Note: For those of you jumping to conclusions or cooking up assumptions…stay on the boat and away from the kitchen. This blog was inspired by all the work I’ve done to understand my inner child needs as well as by the fact that I’m going to be an aunty soon (super excited). If or when I ever decide to have children, may I remember this blog.

This is dedicated to all the children already in my life and those in my future; to any adult whose inner child longs for healing and to all who may benefit from these words.

Dear Child

I wish the following for you:
May you always feel safe and divinely protected; no matter what is happening in your world.
May you always know that you are never alone even when you are physically alone.
May you remember always that you are loved and no one can take this away from you.
May you learn the art of forgiveness, to you and others because this is where growth lies.
May you believe in yourself, even when others do not.
May you always know that you are whole and complete as you are.

What I have learnt growing up is that the actions, behaviours and words of the adults closest to us affects us a lot more than we give credit to. It may be mostly unintended because they’re unaware or wounded themselves, and maybe they’re repeating the cycles of what they learnt growing up without even noticing it. It may take a different form or shape but the impact would still be similar.
If the adults around you are not healing themselves or looking after themselves or making decisions best for them, then your learning will be just that and the cycle may never end.

Having now understood the impact and the cycles, here’s my promise to you:

I promise to continously work on myself, emotionally, so that you learn what unconditional love truly is. It’s not about sacrifice or lack or over-tolerance. It is about self-awareness, compassion and forgiveness; firstly towards yourself then towards others.

I promise to continously work on myself, mentally, so that you can observe how to be confident and learn from the lessons of trying, trying and trying again.

I promise to continously work on myself, physically, so that you can observe how looking after yourself through exercise and the foods you eat plays a role in your wellbeing.

If I’m ever in a situation of unhappiness, may I leave it so that you learn how your happiness is in your hands and you understand the importance of having the strength to walk away for your peace of mind and those around you. May I never use you as an excuse to stay in any situation because I do not want you to feel responsible for my decisions and wellbeing.

I promise you to be present when I’m in your presence. That my mind will not be elsewhere because having me physically around is less important than having me emotionally or mentally available.

I want you to learn that love comes from being authentic and true to yourself. Not by always trying to be a good little child that’s always responsible and looking after others. It comes from expressing your own feelings and not by suppressing them for the sake of others.

I cannot promise to protect you from all of life’s hurts or pains and I wouldn’t want to because this is part of the journey of life. This is how you learn and grow. But what I can promise is to always try be an example of how to be resilient and how to always learn from these lessons.

I cannot promise to be perfect and nor do I want to be. I do not want you to learn to be perfect. I want you to learn to be who you are and not what others want you to be. I want you to learn to be You. And no one else.

I wish the following for you:
May you always feel safe and divinely protected; no matter what is happening in your world.
May you always know that you are never alone even when you are physically alone.
May you remember always that you are loved and no one can take this away from you.
May you learn the art of forgiveness, to you and others because this is where growth lies.
May you believe in yourself, even when others do not.
May you always know that you are whole and complete as you are.

May I be around to hear you always and to love you.

Love
Me.