For those of you, who had a challenging year like I did, this episode may especially resonate with you. ❤️

Listen. Feel. Take what resonates and leave the rest.

✨Gentle reminders and nudges to keep going. ✨ These words of inspiration and guidance are for you as much as they are for me. I have found that writing and recording these add that certain accountability to myself and towards you. It’s a commitment to keep going and to keep showing up - for each other and life.

You were always the one.

All along.

You always stood by me.

You always had my back.

You always heard me.

Even when I didn’t smile back,

you kept smiling at me.

Even when I ignored you,

you kept showing up anyway.

Even when I said, “I hate you”,

you said, “I love you even more”.

You were always the one.

All along.

And just when I thought I couldn’t live any moment longer,

you stayed with me,

and gave me the strength to carry on.

Even when I didn’t believe in myself,

you never stopped believing in me.

Even when I was boiling with self-hatred and disgust,

you showered me with love.

It was you.

You were always the one.

All along.

I’m sorry for treating you the way I did.

I’m sorry for ignoring you,

hating you,

criticizing you,

hurting you.

Will you forgive me?

You were always the one.

You will always be.

I love you.

Please DM me @vanessavorbach for your title suggestion! :)

I’m here in front of you.

Ready to share my pain.

No, I don’t need you to fix me.

I’m here opening my heart to you.

No, I don’t need another inspirational quote.

Can you see me?

Please don’t look away.

No, I’m not okay.

You can dry my tears,

but don’t tell me to stop crying.

I don’t need to hear another “should”, “could” or “have to”.

I just want you to listen to me.

Do you hear me?

No, I’m not okay.

Can you be uncomfortable with me?

Can you ask me how I’m doing next week?

And the week after?

I just need you to be here.

With me.

At this moment.

Tomorrow.

And the day after.

... And just when you thought you're finally on your path you're meant to be, the universe sends you these tests and obstacles...

The older we get and the more life happens, the more we realize how little we know about so many things.

We used to think a fancy job title and a long list of responsibilities automatically ensured a fulfilled professional life.

Life proved us wrong.

It's about being able to express our truest selves and making a difference - no matter how big or small.

Until now we always searched for love elsewhere and ended up feeling like the loneliest people on the planet.

Life proved us wrong.

The only person we really need to love and who can unconditionally love us is ourselves.

We saved, sweated, worked, sacrificed, and compromised until we finally reached our financial goal. We somehow believed at that moment all of our fears of not having enough would disappear.

Once again life proved us wrong. Turns out all the money in the world wouldn't be able to give us the feeling of having and being enough.

We desperately chased our so-called ideal weight and appearance. We thought once we hit that unattainable weight and look, everything else would just magically align and be perfect.

We would gain, and lose more pounds than a balance could ever manage to calculate. Yet we never feel thin or beautiful enough.

Thankfully life proved us wrong. It’s about how we feel about ourselves inside that changes the way we see ourselves. If we meet ourselves with appreciation, gentle kindness, and generosity, we realize the immense beauty we had in us all along.

Let’s hope life continues to prove us wrong. It has so many more lessons to teach us.

I don’t know about you, but I was never so grateful to be wrong.

The world keeps living,

while you stand still.

The time moves on,

while your inner clock is stuck.

You see people’s mouths moving,

but you can’t hear them.

You do, think, feel things,

you have never done, thought, felt before.

You look in the mirror,

and you don’t recognize yourself.

You keep wondering why,

yet no answer is coming.

You ask yourself if you ever will feel normal again,

but deep down you know life will never be the same.

Emotions will hit you like a giant wave out of nowhere.

They will keep coming.

Grief has no rules, no logic.

It knows no boundaries.

It does not have an expiration date.

Grief teaches us the importance of living.

Without grief, there is no love.

Without love, there is no grief.

So please.

Keep loving.

Keep living.

And honor grief for what it truly is.

The result of having loved wholeheartedly, courageously and unconditionally.