Dear Saterday

Once upon a time, after a long week of work, I was feeling particularly drained and down on a Friday evening. Later that night, after finally wrestling the kids into bed, I slipped into my room and found this note on my pillow: 

At first, I was deeply touched by my six-year-old’s simple act of noticing me and my need to feel better. And then, I was struck by how she was offering up a wise perspective on emotion regulation. 

Amidst all the books, techniques and T-groups, there is surely a lot of complexity to master when it comes to emotion regulation. Her note reminded me we should never forget the simple-but-magical power of going to sleep and feeling better the next day. 

Sometimes there is nothing to do but wait for time to pass. Hours. Days. Weeks. Months. Years.

That time heals you. That time helps you feel better. 

Later on, I would describe this same phenomenon to a client as: “For every Monday where you think everything is falling apart. Remember that there will be a Tuesday when it will all feel okay again.“

When we can get outside our own feelings in the moment, and imagine, as a six year old would, that days can write letters to us--we can entrust Time with a power we don’t often recognize that it can have.

So, if you find yourself hurting, confused, tired, lonely, down — try this: 

Dear Tomorrow,

I hope that--whoever you are reading this right now--you feel better. 

Love, Today