I have discovered a lot over the years. Most of the time, I question the things I do. For instance, I wonder, “Why am I considered different? Is it my hair or the way I learn? Do people think I am less than when I show joy? Why do I always feel like someone is watching me but never looking at me? How come I feel so much doubt? Why do I stick out like a sore thumb when I do something I love? How come I can’t just know things? How can my cup always be full, yet I still feel empty? Why don’t things change for the better rather than for the worse? Why can’t I handle stress and take it like it’s nothing?”
Most of these thoughts are recurring, and they can be overwhelming. However, I’ve come across a few sentences that have helped me realize more than before, and I would like to share them.
The first one is:
“Hate has four letters, but so does love. Enemies have seven letters, but so do friends. Lying has five letters, but so does truth. Failure has seven letters, but so does success. Cry has three letters, but so does joy. Finally, negativity has ten letters, but so does positivity. You always have a choice, so choose the better side of it.”
The second one is:
“Don’t lose your individuality; no one in the universe is like you. Embrace your imperfections; none of us have perfect bodies, faces, or minds. No one likes you, so why not love yourself and embrace everything about you? Don’t ever, ever let anyone tell you that you are less than what you are or how you live.”
The third one is:
“In another universe, I meet my father when he is a child. We play catch in the woods, and as we play, he tells me he isn’t allowed to cry and that sometimes the world hurts him, and he doesn’t know what to do with all that pain. So, I give him the shoulder he needs to cry on, and he does—he cries until the tears are done. Afterward, I buy him ice cream and listen to his laugh—the glowing, warm laugh of a child who knows he is safe. I wish someone could have done that for him, been a kind and safe place for the child he used to be. Would it have made a difference? Would it have made a difference?”
These messages stay with me to remind me that nothing can hurt a person more than their own thoughts, and there’s nothing that can heal a person more than their thoughts, too. The way we choose to see the world creates the world we see. You are the universe experiencing itself. This life is about pleasure and meaningful experiences that expand your mind. Not everyone will understand, and that’s okay. Keep moving forward; don’t stop. You are not meant to live like others; you are meant to live as yourself. Life is to be lived, not controlled. So stop trying to control those around you and focus on what’s happening now, in the present.
You must understand that people can only understand us to the depth to which they have met themselves. So, if you live for their praise, you’ll be defeated by their criticism. You are the architect of your own reality, so design a life that resonates with your true self. Embrace your uniqueness, and let it illuminate the world around you.
