I Hope You Fall In Love With This Beautiful, Messy Life

I hope you have moments of sheer presence. Moments where the last thing you want to do is pull out your phone, because what’s in front of you is so rich, so full of life and beauty and immediacy.  

I hope you find yourself on the edge of a mountain, or on the beach at sunset, or surrounded by tall trees in a dense forest, in awe of this planet. In awe of the magnificent beauty that surrounds you, the selfless love that nature exudes. Giving to us for free, over and over again, breathtaking masterpieces. Her expressions of beauty are hard pressed to be matched. 

I hope you treat people with kindness. Not just the people who have something for you. Everyone. I hope you feel what it is like to be brought to your knees by the goodness in the world. I hope you find respite, once in a while, from the horror and the despair caused by humanity and instead you turn to the simple act of making someone smile. 

I hope you fall in love. With people. With life. With yourself. Over and over again. 

I hope you create art. I know that you will be overwhelmed by how it is perceived by the world. I know it will be hard for you to let it go, because you want it to be perfect, impactful, and timeless. Here’s the thing—you will never think it’s perfect. There will always be something you feel you can improve. But it isn’t meant to be. What it is meant to be is a beautiful expression of a wave of inspiration that moved through you—a creative extension of the Universe. Your artifact. Your stamp on humanity.

Let it be messy. Let it be imperfect. Let yourself stumble. Go numb only to come back to yourself, feeling 10 times more intensely. 

Get loud in your mind and be unfair and hard on yourself, only to then realize the unnecessary pain you’ve been causing, and return once again to the quiet peace that has been lying dormant within you. 

Screw up. Do it wrong. Say the wrong thing. Try and fall. Put yourself out there and feel vulnerable and embarrassed. That’s it. It’s okay; it’s human. It’s life. You’re not here to do it 100% right the first time you do everything. You are here to fall and learn. 

Welcome back. You are human. And you are doing it just right.