Remember, Dear One, whenever you feel scared, chaotic, lost, or out of control, that your center, your home,  is always only ever one slow, deep breath away.

Make a sacred pledge to yourself, Dear One, right here and now, to love yourself, no matter what.

• No matter what you said. No matter what you thought. No matter what you did (or didn’t do).
• No matter what they said. No matter what they thought. No matter what they did (or didn’t do).

Decide right now, to love yourself anyway.

Because to decide otherwise, Dear One, is to decide to cut yourself off from your source, just when you need that connection the most.

Because to decide otherwise, is to decide to reject the most powerful tool you’ve got at your disposal for turning things around.

Today we want you to count your blessings, Dear One.

Why?

Because when you are counting your blessings you are not counting your challenges, your struggles, your heartaches, your disappointments, your fears, your pains, your mistakes, or your losses.

That’s why.

Trust your instincts, Dear One.

We know that you know who you are, Dear One.

And we know that you know what you are capable of.

How do we know that you know?

Because the answer to both is whatever you decide that it is.

Remember that while you are making up your mind.

What do you think would happen, Dear One, what do you think the result would be, if you refocused all of the energy that you have been exerting on trying to be good enough, to being happy instead?

We are not going to give you the answer to this one.

If you really want to know, you’re going to have to try it and find out for yourself.

What thought could you think right now, Dear One, that would bring you the greatest amount of joy, the greatest amount of pleasure, the greatest amount of happiness to think?

Are you thinking it?

Good!

Why would you ever want to concern yourself with a subject such as punishment, Dear One?

It really is not necessary you know.

Universal laws exist in perfect balance.  Your point of attraction, what you project, what you put out there, what you focus your attention on, is what you get back.

That is true for everyone Dear One, you as well as them.

What you put out there, you will get back, and what they put out there, they will get back.

Why would you ever want to intentionally invite something as purely negative as punishment in your experience?  And yet, that is exactly what you are doing when set out to punish another.

You are inviting/attracting/asking for punishment in return, as certainly as if you were inflicting it upon yourself.

Never mind about trying to punish them Dear One.  Their actions will take care of that nicely, all on their own.

You are the one who determines what your point of attraction is, so might we suggest focusing your attention on something a little bit more pleasing to you instead.

And to touch on the subject of children and punishment for a moment – let us remind you that children learn by example.  They are watching what you do and learning from what they see.  Is punishment really the lesson that you want to be teaching them?

Consequences are not the same as punishment.  You can teach a child that their actions have consequences without teaching them how to punish.

If letting go is a struggle for you, Dear One, if you are finding it difficult or nearly impossible to let go of something that you know is no longer serving you, don’t do it.

Don’t let it go.

Struggling, forcing, or pushing yourself to do something that you are not ready to do, or give up something that you are not ready to give up, will never work, no matter how hard you try.

Instead, make a decision to focus your attention elsewhere, on something that you believe will serve you well, on something that is wanted, welcomed, and desired.

If you can’t let go Dear One, don’t.

Simply make the decision to allow something else to become more important.

The end result will be the same.

There is no honor in doing that which you do not believe in, Dear One.

There is no honor in pretending to care when you do not.

There is no honor in deceiving someone simply to avoid confrontation.

Do you really want to do the honorable thing?

Then honor yourself and them with your choices.

Be honest.  Be compassionate. Be loving.

Open your heart, release your judgments, and care.