"Just me" is enough

I am enough.

It's become a slogan of late. And sometimes - sometimes I need to remind myself of it.

I wonder sometimes whether I really make a difference by being "just me."  My contribution seems so infinitesimal compared to those who are older, younger, smarter, taller, richer, skinnier, more popular.

I need to remember that "just me" is enough:

• when I look in the mirror and wish I had a thinner body and/or nicer clothes,
• when I feel like people look past me at someone else who has those things,
• when I wonder if anyone really notices any of the good things I do, 
• when I am tempted to change who I am to fit in, 
• when I think that I'm too shy/ sensitive/ fearful, and even
• when I watch TV and see advertisers try to tell me that I don't smell good enough, don't look young enough, and won't be loved if I don't use their product.

I'm not saying that I don't need help. In fact, I know that I do: all kinds of help. All I'm saying is that if I believe that I need something more, something artificial, to make me feel more worthy, then it's time to reexamine my priorities. 

I need to be honest with myself. That happens when I look myself in the eyes in the mirror, and remind myself of Polonius' wisest (and last) words given to his son Laertes, "Above all, to thine own self be true; then it shall follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man." (Hamlet)