As President, I would read 10 letters a day sent to me by ordinary Americans. At the Obama Presidential Center, we’ll have some of the letters I read — and responded to — every night. I still get emotional reading them, and it’s one of my favorite exhibits.
A tourist asked me for directions, and I confidently sent them the wrong way before realizing my mistake two blocks later. I ran back, found them still standing confused at the corner, apologized like my life depended on it, and we both ended up laughing at how useless I am.
Rain tapping against the window always makes me feel safe and slow. I wrap myself in a blanket, pick up that book I’ve been meaning to read, and let the gray sky give me permission to do absolutely nothing productive.
Imagine speaking to yourself the way you would speak to a child you love — with tenderness, with reassurance, with the gentle truth that everything will be alright. Now speak that way to yourself. You deserve it.