The day I met with myself ...

When I stopped to meet this “self” in the early twenties, it seems that a portal opened. As if the time this a small fold and I could look into the newly graduated young man in journalism, not knowing that one day would become a psychologist.

2005 was a milestone. Nine months in London - alone, full of fear and courage - taught me what autonomy is. I lived things that shaped my way of being in the world.

That version of mine, if I could see me now, maybe I said:

“What a relief to see that you have won so many things!”

and I, with a kind of tight, would answer:

“Ah, vivinha… if I tell you that it was not easy…”

She would probably look away and say softly:

“I imagine… I'm very insecure. The shyness still gets in the way.”

and I would smile with love:

“Yes… I know. It was a work of ant. A slow, daily construction, made of small choices. But it was also full of courage. That courage that is born even when we still feel afraid.”

“I was curious… I know that journalism has already helped us a lot…”

“It was just the beginning. Many things contributed, but the specialization in contextual behavioral therapies was a watershed. I learned that thoughts… It's just thoughts. And that we don't have to believe everything we think. It seems obvious, but it is not.”

“Look how different you are…”

“Yes… a lot. But this difference came from acceptance, not perfection. It came from the day I stopped waiting to feel ready to act. And I started to act with what I had.”

“But… I don't know much to think. I always think others are better than me.”

“I know. For a long time I found it too. But today I look at these thoughts like clouds in the sky. They come and go. What guides me now is my values. And when I get lost - and sometimes I still get lost - I come back to that question: What really matters to me?”

She is silent for a moment. Then it says:

“I'm feeling a strange thing… a warmth in the chest, a desire to cry.”

and I smile, thrilled.

“Maybe it's just the present. When we really find themselves, with acceptance, the heart recognizes. And opens.”

In her eyes, I see hope.

in mine, gratitude.