Snowflakes

Don’t believe for a moment that you are not special. That you have nothing to give. That your life is inconsequential and it wouldn’t have made a difference if you were never born. I’m still figuring out what we’re all doing here, what we’re meant to be doing and why we’re buggering it up so badly (or are we?), but it’s coming clear as I go that every single one of us has a purpose. In general, it’s to express ourselves through our individual passions. Specifically, only the individual knows what that is. For some, it’s to provide contrast for others. I know quite a few of this type, and being grateful for them is harder than it is to forgive myself for how hard it is to be grateful for them. For others, it’s to bring joy through art and music and theatre, to serve with humour and compassion, to bring out the best in those around us by being the best we can be. The best friends, lovers, teachers, partners, parents, astronauts, doctors, cab drivers, garbage collectors, firemen, factory workers, you get the idea. We all have something we do well. Even screwing up takes talent. Some of my gaffes have been epic and they took no effort at all—and no, I regret none of them.

The great blues player BB King passed away recently. At the end of a video tribute on the news that day, there was a clip of him saying, and I’m paraphrasing, “There are lots of good players out there, many of them play better, but I’m the only one who’s me.”

I was glad of the reminder, because I frequently forget that no one else can write my stories. They might steal the plot or kidnap the characters, but nothing they produce will ring as if Ru wrote it. I’m the only one who’s me.

We are all snowflakes, constructed of the same chemical components. We are born from the same stormcloud of energy. We may share ideas and inspiration, we may share talents and skills and passions with others of our ilk, but no two of us will create identical versions of any one thing. On a crowded sidewalk, no two faces are alike. No two souls are alike. Each one of us has something special to contribute because no one else will bring what you bring to the party. You are yourself: singular, unique, one of a kind.

You’re the only one who’s you.