Sometimes, what you’re looking for is already there.
Aretha Franklin
It is very ironic that you have to go somewhere in order to find yourself. It is very bemusing that you have to travel the vast world several times over before you will discover the undeniable beauty of home. But no matter how ironic or bemusing, the best place to start looking for what’s missing is right inside your own heart.
As children we were told to mind our business and follow, and some of our childish antics certainly warranted that without question, but I think we learned something as children that we were not intended to learn. We learned that happiness exists outside of ourselves. We learn to depend on outside sources. We learned to search and search under every rock, that true happiness is hidden, limited, and not that easy to find.
But perhaps those childish ideas need to be put to rest. Maybe what you long to be or long to have, is right in front of you. Now, I’m not suggesting that you’re blind and you’ve some how missed everything. What I mean is that perhaps the fundamental pieces which hold the meaning of our life, are already inside of us, and are accessible if we could just focus and exude some tenacious effort.
Maybe you don’t have to go anywhere to find yourself. Maybe you don’t have to travel the world to see how beautiful your life is. Maybe you can spend some energy and begin to contemplate who you are, who you have known, what you have been given, and what a beautiful life still lies ahead of you. Maybe, just maybe, we don’t tread a turbulent, scarce, dog eat dog world. Maybe, just maybe, we live in an unperturbed reality. We are co-creators of our lives, in a world of unbelievable and undeniable abundance.
Look for what’s already there. Start with what you have and what you cherish. List everything. Dig through old photo albums, revisit fond memories with family members at your next gathering. Don’t wait for a wedding or a funeral. Look today, what you already have and what will give you strength and purpose.
Start there and discover what to do next. Look ahead, armed with who you are and with what is already there. There is no road map to our existence. Our lives are not a matter of some kind of divine ledger that accounts and keeps track of us being right or wrong. Life is not a matter of being a failure or becoming a success. One person’s success, is another woman’s death sentence. What one man discards, another one treasures.
We are as different but we all have tremendous value. Don’t spend too much time looking at the mirror of other people reflecting back at you. Don’t take on their fears, anxieties and inferiority. Find people and experiences that are like big, magnanimous windows. Let their experience point you to a new reality. Let them inspire you to reach parts of you that remain unknown.
Trust that what you need is already there. You are who you are meant to be. Have faith that everything has a purpose and a proper place. Love where you are, and accept yourself for where you’ve been. Look ahead and search some more. Be a window for others to look through. Let them discover their own greatness, taking courage in a person who has discovered theirs.
