Your Are Special & Unique

Walking outside in the afternoon today, I marveled at the fat, beautiful snowflakes landing heavily onto my black umbrella.

I looked at them as closely as I could without a microscope, but at least in the clear and bright daylight. They looked much like the crystals I’d seen much enlarged, with angular shapes.

I was in awe of the volume of snow that is produced by the earth, and the fact that each individual snowflake is completely unlike any other.

It reminded me of a funny quote I’d read once: “You are special and unique…just like everybody else.”

While it’s true that we are all unique, we are also similar in our uniqueness, and indeed no one is island. But I prefer to focus on the fact that each one of us is different.

Each of us has a different purpose, and different talents and gifts to share, even if we may not be aware of them.

You have special things about you that no one else has. Some things are obvious, like fingerprints, but others are much more hidden.

I believe the only way we ever get to know our true gifts is to do what makes us happy, following our deepest joys, and also being in service – looking for ways to love and do for others. When we reach out in ways to serve and give love, we then become even more loveable, and shine our brightest in ways we never imagined, and perhaps never even see for ourselves.

You are as beautiful as any flower you’ve ever admired. You were created by the same force that made that flower. Even things that aren’t considered beautiful have their own unique attractiveness. They may be strikingly appealing or magnetic, or they may be considered beautiful by cultures other than your own. Regardless, all things have beauty and worth, including you and everyone else.

Take time today to appreciate your uniqueness.

Be brave in expressing your authentic self. Bring the gift of yourself to the world by being freely yourself. Learn to be comfortable in being yourself, not holding back any part that is not truly you.

Appreciate all the parts of you, whether you love them or not. Deepak Chopra says the things we don’t like about ourselves aren’t flaws or faults. They’re merely things we haven’t yet accepted about ourselves, and they make us complete.

Think of yourself as whole, completely, special and unique today. Because you are. Just like everybody else!

If we each focused on how unique we are, and how important it is that we shine our own unique colors, we would be bolder in doing so, and create a bolder and more beautiful world together.

Cassendre Xavier coined the term “renaissance negresse” in 2002 to describe her work as a musician, author, visual artist, and actress. She is the founder and director of Philadelphia’s annual Black Women’s Arts Festival (Est. 2003), which you can visit at http://BWAFphilly.org.

© 2010 by Cassendre Xavier. All rights reserved. http://cassendrexavier.com

Source: http://cassendrexavier.blogspot.com/2010/02/you-are-special-unique.html or http://tinyurl.com/ya7gppp.