We’ve all seen the affirmations and Facebook posts that say I am enough.
You may see that sentence and think, Am I? Or you think, Who wants to be enough? I want to be extra! Maybe you don’t give it any thought at all.
I turned sixty-five recently and, as I looked at my high school graduating class’s Facebook page, I saw that there are a few doctors. There’s a woman who has a PhD in microbiology, who is the president of a college, and who has her own Wikipedia page. There’s a guy, a basketball photographer, who has over ten thousand Instagram followers.
When I did my annual life review, all I heard was a sad trombone. Wah-whaaa.
Fortunately, I was able to tell myself to knock it off before I fell too far down into despair.
Get a grip, Toni.
I pass out at the sight of blood. Being a doctor would have been a terrible career choice. I never liked studying science, so a PhD in microbiology was not going to happen. And, while I like basketball, I don’t think anything sports related would have suited me.
There will always be someone who makes more money, who has a higher-profile job, or who has a greater impact on the world.
What there will never be is another me. There will never be another you.
The Universe needs us to be exactly who we are. The light we shine is unique. Our contribution matters. We might not believe it’s great, and that sort of false belief keeps us small. It keeps us from shining brightly.
Have I accomplished what I set out to do? Yes. As a young child, I set the goal of learning seven languages. Check. As a teenager, I wanted to help people connect with Spirit. Check. As a young adult, I decided I wanted children and grandchildren. Check. And now I can enjoy the things I have achieved as well as set new goals.
And, when I feel down, when I feel I’m not contributing enough to society, I can remember that in the immortal words of Queen, fat-bottomed girls make the rocking world go ‘round, and know I’m doing my part.
