Before we do anything, this is what you need to know.
This is my dad.
And he jumped out of the window when he was a child.
Ok, now back to our regularly scheduled love letter.
Last week, I received so many touching and heartfelt responses to my Letter To My 14-Year Old Self. But one of them….wow. It was so special. I have kind permission from the writer to share part of his reaction with you.
“You might not remember this, but I think approx 2,5 years ago, you wrote a blog about being brave, going strong, trusting in yourself and related to this with a story about (I think it was) your father which jumped out of the window with a bath towel strapped to his back thinking he was superman… I used to be this guy and could completely relate to that! At the time you wrote this blog I had lost myself in some serious shit. I was recovering from medical issue called a “brain-infarct” (don’t know the exact English term) causing severe memory-loss-effects and which should not occur at the age of 40. As I could not trust in myself, therefore I closed-up more than one should in such a case. In short, I was seeing a therapist to get through this shit. My therapist was trying to get a hold of the “real” issue in all of this and the best way for me to explain who I really WAS, was to read out the story about your dad and explain to her that “that is, or used to be me, and I would like to get back to this person….”
The therapist and I have worked extremely hard for over 2 years (on a weekly base) and I have ended my therapy with the phrase that I am (imagining) to put a BIG beach-towel to my back and jump out of the window… I AM BACK! MY MEMORY IS “WORKING” -IT’S ME AGAIN!
Why am I sending this to you? Well this is because of the blog of today where you mentioned you would like to send a message to yourself at the age of 14… Just a confirmation on your text there “You will make a difference in other people’s lives. You will matter. You will heal hearts, mend minds, and stir souls.”
Guess what Buffi, YOU DID. The story has given me a firm goal for where to fight for. And it helped out!
THANKS FOR THAT!!”
After I dried my tears, I wrote this special person to ask if I could share this with my dad, and the rest of you. I could. My dad was so touched by his kind and powerful words, he encouraged the writer to keep going strong. KEEP IT UP, HONEY!! (From both of us!)
This is why I write. To build bridges. To inspire. To connect. To learn. To teach. To share.
Why did my dad jump?
Because he didn’t know he couldn’t.
Read the original story hier.
Now go jump.
Write.
Share.
Connect.
With so much love,
Buffi x