Do you ever feel like you try so hard? To set the right intentions, meet goals, honor commitments, achieve, grow, succeed?

We spend our lives meeting expectations (ours or others) and trying to live up. We take care of ourself; we take care of loved ones; we are a good friend and a helping hand. We are beautiful at multi-tasking. We carry loads while shedding our own weight. We search for validation in possessions and achievements. We check off our bucket list. We don all the roles and we do it with a smile.

We forget. We forget that the part of us people want to see, and the part of us people actually need, is our truest, most honest self. Truth is pure because it has no labels, roles, or agenda. Truth simply IS. Truth needs no validation, and no pat on the back.

Each of us has unique gifts that are ours. Gifts erupt from our soul and show up as kindness, laughter, food, helping, talents, and passions. Gifts also come from our experience, and they might be messy, tragic, and full of pain. When we offer our true self, we offer it all. This doesn't mean we have to bare our heart to every person we meet. But we don't have to be ashamed of the parts of us that may or may not receive validation according to the norm.

People who love us honor the good, bad, light and dark. The dark parts are just as much a gift to others as they are to ourselves. Just like our difficult times have made us stronger, better, and wiser, our difficult times have also made us who we are. Who we are is our greatest gift - to everyone, whether they realize it or not.

How we overcome something demonstrates our character. We are all shaped by experience, and an accolade we often forget to give ourselves is how much we have been through, and how far we have come. We don't recognize the superb accomplishment of pulling ourselves out of a painful experience. We don't recognize the warrior in the mirror. Instead, we often feel slow, behind, or missing something. We have regrets and doubts. Despite all we have carried, and all we have overcome, we still feel the need to wish we were different.

Your true Self is more powerful and more beneficial than any amount of material gain or fairytale story. Your unique path is why people love and adore you. Your gift to the world is already within you, and requires no further shaping or fancy bow. Look at that person in the mirror today. That person is deserving, pure of heart, courageous, and wise. That person, just as you are today, has a lot to show the world.