This is a message for the person who’s been dealing with chronic pain as just another part of their life. This is to say: of course you’re still an incredible human being. If you have someone in your life who inspires you by how they live and love through their pain, pass this letter on to them. It’s an “I see you” kind of thing.

A large part of healing involves setting boundaries. Boundaries, in my own language, are the intersection at which I can take care of myself and be fully present with you. They’re guidelines for how I want to be treated and how I choose to respond. It’s when I don’t set those guidelines for myself that I lose myself in other people. Your personal boundaries communicate to others -- and to your own self -- what works for you and what doesn’t.

If you've ever thought things like "Why me?" or "What if... ?" here's another, more helpful question for you: now that you’re here, after all you've been through, what will you do? Instead of trying to change the past or escape the facts, this one simple question puts you in the present moment: where new life can grow.

It’s not too late to be the person you needed when you were younger. It’s never a wrong time to give yourself what you need. If what you need is forgiveness for past wrongs or acceptance of who you are today or appreciation for how far you’ve come, this open letter is yours to read. It's what I wish my younger self knew.

Losing someone is an experience that reduces all others to dust. When it comes to healing from that, support comes in all forms. Friends, strangers. Letters, lyrics. Movement, stillness. The words you speak, even, can be part of your support system. It's why I wrote these affirmations. To give you ideas, to illuminate the shadow their death laid on your future.

This poem you're about to read is what inspired me to say: greet every experience like a chance or a teacher, if not a friend. Even sorrow has its light, beautiful things grow out of the worst times. Just ask anyone who's known loss, and who's taken that pain and used it for their own betterment, or in service to others.

A shattered heart needs to be held together, and prayer is an age-old ritual that can heal and mend the spirit like nothing else can, or when nothing else can. However you pray, even if you don't, I hope these quotes about prayer inspire you to open your heart, and to consider that, itself, a form of prayer.

A cloudy day is the perfect chance to meditate on the miracle of your own being here. No matter how old you are, there’s a certain wonder and lightheartedness in watching the clouds drifting through the sky. To rekindle your interest in the world above you, try this cloud meditation. Keep looking up and you might just see that you too, can let the light shine through. That you too, have an influence on the world.

Every now and then, you need someone to tell you that they believe in you. You need to know you're in someone's thoughts, in their prayers and in their heart. It's the knowledge that you're not alone in your struggles and in your hopes, and sometimes that's all you need to keep going.

For some of us, we only have to go out into nature to find whatever it is our soul is missing. If you're like me and find everything you need in a walk in the woods, this poem is for you. It's a way of saying, "thank you, I love you" to the beauty still left all around you.