Day 12: Remember You are Enough
Lately, my kiddos have been having a lot of sad thoughts. I think it’s from being stuck home, away from friends and school and normalcy of all kinds. A lot of days, I spend time reminding them that they are good at things, they are clever, imaginative, and kind. And then we talk about the “bully in their brain.” You all know what I mean. The bully in your brain is the one who tells you that you can’t do things, or that even if you could, you wouldn’t do them right, or that even if you did, no one would notice.
In our family, we name those bullies, just to remind ourselves that they’re not our true selves. Names like Malfoy and Umbridge, or sometimes Jerky Jerkface and Stinky Pooppants. It’s alarming to me that even my 8 year olds can identify these thoughts and they’ll sometimes listen to them. Because even at 3 decades older, I still have to tell Jerky Jerkface to keep her stupid mouth shut.
When it comes to community, those voices can come out in full force. And they take hold because they’re right sometimes. I can’t build community on my own and if I did, it wouldn’t be right. But that’s not because I’m bad at things; it’s because community requires each of our talents and my job is simply to offer what I have. Because what I have is enough.
Enoughness is a mantra I have to repeat every day. There is something insidious in our culture that tries to remind us, every day, that nothing we ever do will be enough to make a difference. Our vote doesn’t count. Our work will be forgotten or undone by someone coming after us. Even the small acts of love we do – gifts, good meals, kind words – will fade away as soon as our attention is on something else.
That’s just Jerky Jerkface talking again. As we build our community, there will be plenty of times when you alone are not enough to make it all work. That’s not a bad thing. It means there’s room for other people to bring their own unique insights and gifts. Today, consider telling that mean voice to shove off and remind yourself that what you bring is enough. Just make sure you keep bringing it.