Empower Your Magical Self

A course in happiness

Original artwork by the author.

Once upon a time, not that long ago, there lived a woman who was downright miserable. She was frustrated with herself and with the world. She hated her life and the circumstances she lived in. She loathed herself and what she deemed her own lazy, bad choices.

She considered herself a victim of a world that was at best indifferent. She hated herself for not being “strong enough” to survive.

Then, something magical happened. It’s difficult to explain precisely, as magical things often are, but the woman was visited by grace. Grace gifted the woman a moment of clarity, a peaceful place from which to observe herself objectively yet tenderly for a few moments. Grace also gifted the woman a rope ladder from the universe, and the ability to hear a strong but quiet voice from within herself that said, “climb.” She didn’t know where it would lead, but she promised herself to climb that rope ladder and not to stop.

At first, the rope ladder didn’t seem to be going anywhere and the climbing hurt her muscles. She was getting callouses on her hands and was tempted to go back down, but she remembered the promise she made to herself.

Fast forward two years. She’s still climbing, but she’s no longer worried about where the rope ladder goes. She really doesn’t care, because she’s…