An Orchid

“You’re just too sensitive!” “You have too much energy.” “You’re sooo slow!” Even friends and family play art critic for our lives. We even do it to ourselves. The little inner voice that tells us we aren’t this or that or that we should or shouldn’t. There’s a role for the moral conscience. But where’s the line? Stop shoulding yourself and don’t let others should on you either. 

Imagine an orchid for a moment. Imagine if the orchid, instead of realizing its own incredible beauty - the fact that it can stay in bloom for weeks. Or the glistening sparkle on it’s moist petals. Imagine the orchid said to itself, “you’re too delicate!” Imagine if it looked at the grass and thought, “ugh look how that grass is so expansive and I’m so small.” That’d be silly. But we do that same to ourselves. We ignore what makes us unique, or worse, we look at what makes us unique and think of it as a weakness. Usually weaknesses are also strengths. If you’re a quiet person that is shy about public speaking, then this quiet may have made the space in you to be a great listener. If you can be too aggressive or get angry, I bet you’re great when a loved one needs defending. 

My point is, it’s the expectations that give us silly ideas about not being enough. Look around the natural world, and it’s full of species that fit perfectly in one environment, but would be ridiculous in another. Imagine the whale in a small stream. That’d be silly.