You are Enough
Yes, you.
You are, you know.
Enough.
Just exactly as you are. Right now. This minute. And the one after that. And the one after that.
Yes, that voice in the back of your head says differently. Yes, it whispers in that sibilant way it has and makes you wonder.
It says things like…
You shouldn’t do that.
You should fit in.
You don’t have what it takes.
You’re not good enough.
That voice? Is bullshit.
Total, utter, no holds barred bullshit.
Because you? Are pretty damn amazing.
There’s a part of you that knows it. How amazing you are. Way, way down deep inside there’s a tiny little spark. It was there when you were born and it’s still there.
You may have buried it under years and years of other voices and doubts and insecurities and trauma and people telling you all kinds of horrendous things about yourself, but somewhere in and around and under all that muck, there’s a part of you that knows you are enough.
And you know why you know it?
Because of what you can do.
Think of one thing, just one, that you’ve done recently. It could be:
You baked a cake. You brought it in to work. Your co-workers ate it. Maybe they didn’t even say thank you, but it was something that made a difference in their day.
You fixed a chair or piece of furniture in the house. Maybe it just needed a new screw or some glue or just something under one of the legs, but it’s better now.
You told a joke and someone laughed. Really laughed. Eye-crinkles and all.
You beat a really tough level of Candy Crush.
You rebuilt the engine of that car you’ve been working on.
You finished a 5K race. Holy crap, it was grueling, but you finished. Your lungs damn near exploded, but YOU FINISHED.
You fixed the plumbing in the kitchen. Man, that was a pain. But you did it.
You set up the Amazon fire stick you just got all by yourself. No one helped you at all. And now you’re hooked on Wandavision. Holy crap is that cool. No spoilers!
You made dinner the other night. Tried something new. And that first bite? Yum. Your mouth waters just thinking about it.
You let your cat fall asleep on your chest. Sure it was hard to breathe, but that purring felt like it might have been coming out of you there for a second or two and it was nice. Maybe a little peaceful, even.
You cranked your favorite song on the way to work and you belted it out like you were headlining at Radio City Music Hall or the Ryman Auditorium. Yeah, it was offkey, but you know what? Offkey can be beautiful.
You danced in your living room to the entire score of Chicago.
You cleaned the bathroom. Won’t go into details, but it’s nice in there now.
You knitted that hat for the lady next door. She loved it.
You got the lumber to construct your garden in the backyard.
You helped your neighbor build a deck.
You downsized. Got rid of a lot of stuff. Makes you feel a little lighter.
You played with your dog outside and for a little while, all was almost right with the world.
You did a load of laundry. The pile has been growing for a long, long while, and you did it. You’ve got clean clothes.
You got groceries. Filled the fridge. You’re stocked up for a week, at least.
You went to work. You thought you couldn’t face another day, but you did. YOU DID.
You called that guy. You texted that girl. You know the one — makes your heart beat a little faster. Makes you understand what the romance movies and love songs are saying. You reached out.
You put your resume on indeed. Haven’t heard anything yet, but it’s out there. You took that step. And the universe just might be sending something your way. Because you know what? You don’t know what the future could hold for you and it could be everything you’ve ever wanted.
You saw something that happened to you in a totally different light. A conversation you had, a memory that someone shared, shifted your entire view of a problem or a situation or an experience and you realized what you thought you knew wasn’t the case at all. How many other memories or moments in your life could change irrevocably with just a shift of perspective?
You told him it’s over. You told her it won’t work. You signed the divorce papers. You got out of a toxic relationship. You know in your gut, you deserve more. You deserve better. Fuck, it hurts. Like a hole in your chest. But you did something for YOU. You made the break. That’s a whole lot of strength right there and YOU did it.
You didn’t have that drink. You know the one. That frosted glass, that clear liquid. The one that calls your name. The one that’s been your master for so many years. The one that’s made you do some really, really stupid shit. Yeah, that one. You turned away from it. You DIDN’T LET IT WIN FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER.
You said no. No more.
You got out of bed. God, you didn’t want to. Sleep is such a blessing — the glory of unconscious oblivion. But you got up and got yourself something to eat. Maybe you even showered. You DID IT.
You kept going. Through the hurt, through the exhaustion, through the miasma of the everyday pain-in-the-ass crap. Through the sometimes soul-crushing losses you’ve suffered.
Through the unfairness, through the injustice, through the discrimination, through the horrible way your boss treats you, through the childhood memories that choke the life out of you, you continued.
Through all of it, you put one foot in front of the other and KEPT GOING.
Why?
BECAUSE YOU ARE ENOUGH.
Because every single, damn thing you’ve been through and every tear you’ve cried makes you enough.
Let these three words drown out all the others:
YOU
ARE
ENOUGH
You are golden and you are pure and you have inside you all that it takes to rise above all of your experiences. You are strength, you are determination, you are power. You are magnificent.
You are everything this world needs, just as you are. EVERYTHING.
Please, please, please, you sweet, gorgeous soul.
Remember that. Believe it.
You are enough.
