It isn’t hard to be gentle
To lean into yourself as though you are a tiny delicate flower
Piercing through the forest floor
Spreading its elusive white petals to kiss the sky for the first time

It isn’t hard to love yourself
Or embrace the soft pear-shaped being that you are

It just takes a little tenderness here, a little patience there

A little kindness

It isn’t hard, but sometimes we forget how to
Be a mother to ourselves
How to hold our own tender hearts with warmth
Or how to soothe of our own sweet tears

We forget how to sing lullabies to ourselves at night
And how to walk barefoot under the stars
Bathing in healing moonlight
Knowing that tomorrow, when we wake from the deep therapy of slumber
We can start anew again

All is not lost
For what is forgotten can be remembered
What is misplaced can be found again
And these simple words:

Be gentle, be kind

These are guiding posts on the map back to that place of tender grace