“I am loved,”  the young girl repeated over and over to herself.

“I am loved,”  her dad in the next room repeated to himself.

The girl prepared for her day as she rolled out of bed.   With her eyes still struggling to open, she repeated over and over her daily mantra, “I am loved.”

Her dad had taught her how he begins each day with those three little words.  Words that sometimes are not said to each other, or are not expressed enough amongst our peers and family.  Words that mean so much, but at times can mean little.

When the girl was younger, she was having troubles at her elementary school.  She came home in tears one day telling her dad, “no one likes me. “  He listened carefully as she explained her logic behind that thinking, recounting various scenarios to support her argument.

When she was done talking her dad asked a simple question, “do you love you?”

“Of course dad, you silly.”

“Well then someone always loves you!”

She thought about that conversation, now many years later while she was preparing for high school.  So many of her friends were caught up in the latest “drama” and so-called scandals.  They would non-intentionally try to bring her into the drama, or maybe it was intentional, she really didn’t know.

As she brushed her hair and put on her make up she was thinking about how this particular day might go.  “I am loved,”  she habitually repeated to herself.

Today was the last day of high school – at least for her.  She would be going on to college and soon be living on her own.  Would she see all of her friends much longer, or would they naturally drift apart?  Would she see her family?  “Of course I will,”  she concluded.

Today, was going to be the last day in this all important chapter of her life.  Today was exciting, yet a bit scary.  “I love myself,  I am loved.”

As she made her way to school she could see the excitement in everyone’s eyes.  For those that were coming back next year, there was excitement for summer and moving up a grade.  For those that were graduating, there were lots of emotions that they all tried to “shake off” and cover up.

As she walked in the hallway she went into the bathroom to find a younger girl obviously having troubles, as she was wiping the tears from her eyes while trying to fix her eye makeup.

“Are you okay?”

“I think so.  I’m fine.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“I don’t even know you.  Why would you care?”

“Because I do care.  That’s why I’m asking.”

The girl then went on to tell her how other girls were being mean to her on social media.  The girl remembered a similar situation many years earlier where she was now playing the role her dad had played.

She listened and asked a few questions to let the girl tell her story.

Then she asked the simple question, “do you love you?”

The girl replied,  “not very much.”

Not knowing what to do, the older girl followed her instincts and gave her a hug.  Then she whispered in her ear, “only when we love ourselves can we love another.  I love you even though I just met you, and that’s the truth.”

They broke the embrace and the older girl recounted the story she had with her father years ago, and the advice he gave her in starting each morning with, “I am loved.”

The tears were drying and the girl began to smile.  Her expression was starting to lighten as she stood taller and more confident.

“I like that. I’m going to start doing it right now!”

“Thank you.”

As the girl finished her last day of school she couldn’t help but wonder about the encounter in the bathroom.  She sent her loving energy, and decided that she would modify her morning mantra.  Stacey was the girl’s name, for whom she would probably never see again.

The next morning the girl repeated her usual mantra, “I am loved,” and added, “Stacey, I love you.”

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InspiraCard

Life is too short to go through it without knowing that you are loved.  Admit to yourself that many people, including yourself love you!  Yes, it’s okay to love yourself.  For if we do not have it inside of us, we cannot give it to others.

Written, Tue, Mar 1, 2016, 8:12 – 8:28 AM MST