#anyrandomkindness

Happiness looks like

Christmas lights down your whole street

Late night talks with siblings

The most beautiful colors all over the sky before it goes black

Friends in a circle on the beach

The first rain of the season

Family all gathered around one table

Happiness feels like

A sore stomach from laughing too hard

Everything is complete again

A hot shower after a long day

Hugging your mom after a hard day

Eating down a large bowl of sundae

Happiness sounds like

Ocean waves hitting the sand

Screaming songs with your friends in the car

Uncontrollable laughter

That first ‘I love you’

Raging storms

Morning. It rushed up the window even though you weren’t quite ready for it. But perhaps that’s what new days are about: a sudden shift forward that we know is coming, yet still, it feels new. A daily miracle of a black sky turning blue again.

And I hope you can have deep gratitude for this. I hope in those early hours that feel like the early hours of a thousand days before, you can breathe deep and say,

“Oh, now this day is new. I have not seen this hour before. I am not stuck in a vicious cycle, after all. Breath by breath, I am moving forth. This day is new. This day is new.”

I hope the morning sun reminds you of this. I hope when you are tired, and on the heels of not having enough sleep, you can see this new day is a miracle. I hope you can treat it as new, like it’s very own thing, because after all the days you have lived, this is the only day you have.

After all the days you have lived, this is the only day you have.

And even though this is the only day you have, this has nothing to do with scarcity. Just because you cannot take action in more than one moment at a time is not limiting at all. It takes strength to be able to make it from moment to moment, and the highs and lows of morning. But it is in that strength that you grow. It is in that strength that you experience the rich, yet unspoken grace to keep traveling through each day.

Because at the end of it all, we are all just travelers on a lifelong journey. We are all just wondering our way through the wild, following the path step by step. None of us have it all figured out yet. Many of us can guess, but we have no idea precisely what it looks like beyond the next bend. We can only prepare ourselves with strength, courage, and peace, breath into breath, morning into morning. We can keep our tired eyes on the horizon. We can remember that this day is brand new, and it is another series of hours to walk in the Light.

In the same way the most distant star has a place in the sky, even in your most distant moments, you have a place in this life.

You are bringing value to this life with every breath you breathe. You are a part of something greater, even when you do not feel worthy.

Think of the honeybees you never see, that are vital to the earth. Their presence makes a difference even when we have not contemplated the extent of their worth.

It is far too easy to take beautiful things in nature for granted. And as sure as it is essential to learn and be reminded of their importance, this is true for human beings, too.

In your life, there have likely been seeds that you have sown that have gone unnoticed. There have probably been moments where you gave your all, but not a single soul seemed to care. The more and more this happens, the easier it is to grow numb, and not only to the world around you but also, your own worthiness.

But take heart, for there is grace for this. And within that grace, there is room to see: it is not too late for you to come alive once again. It is a beautiful thing to know that others see your efforts, your significance, and your worth. But long before they do, may you begin to trust that you are worthy, whether or not they notice you. You are worthy, whether or not it was acknowledged.