Celebrating your journey, with its victories and failures alike

“When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive — to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.”

Marcus Aurelius

It’s a privilege to be alive.

It’s a blessing to be drawing breath this day.

Life, and all of its pains and pleasures, is a remarkable gift we open every day, and though it’s not always easy, it’s always worth being grateful for, even if in small ways.

Whatever journey you’re on, you are carrying it on today, towards that ideal you have in your mind’s eye. A worthy goal. A dream. A purpose. And though this world is obsessed with unrealistic “perfection” and prodigious results, we’re all really just living imperfectly — and that’s okay.

Marcus Aurelius, one of the greatest Roman emperors, even had to note to himself not to feel upset over imperfection, failure, and days that are not “well-spent.” That screwing up is part of being human. That getting up again, and embracing our journeys and celebrating them, however flawed, is the way to live.

“Not to feel exasperated, or defeated, or despondent because your days aren’t packed with wise and moral actions. But to get back up when you fail, to celebrate behaving like a human — however imperfectly — and fully embrace the pursuit you’ve embarked upon.”

We’re not perfect — we’re human.

We fail — we get back up.

Some days don’t go so well — we keep moving on our journey, and celebrate it for the daily gift that it is.

We have a purpose in our lives — and we fully embrace it.

Life need not be an eternal war with yourself. You can choose to celebrate life, and your own imperfection, every single day. You’re human.

It’s not that we should always be perfect.

It’s not that we should always have days full of superstar progress.

It’s that we keep our drive and passion despite imperfection.

That we get up when we fail, and not let bad days destroy our confidence.

As umair haque wrote, the challenge we face in life isn’t being perfect in other’s eyes and our own, but being able to be imperfect as we are, to embrace it. So let’s keep going on the path we’ve chosen, with courage, belief, persistence, and hope.

That is a way to live.