A special individual recently suggested I consider that "the most unique thought a person can have is that he/she is not so unique." Our conversation so helped my perspective. In my personal life walk, I have "othered" myself from others. I made myself an outcast for a lot of negative, self-disparaging reasons and self-imposed bullshit. I was fully immersed in feeling damnableness that lead to shame, isolation, a lack of transparency with those I care about, and many fucking awful days of feelings like complete and utter shit.
Here's the thing. What if the things you are beating yourself up for are not uncommon? What if there are other people walking this Earth who have taken similar paths, made similar choices, and/or had to face similar beyond-their-control events? What if there are other people who think the thoughts you think? What if someone else shares your experience? Are they fucked up beyond repair? Hopeless? Unique? Or, like you, are they human, perfectly capable of redemption and forgiveness, able to rise above shit (self-imposed, genetic-imposed, and environment-imposed) and live life true to their highest selves?
I am not unique. There is not an area of life experience that I stand alone in without a single person, living or dead, to know what it is like. The same is true for you. You are not unique, and I mean this with good will and the best intention.
Sometimes the darkness is so incredibly dark because there is no one there to tell you "Hey, stop worrying so much. You can overcome this. Forgive yourself. Forgive others. Know that nothing you have done is beyond Love's scope. I've been there. I've only recently left there. I am there right now. There's hope. Take my hand. Let's prove that connectedness lights up the darkest places."
Find your community. Build your tribe. Get out of self. Know that it gets better. Know that you are definitely not alone!
Dear Friend:
Thank you for taking my hand and challenging and shifting my perspective.
