a little sugar

〰️ what tender advice would you give yourself? 〰️

A couple of weekends ago I picked up Tiny Beautiful Things, the collection of advice columns Cheryl Strayed wrote for the Rumpus under the pen name Sugar. It’s a favorite of mine, but I hadn’t read it in a while.

I love that Sugar sees the humans that write her in the most big-hearted, tender, generous way. She gives her advice accordingly—with the understanding that everyone is trying; that being a human is tough, messy, imperfect business; that we have agency; that we can try again (and again).

As I read, I envisioned what might be possible were we to see ourselves like Sugar does: as the imperfect hero in our own journey, doing our best. I wonder what advice or compassionate perspective we would offer ourselves from this place?

I don’t know what the past three (or 5 or 10) years have been like for you, but I do know that the world has been an intense, unpredictable place to inhabit. And here you are! Here you are, showing up, holding the hope and grief that you hold, doing the next thing to the best of your abilities. Pretty amazing stuff.

So, what tender wisdom would you like to give yourself? What advice do you want? What permission? Give it to yourself today.

• Sugar also made a podcast in the early days of the pandemic! You can listen to Sugar Calling.

• One of my favorite Dear Sugar columns, The Ghost Ship That Didn’t Carry Us