You Contain Multitudes

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Next time you are doubting your abilities or frustrated with yourself - remember that you contain multitudes. 

You are a walking historical library of stories from your family of origin, every place you’ve been, every person who touched your life, and everything you’ve learned. You are a soul in a human body with a very complicated brain who has been shaped by the DNA of your ancestors, the experiences you’ve had, and the influence of others you have encountered and impacted in your life.

Inside you, is the:

  • determination of your immigrant ancestors

  • wisdom of relatives who lived off the land

  • resilience of your grandparents

  • heartache for the loss of people you loved

  • laughter and memories with best friends

  • growth from challenging moments

  • confidence of the people who believed in you

  • creativity from finding solutions to many problems

  • appreciation for movies, books, and music that helped you better know yourself

  • achievements in schools, jobs, careers, and communities

  • intimacy with someone you trusted

  • philosophies that expand your existential pondering

  • empathy from suffering you have been exposed to

  • awe from moments in nature that took your breath away

  • compassionate awareness from shared human experiences

There is a multitude of goodness inside you. 

You contain all the versions of yourself that helped you become who you are today. 

The determined toddler who wanted to do everything all by themselves. The middle-schooler trying to find an identity. The risk-taking teenager. The dream-pursuing young adult. The enchanted lover. The unsure new parent. The person who got fired. The one who encountered devastation. The person who recovered. The person who holds onto a sliver of hope. They are still inside you. 

You contain multitudes. 

The dreamer and the realist. The optimist and the skeptic. The hopeful you and the disappointed you. The confident you and the uncertain you. The you who loved freely and the you who learned to protect your heart. 

You are supposed to be complicated - you are a complex creature.

You aren’t just a container of multitudes of your past - you contain multitudes of infinite potential for the future. Within you right now are capabilities you haven't yet discovered, perspectives you haven't considered, versions of yourself you haven't met yet, endless love to give and receive, and countless ways you will continue to surprise yourself. 

There are multitudes of potential within you.

Imagine the possibilities,

 

P.S. Sometimes when I am feeling lost or unsure of myself, I use “I contain multitudes” as a mantra and reminder of my ancestors and my potential, I borrowed it from Walt Whitman.