Shifting Slowly

You are not your outside parts.

You are not your eyes, your ears, the color of your hair or the shape of your brows.

You can’t see loyalty by the length of hair or humor by the shape of brows or honesty by the color of skin or gentleness by the shape of bellies.

Nothing of what you look like on the outside defines you.

The essence, the truth, the root of you, is not a thing, a shape, a length, a color.

It can’t be touched or poked or molded.

Who you are is embedded deep inside of you.

A feeling.

Not tangible.

Your heart, holding all of who you are.

Darling remember, you are not your outsides.

Not what you wear, where you live or what you eat.

Not the home you live in or the family you were raised by.

You may have your mother’s nose, your father’s eyes and your aunt’s sweet ways.

But your outsides; your accent, your scent, your broad shoulders and thick thighs, no my love, those are not you.

You’re weird, you’re unique, you’re different.

You’re the things that make you cry and laugh and giggle and yell.

You’re the secrets that you keep.

The things you find amazing and lovely and whole.

The things that frighten you and keep you awake.

The things that you can’t speak of without your throat going dry and holding up a finger asking, “Just one minute please?”

You’re you.

Beautifully and wonderfully made.

Celebrate it.

Shout it from your rooftop.

Thank you for you.

Thank you for your presence.

Without it, we’d be empty & one less human away from amazing.

And in this life, we need all the amazing we can get.