Hate is a powerful emotion, Dear One, one that is often felt very deeply.  And if you are feeling it, we are sure that you have your reasons.

Hate can be a difficult thing to let go of, even if you want to, especially when you feel that you have justifiably earned the right to feel it.

We will not ask you to stop hating Dear One. We would never ask you to do something so difficult.  We would never ask you to do something that you do not want to do.

But what we will ask of you is that you stop giving hate so much of your attention.

What we are asking of you is that you not spend even one more minute of your  time, your thoughts, your energy,  your life, focused on that which you hate, and instead choose to focus on that which you enjoy, on that which you love, on loving each other instead.

You see Dear One, hate only serves to bring more hate into the world, nothing more.  It doesn’t fix anything, heal anything, even any score, or make things right, and it never will.

But love on the other hand has the power to transform, to heal, anything, even hate.

Know, Dear One, that they are not better than you.

They are not more valuable, worthy, or important than you are either.

Their words, actions and beliefs are not more significant than yours.

The story of their life does not matter more than the story of yours, regardless of how they may act or what they may say.

And they are most definitely not, in any way, shape or form, more divine than you are.

They may have acquired more knowledge than you on a particular subject, they may be more practiced than you at a particular skill, they may be more educated, physically fit, or have a greater understanding of how to accumulate wealth than you do, but that just makes them different, Dear One — not better.

Remember that the next time you are feeling intimated.

Remember that in that moment instead of giving into your feelings of intimidation that you can choose to see the situation for what it really is; an opportunity for you to be inspired by or learn something new from someone who is in every way that matters– your equal.

Please don’t waste any more of your time, Dear One, trying to make the right impression, trying to fit in, trying to be accepted, trying to make them see, like, or love you.

Because no matter how hard you try, no matter how much you plan, no matter how much effort you put into it, no matter how careful you are, you are never going to be able to control what they think of you.

That is not your choice to make.  It is theirs and theirs alone.

Give all of your attention only to that which is wanted today, Dear One, in all situations, under all circumstances, no matter what.

That does not mean that we want you to force yourself to pretend to be happy, hopeful, healthy, or helpful when that is not genuinely what you are feeling.

What it means is that we want you to give yourself permission to turn your head and choose a different view or a different perspective, to imagine a different outcome, if what you see is not what you want.

It really is okay to not take it all so seriously, Dear One – whatever it is – even the really, big, seriously important, significant, or scary stuff.

We say this to you not to disregard, disrespect, trivialize, dismiss or belittle whatever very difficult, important or challenging situation, circumstance or event you might be dealing with at the moment.

We say this to you to help you to remember that you can choose to approach it, deal with it, and move past it with ease, grace, joy, confidence and maybe even a little bit of levity, just as easily as you can with intensity, struggle, stress, drama, fear, and doubt.

Forgive, Dear One, them and yourself.

Healing will begin the moment that you do.

And remember, forgiveness is not about condoning, accepting, or dismissing poor behavior, hurtful words, or damaging actions.

It is about choosing to prioritize yourself, your health, and your well-being, over your pain.

We can understand your desire to want to protect yourself, Dear One, to want to keep yourself safe from harm, to want to do all that you can to avoid injuring yourself, both physically and emotionally, and to want to keep others from doing the same.  And you should know that we want that for you too.

You should also know that nothing makes you more vulnerable then cutting yourself off from your source, than shutting down your heart, ignoring your intuition and holding yourself back because you are afraid.

The more you trust, Dear One, the more you open up, the more you allow yourself to love, connect, and move forward with an open heart, the safer you will be!

• Thank you for being a good friend
• Thank you for loving them as only you can
• Thank you for forgiving, letting go and allowing yourself to heal
• Thank you for taking a risk, being brave, speaking up
• Thank you for telling the truth, revealing yourself, sharing your story
• Thank you for doing something that you have never done before
• Thank you for going somewhere that you have never gone before
• Thank you for using your life to create
• Thank you for every moment that you choose to live with an open heart and an open mind

We are all better off because of it, Dear One.

And we wanted you to know it.

So, thank you.

You decide what stays and what goes in your life, Dear One.

You and only you.

And you do so with your choices.

You decide what stays by giving your attention to it.

You decide what goes by withdrawing your attention from it.

So what will stay and what will go today?

If you feel as if you have lost your balance, Dear One, if you feel as if you are having trouble getting both of your feet planted firmly on the ground, the single most important thing that you can do for yourself in this moment,  is to find it again.

How can you do that?

By asking yourself the following before every step that you take, and answering it honestly:

Will this choice, will this action, will this conversation, will this program, will this meal, will this purchase, will this person, will this decision, bring me closer to achieving a state of balance in my life or carry me farther away from it?

That’s how.