Life is hard. Yet, many of us make it worse by being hard on ourselves. We waste precious time beating ourselves up, wallowing in guilt, or chastising ourselves for our perceived mistakes, making everything even harder than it needs to be. Today, set your intentions to be gentle with yourself, even if you don't know how to do that right now. Being gentle with yourself means giving yourself permission not to be the best that’s humanly possible, but rather to do the best you can right now. And at times, depending on where you are in life and the status of your mental health, your version of trying your best might be as simple as getting through the day. Being gentle with yourself every day means giving yourself credit for what you have already accomplished, not getting stuck in shoulds, coulds and giving yourself a path of hope for everything that is yet to come.Today, set your intention to take the time to reconnect with your inner being, replace your fears with trust, and learn to let go of the things you cannot control. Over time, you will experience peace when you learn to accept yourself as you are, complete with your flaws, and be the best you can for your own self. Today, be gentle with yourself because you are doing the best you know how with the knowledge, understanding and awareness that you have right now. Be gentle.

Just for today, I am gentle, kind and comforting to myself as I uncover and release old negative messages within myself. I am gentle with myself, knowing that I am doing the best I can with the knowledge and understanding that I have right now. I am forgiving, loving, gentle and kind and I know that Life loves me. I surrender to what is, I let go of what was and I have faith in what will be. Everything is always working out for my highest good. And so it is.