Seen

I see you in your wrestling,
Your deep desire to break free,
From a world that demands everything,
Out of people like you and me.
You rise to every occasion,
Ready to fight at any cost,
Relentlessly avoiding failure,
Conquering even the things you’re not.

You have plenty of awards and accolades,
But still push to be more ready,
Yet at the end of every accomplishment,
Your heart is still so heavy.
So you reach again for the next new challenge,
Trying everything under the sun,
Hoping maybe something will finally fit,
Then the wrestling will be done.

If you look at your experiences,
And the versions you felt forced to be,
Rich, broke, at the top of your game,
Or starting over green,
You’ve been through the spectrum of haves and have nots,
Still haven’t found what you’re looking for,
Have you considered maybe there just isn’t a version,
That will satisfy your internal war?

Life continues to wear on you,
I can see it on your face,
The distance between you, and what’s here and now,
Is where you question your worth and grace,
In happy times you refuse more hope,
To avoid painful disappointment,
In tough times you push everyone away,
Wearing isolation as your anointment.

The world continues its endless demands,
Of urgent and pressing worries,
But how will you prioritize what’s most important?
How can your life become less blurry?
If the goal is to find something that truly fits,
Then the question becomes, “what to measure?”.
At the end of your life what will be your story?
How will you know you found your treasure?

Will it be an impressive accomplished career?
More skills, more money, and pension?
Will it be beautiful travels, or a big fancy house,
Health and beauty? Respect? Attention?
And what if you achieve all of these things,
Yet somehow still feel uncertain?
What then, will be your biggest regret?
Because maybe that is your true burden.

Maybe you’ll regret not spending more time,
With the people you truly adore,
Maybe more importantly you’ll wish that you lived,
Less fearfully and kept less score.
The pursuit of happiness is frivolous,
Without big hopes and dreams.
And living a life that honors our intentions,
Is not actually as hard as it seems.

You begin by believing you are worthy,
And the truth is, you’ve always been!
Good and bad things happen externally to who we are,
They can’t change the truth within.
If our worthiness is based on being useful,
Our existence is under attack,
No matter what we do, we’ll never be enough,
For a world that takes, but never gives back.

Who we are is loved. We’re each inherently worthy,
These aren’t things people can give us,
The truth is just there, whether we accept or deny,
and the truth is simply, God made us.
Accepting our worth is the greatest gift,
we can ever give ourselves,
Denying our worth means giving it away,
and accepting a life of hell.

It’s up to us to direct our own life story,
and fully become everything we are.
Rebuilding or starting fresh is a lot less daunting
when your identity isn’t far.
Be curious about all you can do,
and the life that you can live,
then live it fully, and share it with others,
because a life worth living is one you give,

Give yourself to others, knowing you are complete,
give joyfully and without fear,
And in dry seasons, when you don’t have much to give,
Remember, everyone’s worthy here.
Give thoughtfully and with consideration,
What might encourage someone to see,
All the things they deny themselves,
All the ways they can be free.

Don’t allow history to repeat itself,
A spotted past doesn’t mean you can’t heal,
Reset your default out of fight mode,
and make “worthy” your truth and what’s real.
The best way to stop wrestling those internal doubts,
Is to reach out and create true connections.
So whenever we forget our own worthiness,
We can be reminded of our value and perfection.

I hope one day you’ll be proud of your life,
even when you’re alone with your thoughts,
The voices that dominate will always be there,
but don’t settle for what you’re not.
I see you and I see your wrestling,
I want so desperately for you to be free,
I hope some day soon you’ll claim “I am worthy”,
Maybe then you’ll see what I see.