I’ve been afraid of fear.
I’ve fought, both with my physical hands and with my emotional frustration.
I’ve held resentment, grudges, and distaste for people and things.
I’ve been envious.
I’ve been wrong.
I’ve felt wet clothes against my skin, either from rain or sweat or tears.
I’ve been sunburned to blisters and I’ve been chilled to the bone.
I’ve fallen apart in front of someone I didn’t know.
I’ve been embarrassed, criticized, underestimated, and manipulated.
I’ve been a friend, a dreamer, a believer, and a determined S.O.B.
I’ve laughed myself to tears and I’ve cried myself to smiles.
I’ve been so full of sushi that I felt sick to my stomach.
I’ve been tired. Of both people and life’s demands.
I’ve felt hope and hopelessness in the same situation.
I’ve been misunderstood.
I’ve had a chance that I’ve taken and missed many more that I haven’t.
I’ve been in love, out of it, and back in again.
I’ve spent a day worrying about something that didn’t matter.
I’ve seen a sunrise that taught me more about life than any dollar ever could.
I’ve tried and failed.
I’ve tried and failed. Again.
I’ve felt like I was done only to discover I just started.
I’ve had my bank account in the red.
I’ve complained until I got my way.
I’ve chased and chased and chased until I couldn’t run anymore.
I’ve seen death and birth.
I’ve been mostly unworthy throughout my life.
I’ve never hated anyone.
I’ve always believed in second chances. And thirds.
I’ve made it a goal to never run out of forgiveness.
I’ve learned how to apologize best by watching children do it.
I’ve lived a short enough life to know I should ask more questions than I answer.
I’ve lived a long enough one to know better.
I’ve learned that I’m a work in progress and that I only have to worry about the progress if the trying stops.
This is the human experience.
I’ve found that there isn’t anything in excess that can ultimately satisfy one’s hunger for truly living. Breathing the air is a precious experience that I cannot afford to regret or take for granted.
Every day is an opportunity to find a hidden smile on another face. Every day is an opportunity for choice — enthusiasm or pessimism. Every day is an opportunity to reject the idea that I have it worse than anyone else and accept the fact that we’re all just trying.
Every day is an opportunity.
Today has been enough.