I think the world could use more reminders. Reminders of strength. Reminders of hope. Reminders of the fact that we are all unique, all different, and yet all worthy of beautiful and full lives. So often we forget. So often we get caught up in the day to day, in work, in expectations, in our to-do lists, in our relationships that we’re settling for, simply because we’re too afraid of the unknown.

So often we feel purposeless, just because we’re comparing ourselves to others around us or focusing on all that we have left. So often we fall into ruts because something happens and it changes the way we see the world.

But the truth is, we’re all going through something. We’re all figuring things out. We’re all stumbling through, falling in love, getting our hearts broken, losing people, failing, messing up, and yet still growing into the wonderful beings we’re meant to be.

But this process takes time.

And we forget that. We forget that we’re not always going to be happy, or successful, or financially stable, or in the ‘perfect’ relationship, or loving our job, or doing the right thing. We forget that we’re human and that some days are going to be easier than others. We forget that mistakes happen, that loss is normal, that the unknown is going to come and bite us in the butt from time to time—but that doesn’t mean we’re not worthy, or not going to find our way back up.

If you haven’t heard this in a while, just know that you are wonderful.

You are not a product of the pain. You are not made of every sin or failure. You are not bound by things that have happened to you, no matter how abusive, or painful, or downright wrong it may have been.

If you haven’t heard this in a while, you are worthy. And not just worthy of love (because love isn’t the only thing of value in this world) but worthy of happiness, of joy, of waking up in the morning with a smile on your face because life is still beautiful, even though it sucks from time to time.

If you haven’t heard this in a while, you are loved. By strangers. By family. By friends. By people you’ve met, or maybe you haven’t yet. By the sun and the way it graces your shoulders and kisses your face. By the clouds which roll above your head in warmth and peace. By the earth and how it holds your soles as you press them to the ground.

You are loved. You are valued. You are enough.

And please don’t a man or woman make you feel otherwise. Please don’t let a broken relationship determine the way you look into the bathroom mirror. Please don’t think that what you have right now in weakness and pain is all that you’ll amount to be.

If you haven’t heard this in a while, today is new. And today, you are one step closer to happiness, to peace, to the new version of yourself that you’re building with every breath.

No matter what has tried to destroy you, that is not your identity.

You are infinitely more, infinitely worthy, infinitely wonderful. Just as you are.
 

Featured Image Credit: Riccardo Mion[