https://www.amandapriyagalloway.com/

Amanda Priya Galloway, 4055 S 700 e, Salt Lake City, UT (2024)

06/27/2022

06/16/2022

06/09/2022

Is this adequate?

Am I prepared for this?

Do I look ok?

Am I enough for this world?

My heart aches to think of the number of times I decided, ‘No, I am not worthy of coming as I am.’ And then didn’t go, and my contribution was missed.

That’s right… in case you’ve never thought about what happens when you decide you aren’t worthy of showing up, your contribution is missed; your light is absent; your puzzle piece is missing; the whole is incomplete.

That’s right…we ALL have a contribution to make. Maybe you don’t know what yours is yet, but I can promise you that you’ll never find out if you keep deciding you should stay quiet, stay small, stay put.

Remarkable things happen when we show up AS WE ARE, even when we’re afraid, ill-prepared, tongue tied, and uncertain.

You know why?

Because it’s our presence – not our presentation – that matters. It’s that light… that puzzle piece… that experience only YOU HAVE that someone needs.

And today I’m thinking about several people I know who are facing difficult, scary, uncertain situations…

Like my daughter and her classmates leaving the familiarity of high school and home

Like my friend applying for a new job that would mean less income but more peace

Like my neighbor packing up her house to live closer to her ailing stepdad

Like my friend processing her fourth failed surgery

Like my colleague supporting her child through a mental health crisis

I want to assure them that PREPARATION and PRESENTATION are insignificant when it comes to matters of the heart. Right now, it is all about PRESENCE.

Just show up.

YOU are enough.

© Rachel Macy Stafford 2022

In the photo is the ‘You Are Enough’ print I packaged up yesterday and sent to several people facing hard things. These beautiful prints are currently available for purchase because 2 women – Nicole Pillay, a small business owner, and Jenna Ziemer, a talented hand-lettering artist – showed up and helped me make this for you. Click here to buy >

https://www.print.fluidweb.store/product/you-are-enough-by-rachel-macy-stafford/

Image description: On a light cream background with a few streaks of blush watercolor, the following reminder written by Rachel is hand-lettered in black ink:

You are enough
when you overeat
& when you have no appetite

You are enough
when you’re anxious about the future
& when all your ducks are in a row.

You are enough
when you raise your voice in desperation
& when you suffer in silence.

You are enough
when you’re rejected
& when you’re loved.

You are enough
when you’re sweaty & ill-prepared
& when you know you were born for this.

You are enough
when you can’t tell a soul
& when you say far too much.

You are enough
when the path is easy to find
& when you can’t escape the darkness.

You are enough
simply because YOU ARE HERE,
showing up in this moment.

To show up,
no matter how inadequate you feel,
is what makes you enough.

© Rachel Macy Stafford 2019