Manifesto For A Transition, Into An Age Of Self-Compassion

Cheers, to the end of an era reigned by tyrannical and ruthless self-blame.

I am chemical — I am subject to physical, natural law — and I am mortal.

My body requires chemical energy to continue on its daily activities, to function as it should, to accomplish anything at all.
My mind requires chemical energy to carry out its tasks and operate smoothly, creatively, productively, and to grow.
My muscles cannot muster than what is physically possible for them to accomplish.
My body cannot go against a need for sleep and rest when tired and weary.
My body cannot help it when calories run dry and my stomach asks for food.

There is no fault in me when my body cannot push what feels natural and comfortable to it; this is not weakness or ineptitude.
These are facts that all of life have to live with, and to encounter them is not an affront to my character and being.

I am [not only] my DNA.

The genetic material passed down to me may have laid the foundation for many of my traits; they may have not.
There are parts of who I am that I’m more susceptible to because of my physical realities.
There are parts of who I am that I had less or no control over.

As much as this is true, they do not and will not define me, and just because I may be more susceptible to something physically does not mean that it will plague me for aeons to come.

I was born an almost blank canvas; ready to learn, ready to paint a portrait upon.

My body is equipped and armed to the teeth to learn, to perform, to explore.
My brain is extremely good at picking new things up, learning, understanding, and making coping mechanisms that allow me to come to terms, grasp, and gain from my experiences.
My brain is therefore susceptible to learning things that may not be healthy for it to learn.

They may have been learned once, or they may have been reinforced, over and over, to the point of it being extremely difficult to get past in any given moment.
But it does not mean that it is not my fault for having learned to do these things.

I am [not only] my experiences.

My experiences have carved pathways in my mind, from beginning to end, from input to outcome.
My experiences have shaped what I expect and what I link to certain circumstances and inputs.
At times I may expect something to happen when it most certainly isn’t the reality.
At times I may flinch from a coming sting when there really is nothing to fear.

But it does not mean that I am not safe, nor does it mean that it is my fault for reacting out of fear for being hurt.
Though I do have difficulty overcoming the hardwiring created by them, my experiences will not control me entirely.

I am social — I am at all because we exist alongside.

My interactions give rise to something new and complex.
My presence and clockwork effects the arising of a totally different experience when set into motion with another’s.
It always has the potential to become beautiful.
At times, my fears, mechanisms, and stresses may appear and become prominent to another.

It may mean something incredible to them.
It may mean nothing to them.
It may be that others want or need to stay away from them.

But when I strive to live for and act out of compassion and honesty, what others may do is due to their experience, reality, and ability; not due to being undeserving of their involvement.

I am the amalgamation.

All of my whims and wills work and sometimes struggle with my modus operandi to create my everyday experience.
I am not a printable circuitboard manufactured to be good for only one thing; I am a malleable, intelligent system of information and computation incredibly entangled with and able to create and interact with the world around me.

I am my opportunity and potential to experience.
I am my possibilities and abilities of affecting that experience.

I am my passions.
I am my creativity.
I am my love.