When I observe myself taking off one mask and putting on another, it reminds me of the way I change clothes for different occasions. I wear my masks comfortably, knowing it is me who speaks through them. Always mindful of the real person underneath my mask, I am not frightened of the social mask of others.

My perceptions of the world are grounded in reality and my actions are positive and powerful.

In a certain way, teenagers create role models for their future adult selves. In my family of origin, my conflicts were unacknowledged or discounted as “mere rebellion.” As an adult child, I forgot the image of my teenaged spiritual warrior.

I will not carry the heavy baggage of hurt and disappointment with me into this new year. I will forgive myself for the pain I have caused myself and others. I will forgive others for having caused me pain. On this day of new beginnings, I will begin a new life.

My personal power adds structure for my inner child. My personal power and my needs are inseparable. As I widen my participation in the world about me, I assert both my power and my needs. As a young child growing up in a dysfunctional family, I could not express either my power or my needs. I curbed my desires and limited my scope of possibilities

So today I choose to be a loving and responsive parent to my inner child. I understand and accept that I can’t always be perfect or do the “right” thing. I know that growing up is difficult and I guide my inner child as best I can. I do not need to scold or abuse her. I am aware that she is young and vulnerable and I give her my unconditional and e

The fears of my inner child are still with me. They provide the dark materials for my imagination to dwell upon. Often I become obsessed with thoughts of disaster.

I felt lost as a child in my dysfunctional family. I felt adult pressures that mutilated my inner child. There was no room for my needs or perspective. There was no room to be a child. Today there is room in my life for both the child self and the adult self.

As a child, I envied children who could be who they were without frowns of disapproval from those around them. I envied their careless play, the silliness of their decisions and fullness of their emotions.