Dear hardworking, compassionate, intelligent, skillful, talented, knowledgeable, inspiring Shirley:

I like how you deal with anger. Abusive expressions of anger are very common, of course. This is why I say: choose your friends. Choose who is in your life and to what capacity. Keep laid back friends.

I finally went for a walk. It was tough. My inner bully creeped up on me during the walk. A neighbor was driving as I walked and waved her hand at me. I felt badly and it took me some time to realize that my inner bully was saying to me: she (the neighbor) is thinking you are crazy to be walking in the heat. What is wrong with you to be walking in the heat? Nobody does!

After the walk I had dinner and that is my inner bully playground: you ate too much! You will be fat! Oops.. you already are!

I am glad you have a… few good years before you are my age- years to defeat this inner bully. It will take time but you are ahead of me. You are doing a good job identifying the inner bully messages to you.

During the walk and afterwards I talked to myself gently, hushed myself because I felt I was distressed from the input of the inner bully.

Be gentle with yourself as well, Shirley. Take your own side, against the inner bully. Stand up for yourself, think and operate for your benefit, for your own well being.

It is almost eight pm here, eleven pm your time. Must be cool now.

anita