What are you?

What are you not?

In a society that is so full of commotion and accolades and expectations, it can be so easy to lose sight of who we are- what defines each of us as individuals. Thus, because we struggle to recognize ourselves to the core, we can become conflicted about what we are striving for, where we are going, how we will get there. We grow to be so overcome by our thoughts, desires, memories, and worries, that it affects how we are living, and we forget what we need. We struggle to trust people, including ourselves, for failings have become so prominent. We are afraid of pain, so we try to numb it with busy schedules, pursuits of exhilaration, pursuits of pleasure, convinced that it will keep suffering from reaching us. We fear we are unable to change because we feel hindered by our past. We are so pressured to amount to something, whether it be through achievements or relationships, so we invest so much time and effort and energy into the pursuit of this sense of worth... Yet we find ourselves feeling no less empty, tired, and confused than we were before. And it can become such a tangled, jumbled mess.

However, I hope to restore your sense of identity- to remind you of your inherent sense of worth.

You are not what you feel.

You are who you are trying to be.

You are beautiful and intentionally made.

You are not your insecurities.

You are a distinct masterpiece.

You are not subject to comparison.

You are a mystery to most.

But you are known completely.

You are notexpected to be perfect.

You are forgiven.

You are not yesterday.

You are wiser.

You are not your past.

You are invited, welcomed, embraced.

You are not trapped.

You are immersed in the gift of the present moment.

You are not what happens to you.

You are guided.

You are not your wounds.

You are healing.

You are not your regrets.

You are growing.

You are not confined to your weakness.

You are changing.

You are not confined to your desires.

You are moving on.

You are not your worries.

You are learning.

You are not perfect.

You are fascinated by others.

You are notexpected to figure them out.

You are not defined by their judgments.

You are chosen.

You are a choice.

You are not entitled.

You are blessed.

You are not your image.

You are not your temptations.

You can be changed by your thoughts.

You are changed by your deeds.

But you are not your thoughts.

You are not your deeds.

You are a temporaryvisitor to this world, with an unrevealed remainder of time.

You are another moment.

You are an opportunity.

You are surrounded by glimpses of beauty and joy, and their source abides in all things.

You are not a reflection of how things seem.

You are beautiful.

You are jubilant.

You are loved.

And these truths about you are not reliant on circumstances.

You are not validated by others’ approval.

You are of value.

You are not abandoned.

You are protected.

You are whole.

You are not dependent on others.

You are today.

You are on your way home.

You are not forgotten.

You are a smile to someone's face.

You are not alone.

You are wanted.