Human Contribution

“Welcome to the underbelly!”

— that’s how I wanted to begin my previous little welcome/disclaimer for my first Living Note. I figured I should ease in a bit though. Underbelly seems so… well, gross. And… raw. But also, mysterious.. hidden. Vulnerable. Honestly all of those are kinda how it feels to be sharing my journal with the world.

Even though I’m not exposing things I don’t want anyone to know — those dusty skeletons are for the closet’s eyes only — it is still daunting to step directly out of the shadows and into full sun. I often keep myself partially hidden (I think for safety, but ultimately in fear of rejection), yet simultaneously move through life feeling like nobody truly knows me. I deeply cherish the ones that do.

It is important for us to feel known. We are a social species, those kinds of bonds seem to form an unbreakable understanding. Something no words can fully portray, due to the depth of such a lived experience — meant only to be felt.

Someone shared something recently that really struck a chord with me. I felt a tug deep in my chest when she said something along the lines of, “The world needs you — your art, whatever it is that makes you you, is needed here.” It felt as though she was speaking directly to my inner child, asking, “Why don’t you join in and be a part of this?”

It was welcoming in the best way, because it reminded me of a truth I swear I once knew — that we are all here to contribute. Not materials, or specific things, or even ways of being. Just ourselves. That is what we contribute: our true, authentic self.

When we do that, it allows others around us to remember this too — that they don’t have to be anything specific or offer certain performances, but can simply be. To remember to allow ourselves to just be with one another.

What a beautiful thing.