If I had 15 minutes before my last breath, this is what I would do and say: I would hold near my closest loved ones. I would gaze deeply into their eyes. I would feel their tight hugs. I would tell them I love them.
I would share with them what I know is true, what I hope would help them and others along their life’s journey from here onward:
Allow yourself to be happy. Nobody else can grant you this permission. Nobody can take away this right. You are the only one who can embrace your life, your calling, your unique journey.
Each person you meet is looking for the same basic things: to feel seen. To feel valued. To feel loved. To feel needed. To belong. When you realize this, you understand there is no innate evil in others. Everyone’s actions are either seeded in a pursuit of pleasure – or in avoidance of pain. Joy is pleasant. Fear is painful.
It’s up to you how you move along this journey. There were a handful of times when I received crystal-clear messages in my life, always at cross-roads in my path. The first one was that the one and only way for me to move forward was to help others. This came during one of those dark nights of the soul you hear about, and it came as a beacon of clarity and light. Help others. Things we value in the moment, are often shallow and ephemeral. Extending yourself toward the need of others is the way to move yourself and others forward. Is the way to make a lasting difference in others’ lives and in your own.
Find what is it that you can do exceptionally well, and find in what way does it fulfill someone else’s needs. Then pursue that – it’s your destiny, and the way you can fill your days with soul-soothing purpose.
Always allow yourself your uniqueness. With the best of intentions toward yourself and everyone you meet, be unapologetic for who you are, what you need, and how you express your truth. Your self-awareness will awaken others to their inner voice, and the whole world will take a step forward because of it. Look at life as you live it, look at what models are you trying to embrace. And question them all. Why this. Why this way. That voice inside of you is real, and it’s aching to be heard – let it speak to you.
Joy is real. Tenderness, closeness to others, are the way the Universe speaks to each of us. Open your heart to the ever-present symphony around you.
And always remember this: your presence in this life, in this form, at this time is all the proof you’ll ever need that you are absolutely necessary. The Universe chose you from all possible ways it could have manifested itself.
You, exactly as you are, are enough. You are enough. There is, in you, all you need to understand your purpose, pursue it with joy, and fulfill it as only you can.
This is it. Your life is a gift to you. A present. The present. Be aware of it as fully and authentically as you can, and it will guide you at every step.
I wish you free-flowing joy, and the grace to embrace this ultimate truth: that you, exactly the way you are, are most wonderful, and utterly needed, and endlessly loved.
This I know to be true.
