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Last night, I imagined myself as an old man, asking whether or not I had lived a successful Life, and this is what immediately came to mind:
Did I Love as much as I could? Did I help people to the best of my ability? Did I take care of those closest to me? Did I express who I am and make deeper connections? Did I spread as much light to those around me as possible? Did I offer myself to Life and to the betterment of humanity? Was I committed to being True to my Self and what I stand for? Did I work towards becoming the best version of my Self, learning and growing as much as I could? Am I proud of how I decided to show up in this world, and did I try to make it a more tolerable place?
If so, then yes, I would say that I have lived a successful Life.
Though I imagine that’s going to look different for everyone, it’s up to us to figure that out. We are the sole (soul) knower of what matters most to us, and whether we are being True to who we are and what we hold inside of us. We all have something good to offer, no matter how small or insignificant we may think it is. Our work lies in the breaking down of the barriers that are preventing us from living as our authentic Self, from putting ourselves out there unapologetically.
Life is, inherently, meaningless so I think it’s up to us to create it for ourselves, based on what we value and what we’re drawn towards. It doesn’t matter what someone else thinks or how they have decided to live. It doesn’t matter what job we have, how much money we make or any other external sources of validation, just so long as we’re allowed to express who we are. Material is superficial and empty if it doesn’t contain any deeper substance, if it doesn’t contain any soul. Because it is our souls that are now needing fed.
So if we don’t feel that we are living in alignment with who we actually are, or if we don’t even –know– who we are, then it’s up to us to aim towards that. I believe that our Life’s work is to simply become more of who we are supposed to be. I’m also slowly learning that it’s less about what we’re DOING with our lives, and more about who we’re BEING while we’re living it, which requires more of an internal journey to find out who that is exactly.
Because really, at the end of the day, we all need to be able to look at ourselves in the mirror and think, “I tried my best. And in spite of it all, I’m proud of who I am.”
So that is what I’m going to keep working towards.
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