We are not an arbitrarily contrived, societally perceived, measurable scale of success and failure.

We are more.

We are not our seemingly cement-filled shoulders.

We are not our aching back.

We are not our ability to walk.

We are not our reading capability.

We are not our ability to speak.

We are not our intelligence.

We are not our bad knee.

We are not our worn joints.

We are not our scoliosis.

We are not our heart conditions.

We are not our handwriting.

We are not our surgery scars. 

We are not our emotional wounds.

We are not our cancer.

We are not our golf score.

We are not our epilepsy.

We are not our eating disorder.

We are not our body image.

We are not our ability to fit our beautiful bodies into an unimportant size.

We are not our parental style.

We are not our anxiety.

We are not our anger issues.

We are not our depression.

We are not the amount of money we own.

We are not our student loans.

We are not our job title.

We are not our skin color.

We are not our glasses.

We are not our relationship status.

We are not our hair.

We are not the clothes we wear.

We are not our hearing aids.

We are not our athletic performance.

We are not genetic disorder.

We are not our chronic pain.

We are not our Interstitial Cystitis.

We are not our mood swings.

We are not our ADHD.

We are not our autism.

We are not our learning abilities.

We are not our sleep disorder.

We are not our diabetes.

We are not our asthma.

We are not the medication we take.

We are not the car we drive.

We are not an arbitrarily contrived, societally perceived, measurable scale of success and failure.

Whether or not we see ourselves and our abilities positively or negatively, we are not our low self-esteem or our ego.

This doesn’t make our human limitations problematic—they are a part of our experience and something to be recognized, owned and honored.

But we are more.

Today, and every day, let’s celebrate being more.

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Editor: Catherine Monkman

Photo: Wikimedia Commons