But wait, why am I talking about change? Aren’t we beautiful and amazing just as we are? Haven’t I spent so much time this in building up our self-esteem and learning to love ourselves? Yes, yes, and yes.

It is true that we are beautiful and amazing as we are.

A long time ago my first counselor told me that who we remain constant but what we do changes. We are both rigid and flexible. Our intrinsic personalities are unique. We are, at our core, “us.” However, what we do is flexible and changes over time.

We can do good things or bad. We can learn new skills, get a degree, learn ballroom dancing, or whatever we desire.

The choice we have is whether we want to be “warriors of light” as Paulo Coelho has written about in his book Warrior of the Light.

What would you do when no one is around? When you find a wallet on the street, do you take the money and toss the wallet, or do you look for the person’s identification and bring the wallet back to the owner intact?

The choices we make in our lives set about a rippling effect of change. Good habits beget other good habits. If we do not take care of our bodies, body, and soul, then who will?

At the end of the 20th century, Americans believed whole-heartedly in the American dream. But now, on the cusp of the new century, people are questioning whether that dream ever existed or if it’s worth it.

What’s the use of having lots of money, but we’re morally corrupt inside? If we wall ourselves off from hurt and the rest of the world, how can we know true love and joy?

The change that I am advocating is revolutionary because we can embrace the pain of our past, absorb it into us and fill those hurts part of us with love, and then to let it go. If we could free ourselves from the old tapes in our head, imagine what joy and contentment we would feel in our lives.

Unfortunately, I’m not here to sell you a magic pill or a three installment plan to solve all your problems. That’s not how life works. (I think we all know that deep down, but we like to escape for a while.)

The change that I am promoting is transformational because if we accept ourselves for who we are then we can blossom into the person we are meant to be.

What’s the catch?

It takes work.

The change that we want in our lives takes time to achieve. If we’ve struggled with the fallout from the addiction that we grew up around, it takes time to heal and accept ourselves. To look in the mirror and say, “I love you” (and mean it) takes time.

How much time?

As much time as is necessary for you.

Some might read that and get upset because it’s not an answer they want to heart. But what if we see the opportunity we have before us? We have a chance, every single day, to grow and go on a journey of self-discovery.

I wish sometimes that I could ease up and let go. To celebrate who I am today, and not who I want to be tomorrow of five years from now.

To be enough today and be happy with that, is sometimes hard.

I invite you to start today. Hug yourself like you’ve found the love of your life. Why? Because that’s what you are: Your true love.

Like what you’ve read? Be sure to check out my other posts in my Let Go and Be Free blog.