Injustice and Self-pity

I was feeling sorry for myself about an obvious (though petty) injustice and replayed the offending scenario over and over again in my mind, making it clearer each time that I was the victim, and linking it to all the other times I’ve been mistreated. I called out to the Universe, asking it to explain itself (and to ask its pronouns too, seems likely to be they/them) and its (their?) role in this upsetting situation that is clearly part of a pattern. The Universe replied by sending this letter through my fountain pen into my notebook. They’re clever, eh?

Dear Karen,

I am writing to you on behalf of the office of The Universe, the omnipresent “What Is”. The purpose of my letter is to confirm what you work so hard to prove: You are right. You have been wronged and it was not fair. You have been misunderstood, devalued, taken advantage of, and unjustly treated.

You no longer need to seek evidence to prove these things to yourself or to anyone else. All your feelings are real and understandable. This letter stands as full acknowledgement of the bad things that happened and were done to you. Read it whenever you need validation.

I would be remiss, however, if I did not call attention to two further points.

The first is that you have wronged others. You have misunderstood, devalued, taken advantage of, and unjustly treated others. It was not fair.

The second and final point is this: You are not powerless. I hereby bestow upon you the knowledge that you choose how to respond to any injustice. You may seek redress for harms done to you, or you may not. You may atone for harms you cause, or you may not (though really, it does seem like a healthy thing to do). Maybe you’ll fight against big injustices, or keep your focus on helping those affected by them. What you can stop doing is trying to prove that your feelings are valid: They are.

We are not staffed with the capacity to keep track or score of what’s been done to whom and who’s made reparations or not – can you imagine the paperwork?! It is up to you personally to know what path to take forward. You are not alone in this; you are a cherished part of families, communities, and all of humanity who will support and advise you. As you know from experience, the warmth of community eases the pain of trauma.

No one can see what lies ahead, but I guarantee there will be further injustices. I do see you becoming ever more thoughtful and compassionate in how you respond to them. On behalf of us all, thank you for that.

With kindness and love,

The Universe (they/them)

ps. Please share this with anyone else who needs to hear it. Not everyone has a fountain pen.