we do this work alone.
no one's going to reliably tell us that we're beautiful,
that we're strong,
that we're worthy of love
except for ourselves.
we face it alone.
we teach ourselves that we're good enough,
even though a thousand voices tell us we're not,
we don't need to prove it to anyone.
we spend our whole lives waiting for someone to show us our beauty,
to love us in a way we can't love ourselves.

then we grow frail and tired.
our hair greys;
that is when we are the most beautiful.
when we are so close to death
when we have let go of our insecurities
when nothing matters
except the feeling of sunlight on our faces in the winter;
the comforting feeling that
everything is going to be okay how it is now

what else could we want?

but we are always so close to death.

we are strong
and we are worthy of love
and we are good enough

we're going to die in this body.
and we're going to die in this mind.

there's not a lot of time to learn to love yourself

so start now.

I'm alive,
and I want to be excited,
but I'm tired.
where do I start
to make use of my space in this world?
to become something bigger?
to stop weighing the world down?
I think it starts with rising early in the morning,
moving my body,
breathing,
drinking water,
being with myself,
and then from the love that grows there
creating an extension to everyone and everything else.