The Twelve Children's Principles of Attitudinal Healing are:
- Love is who we are
- I can let go of being afraid and love myself
- When I am giving, I am also getting something back
- Yesterday is finished; tomorrow is not here
- Right now is a special time to give to myself and to others
- If I make a mistake, I can forgive myself and let it go
- I can find love when I look for it
- I am needed by others
- I can find peace even when life isn't peaceful
- We are all teaching and learning from each other
- Love is forever
- I am lovable and capable
Click here for more Cattitudes from Jerry the Cat! |
The following is a piece written by Dr. Jerry Jampolsly in March 2000 at a conference for
teenagers that were foster children.
To The Foster Youth
For those of you
Who have suffered
Abuse, neglect, and lack of love
Who suffered from insecurity
And what seemed like a hopeless future
Who felt like a ping pong ball
Going from one foster home to another
Whose pain from loneliness and not
Being able to trust seemed unbearable
For those of you who never knew
Where you would sleep the next day
Or if there would be food for you
For those of you who witnessed
Your parents on drugs
Or doing illegal things
And whose parents are or
Have been in jail
For those of you who
Have felt abandoned
By the world and
abandoned by God
For those of you
Who felt unlovable
And that there
Was no one you
Could trust
Know The Following:
You are love
You are lovable
God did not cause
The painful things
That happened to you
Honor your anger
But don't hang
Onto it
You can learn
To forgive and
Let go of the past
You can forgive
The world and
Everything in it
Including yourself
Forgiving doesn't mean
Agreeing or condoning
The terrible things
That have happened to you
In the past
It means only your willingness
To heal the hole
In your heart
And the pain
You carry in your heart
About the past
There is a hopeful future
For you
Be willing to trust
There is a higher power
A loving creator
Who is always there
To nourish you
Regardless of what
Is happening to you
You may not be able
To change your parents
But you can change
The thoughts in your mind
About the past
And about yourself
Remember helping others
Is a way of
Healing the past
You can choose
Peace instead of conflict
Love instead of fear
To be a love finder
Rather than a fault finder
To be a love giver
Rather than a love seeker
And to teach only love
Rather than fear
With all my love,
Gerald Jampolsky, M.D.
March 29, 2000
