Just read this quote by Anne Lamott in Salon.

My priest friend Tom said once that there are always two points of view about yourself — yours, and the opinion of people who love you. Our opinion is that we’re a mess, a fraud, maybe vaguely disgusting. But others seem to love us, to feel great relief that we are in their lives. So one of these opinions is wrong, and you get to choose which one to believe. Over the years, Tom and I have encouraged each other to believe the opinion of those who love us….

It pretty much stopped me in my tracks. I admit that part… probably much… of what drives me… is that too often I look at myself and see every flaw, every hole, every thing I don’t get to, every way I could have handled a situation better, every kid I don’t reach, every thing I could have been if only I had (insert neurosis here, usually ‘worked a little harder’ fits along with whatever else goes there).

But I’ve been unbelievably lucky in my life, both at Beacon and otherwise, that I’ve had people who have let me know that they feel lucky that I’m in their life. And I’m trying to believe that version of myself, while never forgetting that I, too, am lucky that they all are in my life… and that, in all probability, what really makes us lucky is the intersection of our lives.