We All Have It

As I grow older, I'm becoming more and more aware that we all truly believe we're 'different' and the truth is we are all remarkably similar!

At some level...

We all have more going for us than we believe we do.

We all have inner challenges, stresses and darkness that we think no one else has.

We all think that other people have it together, and we aren't like them.

We all fear that if people really knew us in all our weirdness, they would probably think twice about loving us or caring about us.

We all think no one has the same defects that we have.

We all think we are so different that no one could ever REALLY understand us.

Sound familiar?

I'm truly coming to the understanding that there is nothing new under the sun, we all have stuff inside us that we wish wasn't there and we don't believe other people deal with. We're wrong!

Everyone has 'stuff' inside them that is dark, difficult and causes us discomfort. It's part of the human condition.

As I'm coming more fully into acceptance of this idea, a funny thing is happening. I'm lightening up on myself!

That doesn't mean I don't want to improve and deal with what is mine to deal with. It just means that I am not so dang critical of myself all the time.

When we compare ourselves to the 'ideal' version of other people that we create in our heads, we can never measure up. No one is perfect. Everyone has flaws and everyone has their demons to wrestle with.

If we all were more willing to acknowledge that fact, we'd all be better off!

When we compare ourselves to unrealistic, impossible ideals we can't measure up. When we constantly feel 'less than' we can act out in strange ways.

You're normal! I'm normal! We're all normal! Let's just live our lives and relax about it all!