It’s all too easy for us to feel inspired by others but not by ourselves. We look at the people around us—friends, acquaintances, celebrities—and can immediately see the greatness within them. We see the accomplishments they’ve made in their lives and can’t help but be in awe. We don’t always know all that they have overcome, but if we find out their hardships, it only makes us admire them more. It takes strength to not only pick yourself up but to be better than you were before.
Saying that it’s easier to see other people’s worth than our own is a huge understatement. When we look at an individual person, we often see that just that—a person. And yet we see so much more than that.
They have people they care about and people who care about them. Perhaps they’re a parent to someone else. Perhaps they have a sibling or two. Perhaps they have a best friend or a significant other. Whatever their relationship is, they have people in their life that they love, and they have people that love them.
More importantly than the people they care about, though, are their personal traits. Maybe this person is unflinchingly kind, even in the face of adversity. Maybe they are immensely patient, willing to be the person who will sit down and listen to you while you pour your heart out, the kind of person who knows exactly what you need in that moment. Maybe there’s a person out there who just has a sense of wonder about the world, an abundance of joy that surrounds them that is infectious. All these people exhibit one of the many positive traits that make us admire humanity in all its beauty.
These kinds of people are always around us. Every person in the universe has a shining light about them that is magnetizing. Every person has a special trait about them that speaks to the core of who they are and who we are as people and represents the very best aspects of humanity.
You are one of those people.
Yes, you. I know that may be surprising or hard to believe. I know you may be shaking your head right now. I know you may be thinking that I have no idea what I’m talking about. I know you may be thinking that I am simply being nice and don’t mean what I’m saying. I know you may be thinking that I am right in saying that there is light in other people, but not you.
But rest assured, I am not lying. I know what I’m saying, and I mean everything that I’ve said thus far. Time and time again, I’m amazed at just how incredible the human spirit can be. I see kindness in other people. I see grief that shows that the person was deeply touched by something that they have once lost physically but still hold close to their heart. I see people who have been through hardship after hardship, the kind of pain that no person should have to endure, yet they still manage to get out of bed every morning and live their lives to the fullest. I see people who simply live their lives as themselves, unashamed and unafraid to be who they are because that’s what makes them happy. I see these people and so many other people who inspire me every day. Because of this, I know that you, reader, are one of those people.
You may not realize this right now, but I hope you will eventually. We all are instinctively connected, and that means we all want what’s best for one another. It is in our nature to be kind and compassionate to everyone. Whether we are religious or not, we all hold truths about the universe on how we should behave around each other. We all have that natural pull to just live in the light within us. Some people call it God; some people call it the universe; some people do not call it either of those things. But no matter what it is to each person, it’s all the same. It’s where we came from when we were first birthed into this world, and it’s what we still hold on to every day.
It can be hard to see the light in yourself when you criticize your own flaws, when you beat yourself up over past mistakes you’ve made in your life. Many people feel the same way. They are afraid of their own light and run away from it at every possible chance. They are not afraid, but they are not happy or overall content with their life because they are straying away from their true selves.
But they are not lost, and neither are you. You can always choose to come back to who you are as a person at any moment in time in your life. You can always follow the light within you and embrace it.
It’s time to let go of the doubts and hesitations you have about yourself. It’s time for you to step into your light and show yourself the wonderful person that you truly are.