A love letter to myself for Valentine's Day

Dear Amanda,

You haven't always made it easy to love you, or to even try. Your suit of armour was tightly bound, affixed like an exoskeleton and often impenetrable.

Luckily, you woke up.

You realised that there was something beneath the armour and you began to peel back the layers.

It started with the realisation that you needed to be spoken to nicer, treated with greater dignity and respect from other people and it grew from there. You realised that other people had no right to comment on your looks, your weight or anything personal for that matter and you began to find and enforce some boundaries.

I'm glad you finally realised that your lack of self-worth was less to do with external forces and more to do with the way you treated you and you made some major changes.

Now, you are emerging as the Goddess that you are.

Strong back, soft front and wild heart.

You are perfectly imperfect.

Every day you amaze me with what you can accomplish when your mind is set - from engaging more clients, finding that little bit of extra love that your children need or allowing yourself quiet time for self-love and self-reflection.

I love that you remain honest to yourself about your wonderful qualities and about your shadows....and that you've learned to love the shadows, to own them and bring them back into the fold. It certainly makes it easier than denying, suppressing and repressing them.

I love how big your heart is. That you can find love for everyone, even those who have done despicable things and hurt you beyond what you thought you could endure.

I love that your hurts haven't hardened you, that they've made you more loving, more vulnerable and more willing to take risks.

I love that you are brave, tenacious and dedicated.

I love that you are loyal beyond measure.

I love that you allow your beauty to shine even when you feel less than perfect. That you love your imperfections, your flaws, your basements and shadows.

I love that you work on, and improve every day at, silencing that voice inside that tells you you're not enough, not worthy and ugly. I love that you replace those negative thoughts with loving words and actions to erase the past damage and reinforce the foundations of your new temple of self acceptance and loving kindness.

I love that you speak up for those that can't speak up for themselves.

I love that you followed your dream to facilitate change in your client's lives, to help them see light where they were struggling and to help them discover internal tools that allow them to walk out of their depths and empower themselves daily.

I love that you are no longer afraid to stand in your power and work towards the future you want to build for yourself, your partner and your children.

I love that you will never give up your desire to improve, become more congruent and more authentically aligned with the light of your own true nature.

I love that you question - yourself and your actions above all.

I love that you no longer see mistakes as evil, dirty and shameful, instead seeing them as opportunities for growth, learning and making yourself better.

I love that you lean into fear and wholeness.

I love that you have allowed your boundaries to stay strong, to give yourself permission to put them in place, enforce them knowing that it makes you more loving, generous and whole.

Thank you for removing the armour. Thank you for leaning into the process. Thank you for coming back to yourself.

I love you.

Amanda xxx