If you do not have some relationship with looking at yourself every day and saying that was enough, you did your best and it was enough, then you live as a disappointment every moment of your life because nothing feels like enough ever.
That is so not our natural nature.
So a question for you, when was the last time you felt truly at peace with yourself?
Like you could look in the mirror or dip into your more personal thoughts and self talk and just kind of know you were good?
Like you embraced your body and your mind in all their humanity, the state of your relationships, your health, your career, your life, no matter what was going on within you or around you.
And you were just able to feel at peace with exactly who you are and are not what you've accomplished and have yet to explore.
And how you show up in the world, getting to that place for so many of us is just so hard.
But my guest today, Cleo Wade, can help.
Born and raised in New Orleans, Cleo's writing and poetry have been a source of this kind of inner kindness and self forgiving and celebrating wisdom for me and for so many over so many years.
She's the New York Times bestselling author of books like her talk and where to begin, which share messages of hope and resilience and the power of community.
Her newest, remember love?
Words for tender times, could not come at a better time.
It's a collection of poems and essays and inspiring words that invite us to embrace who we are and nurture our spirits in what she describes as tender times.
And the poignancy of Cleos words and observations have really only deepened as shes traversed her own transitions and struggles over the last handful of years, from becoming a new mom and finding her way through a brutal season of postpartum depression to navigating profound shifts in her relationships and identity.
And in our conversation, Cleo and I explore how poetry can anchor us when we feel lost.
We look at the importance of tuning into our natural rhythms versus the frantic pace of technology, and how embracing life's changes as natural allows us to grow through grief.
And for Cleo, it's really, it's just not about striving.
It's about accepting our own value as a birthright.
It's a homecoming.
I know her words will stay with you long after this conversation ends, reminding you of your own inner light.