RECOGNIZE

"...recognize that every single person you meet is struggling..."

"...you tend to see others as completely formed individuals..."

"...recognize that everybody you meet, every single one of them, no matter how expensive the suit is, or how serious their expression is, they are looking for significance. They are trying to do the best they can, and they fail regularly. And they're within their own particular battle of their own life, and so cut them some slack for that.Don't let them off the hook, but recognize the shared nature of being a human being and let people be themselves, make some allowances for them, treat people a little more kindly as a result."

I watched this today, and it said a few things to me that surprised. 

The first that came to mind was how similar his advice to a younger him compared to how I've lived the last 25 years.

It's easy to recognize that we all have challenges when you have live through them yourself. This is where those of us that once lacked self-esteem have an advantage over those who've never found it.

Surviving those years that most of us endure, those difficult and confusing times, those dark and seemingly endless days, has a way of sticking to a person. 

Learning who you are and accepting who you are is one of the most difficult tasks we can complete. It is also one of the most rewarding, in that life becomes exponentially better and much more joyous. 

Once you find your happy place, it seems only natural to hope everyone does the same thing. While everyone has their own journey, many can be helped along just witnessing and receiving kindness. It appears like such an easy thing, but clearly it is not. It doesn't happen nearly often enough.

I feel lucky to have discovered the key to my own happiness. It's like I've been two different people. The insecure unhappy boy, and the content, older young man I continue to be. 

I don't have the words to express the amount of despair that occupied my life on a daily basis. I'm sure many have felt the same way, and defeating this curse was one of our proudest achievements. 

In today's chaos, Chris' words above have similar significance to anyone who feels lesser than they are. There are so many lost souls who attach themselves to things they hope can lift them out of the darkness, yet, they find it is not the Cure. Their hope is crushed and not likely to return too soon.

We must find a way to make every child feel the love and importance they need to be all they can be. We must find a way to make every teenager who hasn't felt the love and importance, experience it and be able to look themselves  in the mirror and be proud of who they've become. We must find a way to make every adult who hasn't felt the love and importance, recognize that it is never too late to discover that they too can be proud of who they are and what they've done. 

Maybe all it takes is a stranger, taking a moment of their time, to make the other feel significant. Wouldn't that be the greatest gift of all???