Let’s be honest…common or ordinary isn’t working for you. It never worked for me. I was never able to truly fit in anywhere. I was always a little different. I had dreams and aspirations. I saw things a little different than my friends and family.

I mean, I wasn’t completely ostracized or left out, but I just always felt like I was unique. The more dreamers I’ve talked to throughout my life, the more I realized that I wasn’t the only one who felt this way. I quickly realized that all of us are unique, yet most of us choose to stifle that part of our make up and eagerly pursue commonality.

Why do you want to be common when we were created so unique?

Self-esteem plays a large part in dictating how we fit into society. If we don’t value ourselves and feel as though we aren’t worthy of being part of society, then we will stop at nothing to do what we can to fit in. We buy expensive cars, wear the latest fashions, get involved in relationships that are not productive, and live a life that produces stress and anxiety.

In the book of Genesis, we are told that God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, make them reflecting our nature.” This is an amazing concept. God is uniquely abstract. God has so many facets and as humans, we were created to reflect the many facets of God. We are each unique, however we are each created to reflect a different perspective on the greatness of God.

When we ignore our unique reflection and push to “fit in”, we are robbing, not only ourselves, but society as a whole. We are robbing them of experiencing God in a new way…through you. To quote Dr. Suess, “Today you are you, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is youer than you”.

So who are you? What does “you” look like buried beneath the piles of cars, HD tvs, iPads, expensive clothes and makeup? It takes courage to dig deep and find out who you really are…who you were created to be. It takes perseverance. It takes patience.

Jesus refers to the Shema (V’ahavta) in Deuteronomy 6:4-9 and adds that we must love our neighbors as we love ourselves. In this, he teaches that loving ourselves is in direct correlation to the act of loving others. This inward love and outward expression are paralleled to loving God. They are what is referred to as Gezerah Shawah or similar laws/verdicts.

You see, being uniquely you, loving yourself…who you were created to be, has more importance than just being happy. It brings clarity, love and community and speaks louder than anything you could ever say or do. The closer you get to be uniquely you, the closer you get to reflecting God’s love to the world.

So stop being so common and embrace being you.

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