Copyright 2008 Patti Henry

The great poet Mary Oliver writes: tell me about your despair and I will tell you mine.

Because we have despair, we sometimes think, "There’s something wrong with me." We forget it is part of the human condition. When we are in despair we often feel separate and different from everyone else. We feel alone in this most human experience. We tend to forget that this is just one chapter of the adventure called life and that better chapters will follow. We tend to forget that we are not different from others: every single human being, with no exceptions, has had at least one chapter of despair in their lives.

Perhaps this is your time to be in that chapter. If so, I hold you gently in my heart, and remind you: there is nothing wrong with you. You are a beautiful and amazing human being, and sometimes life is just hard.