Letter to Our Fathers

by Cassendre Xavier

Dear Daddies,

We, your children, forgive and thank you.

You were not taught that it was safe for men to cry. You were not treated with gentleness as a boy. You were not loved nearly as much as your dear heart was worthy of.

You were imperfect, and in some ways, you were wonderful as a father. But we often forgot the good times, and weren't reminded enough to remember.

We are healing from the harsh lessons we learned from you, and we now recognize you are healing from yours.

We forgive you and know you always did the best you knew how. We thank you for your hard work in providing for us.

Thank you for agreeing to parent us in this lifetime. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to learn and practice understanding, compassion, empathy, and forgiveness. Thank you for teaching us to be strong and independent.

We wish your spirit peace and we know your highest self wants the same for us.

With love, forgiveness, and gratitude from your healing children.



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Cassendre Xavier is a multi-media healing artist and Creative Life Coach. Based in Philadelphia, she is the founder and director of that city's 7th Annual Black Women's Arts Festival (July 29 thru August 1, 2010). For more information, please visit http://cassEndrExavier.com.


Permission is granted to reprint this article, provided the following credit and link are included:
"Letter to Our Fathers" (c) Copyright 2010 by Cassendre Xavier. All rights reserved. http://cassEndrExavier.com