You are never a lost cause

Have you ever felt like a dirty penny on the sidewalk? Too tarnished to tell if it was even heads up, scuff marks dulling its shine, no doubt from all the shoes that stepped all over it like it wasn't good luck—just waiting and hoping for rain to wash away its scars and make it new again.

Whether it's due to your own poor decisions or simply fate, there will be times in life when you feel lost and maybe even less worthy. In those moments, it feels like you'll never recover, never reach your full potential. Your vision clouded by lackluster achievements and failed relationships.

Why we don't give ourselves the grace we so easily shell out to others is a mystery, but the fact remains that we often struggle to forgive ourselves during our lowest lows. Without releasing the weight of guilt, it feels impossible to lift our heads high enough to see that there is hope for us yet. You are never a lost cause. You are simply a work in progress. Life isn't a Super Mario game where you must reach the castle and save some princess. You just need to achieve happiness and learn to treat people with respect, including yourself, and there are a million ways to get there. You don't need to follow the path paved by the masses and you don't need to impress any strangers. If you've made it to a place where you are truly happy, that is your castle, despite the fact that the location and facade may change over time. After all the twists and turns, if you are lucky enough to find that happy place, you might even feel inspired to help others get there too.

Somedays, you're the penny, some days, you're the shoe, but if you're truly lucky, you get to be the rain.