Know Who You Are by Ines

We are not our bodies.
We are not our faces, not our brains, not even our minds.
We are not the steps we take or the floors we've walked.
We are what lies beneath all of that.

This truth applies to everyone.
We all share the same bones, the same muscles, the same tissues.
Each of us is built from the same blueprint.

But it takes time.
Time to accept that we are not just the shell others see.
That we are simply living and existing in the same space and time as many others.
It takes time to understand that not everyone is focused only on your exterior.

Some are drawn to the light within you.           It takes time to live and breathe in that light when darkness surrounds you.
And with light, there are shadows.
It takes resilience to face those shadows and to integrate them into who you are.

Your appearance is yours.
Your circumstances are yours.
Your name and your achievements belong to you.
You cannot pass your name to someone else and expect them to benefit from it.
Just as you cannot thrive off someone else’s success.

Know yourself.                                      Embrace your uniqueness and your differences, and recognize that in this way, you are equal to others.
Know your worth.
Stop blaming yourself, and stop blaming others.

Define who you are.
Speak to yourself with the kindness you would offer a friend, a lover, a family member.         Let go of the labels.
Labels are for objects without value.
You are worth the world.

Accept yourself, fully and truly.
You are already enough, exactly as you are.
You deserve to live with that understanding. Be grateful for who you are.

“Respect a life of solitude. You are born alone, and you will die alone. So what’s this fuss about being approved by other people?”
—Anubhav Jain