We are quick to comfort others but slow to comfort ourselves
When a friend breaks down you tell them to rest to be gentle to take time
But when it is you you call yourself lazy or weak
You tell yourself to push through it to stop being dramatic
Somewhere along the way you learned to treat yourself like an enemy who must be fixed instead of a person who deserves care
It is strange how easily we forget that we too are people who need kindness
You give it away so freely but when it comes to your own pain you hesitate
You tell yourself that others have it worse that you should not feel this way
But pain does not need to be compared to be valid
It just asks to be seen and heard
Kindness toward yourself is not indulgence it is survival
It is the quiet decision to stop being at war with your own heart
To rest when you are tired
To eat when you are hungry
To speak softly when your mind turns against you
It is learning to live with yourself instead of constantly trying to fix what is not broken
You can start small
By giving yourself permission to stop for a moment
By noticing when you are hard on yourself and asking if you would say the same words to someone you love
By allowing space for rest even when the world around you keeps moving
This is how you begin to build gentleness into your days
The more kindness you show yourself the less harsh the world feels
You start to see that mistakes are not proof of failure but signs of trying
That slowing down is not weakness but wisdom
That being patient with yourself is an act of quiet strength
Self kindness is not about pretending everything is fine
It is about being honest with what hurts and still choosing not to be cruel
It is remembering that healing is not a straight line
That there will be days when you feel small and uncertain
And that is alright
Maybe real healing begins the moment you stop demanding perfection
When you stop asking yourself to earn your own compassion
When you begin to understand that you are not a problem to solve but a person to care for
And in that softness in that slow forgiveness something inside you begins to breathe again
You start to feel lighter
Not because life suddenly becomes easy but because you finally stopped being at war with yourself