you are loved

A little over a month ago, I was having a rough day with my brain goblins, so I wrote myself this note to remind myself that Depression Lies.

I stuck it to my monitor, next to another one that reminded me to relax my shoulders and breathe.

At some point, it fell off and I forgot about it. Just now, I got under my desk to move some cables and sweep up the dust and animal fur and various Eldritch Horrors that manage to find their way down there and fill all the available space, like the traffic in Sim City. While I was scooping out just way more fur than I imagined existed in my entire house, and at least half a bowl of granola, and a few dollars in tarnished change, I saw my little sticky note. It must have been knocked off and fallen behind the desk when I wasn’t paying attention.

I glanced at it, scooped it up, and automatically put it in the trash, on top of just so much fur and dead leaves and way more rubber bands and twisty ties than would be considered “a reasonable amount”. I turned to go back to cleaning up the rest of the bullshit, when I stopped for a moment, turned back, pulled my little note out, and read it aloud.

“I am loved,” I said, sitting on the floor underneath my desk, the fan of my server quietly blowing warm air across my feet. “Thank you, past me, for the reminder. I don’t need it today, but maybe someone else does, and I’m going to post this for them.”

You are loved. You are enough. I see you.

13 thoughts on “you are loved”

Thank you for this post, I don’t comment on things often and generally just doom scroll past a lot of articles in my rss reader.

This is something I really needed to see today and it helps, more than you or even I think I know at this point.

Future me thanks you.

Do you remember that Simpsons episode where Lisa had the crush on her substitute teacher and at the end of the episode he left her a note that simply read “You are Lisa Simpson” because he knew that sometimes that all we need? This post reminds me of that and sometimes, that’s all we need.

Thanks Wil. I’m in a darker place than usual today and needed a reminder myself.

Since I know certain subjects are sensitive to Wil, I’ll instead give everyone some Fred Rogers:

That was me. I needed that. Thank you.

What a simple, elegant gift to start the day with. I’m going to send a stranger a thank you note today, just to pass on the love.

Thank you Wil for sharing. Also thank you for your wonderful performance in Starter Villain!

Thank-you, Bless you, and Keep On Being a Blessing!

Dear Wil, I am a long-time fan of your writing. I bought Dancing Barefoot when you were shipping them out of your home and have done the same with pretty much everything up until Still Just a Geek. You wrote me once when I was running the StopSantorum.com campaign back in 2006 here in Pennsylvania. Your words: “he’s such a dick” still ring true today and is probably the coolest email I’ve ever gotten. I’ve been through a lot since those days, including my own mental health struggles with addiction. Our stories aren’t the same but I relate to yours in many ways. I have been listening to the audiobook version now, and it’s even better to hear it read in your voice – plus the “audio only comments” are gold. I’ve been driving some long distances for recovery events and work and had to stop a couple times for the deluge of tears that your story evoked. I’ve sent your episode of Mayim Bialik’s Breakdown to hundreds of addiction recovery friends. Thanks for continuing to be your authentic self as it helps me do the same. You are, indeed, loved.

Your thoughtful kindness in sharing this sweet moment is welcome, appreciated, and reciprocated with love, which lacking a post-it, I will leave here as a 🤍.

Why is it so hard to learn this? Thanks for the reminder, Wil. Way to go, past (and current) Wil. Sending the sentiment right back at you.

This makes me want to write a bunch of ‘you are loved’ notes and hide them around the house for my family to find. Something so sweet about an unexpected find like that. And at my age I’ll probably surprise myself with one, eventually