My family didn't go to church. Once when I slept over at the house of a friend, her parents brought me to Sunday school with her. I was given this little pamphlet of tiny poems about the natural world, about butterflies and sunsets. My 7-year-old self was so astounded by how these few words were creating pictures and feelings in me.
Cheryl StrayedI receive a lot of letters like yours. Most go on in length, describing all sorts of maddening situations and communications in bewildered detail, but in each there is the same question at its core: Can I convince the person about whom I am crazy to be crazy about me? The short answer is no. The long answer is no.
Cheryl StrayedDonโt do what you know on a gut level to be the wrong thing to doI donโt think thereโs a single dumbass thing Iโve done in my adult life that I didnโt know was a dumbass thing to do while I was doing it. Even when I justified it to myselfโas I did every damn timeโthe truest part of me knew I was doing the wrong thing. Always. As the years pass, Iโm learning how to better trust my gut and not do the wrong thing, but every so often I get a harsh reminder that Iโve still got work to do.
Cheryl StrayedSelf-pity is a dead-end road. You make the choice to drive down it. It's up to you to decide to stay parked there or to turn around and drive out.
Cheryl Strayed