hello. you probably don’t know me; and if you do, you probably don’t know me in real life. I probably don’t know you, either. maybe a comment here, a shared pin there. but I’ve never had the chance to sit down with you over coffee and tell you what I want you to know, so I’m doing it differently. get yourself that cup of coffee, or tea, or vitamin water, and listen. I have some things to say to you.
yes, you can.
you’re listening to them, aren’t you? the voices that say you can’t do that. you don’t have the talent. you’ll never stick with it. you aren’t good at that sort of thing. it’s just a phase, you’ll grow out of it. you’d never be able to accomplish it. well, they’re wrong. you can do it. if you do it out of courage, out of love, out of hope, you can do it. nobody ever got anywhere by listening to ‘you can’t.’
just because you made a mistake doesn’t mean you are a mistake.
it might not feel that way now. you messed up. you majorly messed up, and you don’t know how you can ever fix things. you lay awake at night staring at the black ceiling and trying to figure out how you’re going to continue with your life after what you did. you will. your life will continue, and every moment will offer you a chance for redemption. do not let yourself be defined by the mistake you made. eventually, it will be forgotten by everyone, unless you choose to keep it alive. kill it.
you are beautiful.
I do not mean beauty in the shallowest form. do not demote yourself to the purely physical, outward appearance. you’re worth so much more than that. you’re beautiful when you laugh your genuine, joyful laugh. you’re beautiful when you stand up so someone else can sit down. you’re beautiful when you become so engrossed in creating art, or composing, or writing, or building, or making beds or doing laundry that you forget yourself, and start to hum. or maybe you work in complete silence. or maybe you listen to loud, loud music. you’re beautiful when you hug a stranger, when you pretend, when you grin at a joke no one else thinks is funny. you’re beautiful when you’re kind, when you’re generous, when you’re forgiving. your soul is beautiful.
you are loved.
maybe not romantically. maybe not by a certain family member. maybe not by everyone. but you are loved. I guarantee that somewhere, someone loves you. and not just someone, but Someone. Someone who created you, who brought you to life in all your colors, with all your personality, with all your flaws to perfect and your quirks to revel in. you are never, ever unloved, no matter how you feel.
it’s okay to be imperfect.
no one is perfect. to believe you’re perfect is to blaspheme the only One who is perfect. you are messy. incomplete. you are human. you are in a state of mortal being, and you will strive. you will aim for perfection. it is what we should do. but you have to realize there is no human perfection in this lifetime, this here and now. one day you will be perfect, but it is not today. so work at it. be good. be better. never give up; never, never, never, never. remember to breathe, because being human is a beautiful, fractured, funny, tragic, lovely thing. it is not perfect. but ‘you don’t pass or fail at being a human,’ dear.’
breathe.
slow down. slower. stop. close your eyes. inhale. exhale. do it again. one more time. now open your eyes, and realize. you are not a mistake. you are beautiful. you are loved. your are human. you are imperfect. and you can grow. you can get better. you can move on. you don’t have to stay where you are unless you want to. you will change. your life will change. your situation will change. give it time. relax. let go of things you have no control over. treat strangers like angels in disguise. treat people you know like they’re the most important thing in your life. breathe.
p.s.
don’t look for love, create it. leave people better than you found them. learn to see your worth without a compliment. always be kinder than you feel. don’t compare yourself to others. don’t make excuses for yourself. you are allowed to change your mind. it takes seven kindnesses to erase a cruelty. stop waiting for the time is right, because it never will be. allow yourself to be a beginner; no one ever began an expert. courage is contagious. happiness is personal. be a good influence on yourself. ‘what would Jesus do’ is never a silly question. be the best version of yourself.
laugh much. smile more.
