Hey there.
Welcome to this chance to center and breathe.
Inhale,
Exhale.
Feel your connection to the earth.
Feel your connection to your breath.
Taking a deep breath in,
Let it go.
I recently met a friend at a brewery and as I was waiting in line,
I heard someone say my name.
When I turned,
His face wasn't immediately recognizable and then I placed him.
He works for the town where I live and I see him in all manner of vehicles as I am walking my dog.
I see him driving a bobcat,
Brushing snow off the sidewalks.
I see him in the big old street sweeper in the summer.
I see him early in the morning in a pickup truck going who knows where to do who knows what.
And this guy who is in his 30s has an epic beard,
Almost like ZZ Top.
And so every time I see him,
I smile and he smiles.
And it was he at the brewery who said my name and I had no idea how he knew what my name was because we'd never spoken,
Only waved and smiled.
Betsy,
He said,
I just want to say every time I see you,
You are smiling.
You are so positive and full of light and I know your name because your name came up on Facebook as someone I might know and people I know know you and how cool you are and I just wanted to,
You know,
Pay it forward.
And then he kind of blushed and I blushed as I stood there,
Dumbstruck.
I smiled and told him thank you as deeply and sincerely as I could.
Then I got my beer and followed my friend to our table.
Later when I got home thinking about that moment,
It moved me to tears.
It was kind,
Unexpected,
And in direct opposition to what I had heard from some people in the past,
People who were supposed to be on my side.
And let's be honest,
It was in direct opposition to what I often said to my own self.
So the contrast between what he had said and other things I knew was jarring,
To say the least.
And I was this close to discounting the guy's words from the brewery.
He didn't know me.
He didn't know the real me.
And then I stopped and thought,
No,
Damn it,
Damn it,
Why can't I believe the good version of myself?
I hesitated to share this story because it seems unbearably self-promoting.
But I decided to do so because it begs the question I think so many of us struggle with.
Why,
Why do we believe the worst version of ourselves?
Seriously,
How messed up is that?
Can we please just stop?
Can we please trust that we have this undeniable light and radiance inside?
Can we please know that we are worthy and weird,
Stupendous and strange?
Please listen to me.
You do not have to be perfect.
You do not have to have to have everything figured out.
But please know this,
You are okay.
And within you,
You carry life and light.
And you are necessary for this world to be full and bright,
No matter what anyone else says to you.
Trust that.
Trust all of that.
And tell those other voices to go away.
Own your true self,
Your amazing self,
Your radiant self.
And bring that big,
Amazing,
Messy self into the world and show them how it's done.
Live fierce,
Live light and shine.
