Gareth Edwards

Do you feel too f*cked up for relationships?

Like you’re too much.
Or not enough.
Or in some bizarre way - both!

As if you’ve just got way too much s**t to deal with before you can even start to love yourself, let alone let someone else love you.

And even if they do, it can hurt even more! Because their love highlights your lack of self-love.

It is all just so… complicated.

And you’ve tried ‘working it all out’ and it always seems to lead down a despairing spiral to “f*ck this”.

So f*ck it.

You’re too f*cked up and that’s that.

Learn to survive.
Try to cope.
And secretly hope that one day… maybe… probably not… but potentially… there’s a chance… unlikely obviously… but theoretically possible… you could love and be loved.

And woo-hoo!

Here comes the annual ‘feel-even-more-fu**ed-up’ celebration in sickly card form (who even sends cards these days?) that reminds you how alone you feel, even if you’re in a relationship.

In fact, sometimes even more alone if you’re in a relationship that’s wrong, harmful or one you’ve simply outgrown.

This Valentine’s Day here’s something a little different.

A gift for yourself.
A gift for your pain.
Your longing.

And maybe your hope.

Maps to Maybe is five ‘unusual lovesongs’ that chart a small part of the path toward love.

It’s a journey of recognising all you’ve done to survive to this point and tenderly naming the unloveable wound of childhood trauma and neglect.

Then the potential of a moment when your soul can shift from hidden to seen, and open up the possibility of lovingly connecting with another soul.

Finally remembering that you always have been, and always will be, love itself.

Each song comes with a reflective companion piece to encourage exploration of your journey in your own way.

A little context, some prompts and practices to soothe your soul.

And an ‘unusual love letter’ sits alongside each song, offering hindsight encouragement to the experiences expressed in the lyrics.

All of it is wrapped up in a quiet listening room where you can rest and feel held in your journey.

A place you can return to time and again when that (hopefully fading) feeling comes of being too fu**ed up for relationships.

Not therapy, not advice. Just a companion for the journey.

You can find the link to ‘Maps to Maybe’ in the comments.