A Note to My Daughter

I have probably told you this story before, but I just wanted to remind you of it again as you turn 20 today. It is one of my most precious memories – although it only lasted a split second.

You were around three years old, maybe a little bit older. You had just taken your clothes off to get in the bath. I wasn’t in the bathroom to help you yet, so you came in the living room and just started running around, laughing and screaming at the top of your lungs.

In that moment I looked at you, I saw pure light. You didn’t have a care in the world and every part of your being was luminosity and joy. It was as if you left a ribbon of radiance behind you as you ran, like a comet or shooting star. It was so beautiful it made me cry.

I have been blessed with a few precious glimpses of that light over the years – and every time it takes my breath away. My wish for you on this special birthday is that you see it too.

That inner beauty and warmth is the essence of you. It’s a place you can always return to when you have forgotten who you are or why you are here. The business of life will try and make you forget it is there, but I am a witness to your ability to light yourself and shine out into the world.

So my beautiful girl - shine, shine, shine. The world is waiting for (and in need of) your light.

I love you.