself for not knowing what you didn’t know before you learned it." — Maya Angelou
I threw out the shirt
I wore the day everything went sideways.
Like fabric could hold memory
better than I could.
I scrubbed the kitchen sink
like redemption came in lemon-scented foam.
Paid bills on time.
Apologized for things no one remembered.
But guilt never asks for receipts.
It just sits,
quiet, smug,
watching me bleed for mistakes
already buried.
One morning,
I stopped offering myself up
like punishment was noble.
And I didn’t feel clean,
but I felt free.
These small notes arrive quietly,
like morning light through a cracked window.
No noise. Just truth.
💌 Subscribe here to keep receiving them.
We like the idea of forgiveness.
Until it involves us.
We say, “I’ve grown.”
We say, “I’m healing.”
But the truth is, many of us are still dragging old versions of ourselves like broken bodies behind us.
"Forgiving yourself is the bravest form of self-love."
The moment we messed up.
The thing we said.
The person we hurt.
The shame that stuck.
And we punish ourselves with repetition.
Rehearsing the same guilt loops.
Setting impossible standards as penance.
Believing that if we suffer long enough, we’ll finally be “good enough” to move on.
But that’s just imprisonment with nice lighting.
Forgiving yourself isn’t saying it didn’t matter.
It’s saying: “I refuse to let this mistake define who I am forever.”
Because love, real love, doesn’t skip accountability.
It walks through it.
And when that love is aimed inward…
It takes courage.
Exciting news! A new Healing Thoughts book is on the way.
Crafted with care, inspired by you, and filled with reflections for the journey ahead.
I’ll be sharing more details in a couple of weeks.
Stay tuned, and thank you for being part of this path.
Ask yourself today:
"What part of me still believes I don’t deserve freedom because of something I did, or failed to do?"
Write it down.
Then write: “I did the best I could with who I was and what I knew.”
Let that sentence land.
Even if it trembles.
You won’t be able to fully love yourself until you stop treating past-you like a problem to punish.
That version of you, the one who messed up, they didn’t need your perfection. They needed your protection. They needed to know that one day, future-you would turn back, hold out a hand, and say:
“It’s okay now. I’ve got us from here.”
That’s what real self-love looks like.
And maybe, just maybe, today’s the day you start walking forward with both hands open because they’re no longer carrying guilt.
Just wisdom.
What’s one thing you’ve struggled to forgive yourself for?
Was it a decision, a silence, a betrayal of someone else, or of yourself?
What would change if, instead of blaming that past version of you, you sat beside them and said: “I see you. You don’t have to carry this alone anymore.”
If you're ready, share it.
No shame. No judgment.
Just the shared courage of being human and still healing.
If you’re here, you’re part of something real, something that holds space for healing without the need to perform. I don’t take that lightly.
If this space feels like home.
If it holds your ache, your becoming, your breath.
Consider becoming a paid subscriber, not out of obligation, but as a gesture of shared reverence for this work.
And if a paid subscription isn’t right for you, or if you simply want to support in other ways, here are a few small gestures that carry big meaning:
→ [Buy me a coffee ☕️]
→ [Pick up a book 📖]
→ [Grab some merch 👕]
However you choose to support, whether by sharing, buying a coffee, or simply showing up… thank you. Truly.
If you think these gentle words cut deep,
wait until you read Shadow Thoughts.
That’s where I let the truth bleed without cleaning it up for anyone.