Ask

Lately I am discovering the power in asking for what I want. It seems such an easy thing, but when you have believed for a very long time that other people's needs are more important than your own, it can be a terribly difficult thing to do. It can be even more difficult when the person you are talking to is someone you love because then last thing you want to do is make him or her unhappy or displeased with you, but again, that puts their feelngs above your own and thus we are back in the teeth-grindingly annoying catch-22.

Another thing I am learning is that I am capable of loving people through any and all circumstances. No matter what someone says or does, if I love them, I love them. I can be angry or disappointed or hurt, but none of those emotions negates the love I feel for them if that love is real. I used to think people could do things that would destroy love, but I'm really beginning to think that kind of belief stems from a fear of being unworthy of love in the first place, and I think we are all worthy of love.

What does this have to do with anything? Well, today I asked someone I love for something I want, and I was terrified to do it because I know that person may read my request as hostile or unsympathetic to their current situation. But, I asked anyway, because what I want is just as important as what anyone else needs and no one can make my life what I want it to be but me, so I have to assert my needs as readily as I try to provide for the needs of others.

Today, I hope anyone who stumbles here and reads this finds some courage to do the same thing. You are valuable. You are beautiful. You are kind and loved and important and what you want, what you need matters. This is your one and only life. Live it on your terms, be happy, choose yourself.