It’s all too easy for us to feel inspired by others but not ourselves. We look at the people around us—friends, acquaintances, celebrities—and immediately see their greatness. It’s easy to see their accomplishments and can’t help but be in awe. We don’t always know all they have overcome, but if we discover their hardships, it only makes us admire them more. It takes strength to pick yourself up and 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 a person, we often see 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, have a sibling or two. Perhaps they have a best friend or, more, a significant other. Whatever their relationship is, they have people they love and people that love them.
More important than the people they care about, though, are their personal traits. This person may be unflinchingly kind even in the face of an adversary. Maybe they are immensely patient, willing to be the person sitting down and listening to you while you pour your heart out, the kind of person who knows exactly what you need at that moment. There may be a person out there who just has a sense of wonder about the world, an abundance of infectious joy that surrounds them. 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 unique trait about them that speaks to the core of who they are, 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. You may be shaking your head right now, reading this with an odd facial expression. I know you may think I have no idea what I’m talking about. I know you may think I am simply being nice and don’t mean what I’m saying. And I know you may think 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 mean everything 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. The 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 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 makes them happy. All of them. I see these people and many others who inspire me daily. Because of this, I know that you, the reader, are one of those people.
You may not realize this right now, but I hope you will eventually.
We all are instinctively connected, meaning we all want what’s best for one another. It is in our nature to be kind and compassionate. Whether religious or not, we all hold truths about the universe and 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 call it the universe; others do not call it either. 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 flaws when you beat yourself up over past mistakes you’ve made in your life. Many people feel the same way. They fear their own light and run away from it at every possible chance. They are not afraid but 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 were as a person at any moment in your life. You can always follow the light within you and embrace it.
It’s time to let go of your doubts and hesitations. It’s time for you to step into your light and show yourself the wonderful person that you truly are.
Featured image via Samson Katt on Pexels
