May 1

"No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another.” Charles Dickens

I have to admit there have been times when I have felt useless, like I was not making a difference in the world. In short, I have felt that I simply didn't matter. The inner dialogue running through my head was overpowering, negative and diminished my faith in my self and my own sense of worth. I have been my own worst critic far too often. Being in 2020, I feel like the theme of hindsight should be running rampant. Maybe that was the way things were going to go until the pandemic came to the forefront. Perhaps the time for all of us to reflect is still waiting in the weeks and months to come. Yet in this pause I know I have become more aware of some things, and certainly one key point is that in those moments when I have felt the most useless, I have also been the most isolated and lost within my own thoughts. Knowing that I am often unreliable as a judge of my own character must lead to the conclusion that I need to be connected with others. Friends and mentors can often be a better mirror than my own eyes which may deceive me. More so, in connecting with others I am reminded of how I can be useful, what contributions I make in the various aspects of my life, my work and my community. And sometimes the best way of being useful is merely being present for someone else and listening to their own struggles.

Affirmation

Being aware of the vision in the mirror that I perceive and what others would describe can help me to reflect on who I truly am. I am more than the sum of my failures.