Today's Special

Photo by Simon Rogers

Once upon a time, we were young and everything felt possible. The whole world was ahead of us. We had an entire lifetime’s worth of hours to explore. We could do anything. We could be anything. We weren’t afraid to dream.

And then life got smaller. It arrived like sleep, slowly and then all at once. And when we woke up, we looked around to discover that the realm of possibility was so much less than it had been. We couldn’t run as fast or jump as high. There were more rules to every game. Routine fed our illusions of safety. Hope became scary. Magic disappeared.

We grew quiet about things that mattered. We forgot how to play pretend and became people who were pretending. Others could see this, and so they pretended too. Soon we forgot how to be real with each other. We buried our unfulfilled dreams out of shame.

We compared ourselves to others. We felt so far behind. And because we weren’t where we wanted to be, we stopped taking the risks we needed to. We made excuses. We stopped trying.

And when those we loved found the strength to keep going, we found ourselves weak with hurt. We confused this with jealousy, perhaps even betrayal, but we misread that pain.

It wasn’t weakness that nudged at us. It was the irrepressible spark of a dream. It was the small light that has always existed in us, the one that never dies out, the strongest of all known forces. It cannot be buried. It cannot be forgotten. It can only continue to burn.

Somewhere inside we can feel it. It’s why we wake up and try again. Each day we prove we are worthy of hope. Each minute we fight the good fight. We can’t always see it, but always, we win. We are always a little bit closer to who we are becoming. And that is a victory. An important one.

Today is special. There may be others like it, but never one exactly the same. You will never again be who you are at this very moment, and whether that makes you happy or sad really doesn’t matter, because all of it means something. All of it is helping you grow.

So embrace whatever it is you feel right now, reading this. Don’t let today pass by without recognition. You have the chance to make this day remarkable, and then the next, and the next. Everything you could want or need exists inside of you. You feel it, don’t you? It is fullness. It is light.

Remember the daily specials. For breakfast, there is hope. For lunch, there is laughter. For dinner, acceptance is served. For dessert, I ask that you lick the spoon of happiness clean, that you take in every last bite.

Don’t ever be afraid to ask for firsts or seconds or thirds. You can have anything you want. Today’s special because it exists and that matters, because everything is possible, including you.

Keep reaching for the dreams that scare you. Let your light shine through. Be amazed by the magic your hope can create. Pick up the fork. Dig deeply into your one delicious life.

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