I recognize that I was given the story that I shouldn’t always make everything about me…That I should be aware of the people around me and how lucky I am in life…And because that story was the one I was given, I constantly put myself last…I feel bad anytime I put myself first…I was given that story by well-meaning adults who didn’t want me to be a jerk…They taught me the wrong lesson…And the way they taught it to me was not useful…The reality is part of my experience as a human is to create the experience I want as a human…I should take responsibility for that experience…I should take responsibility for the consequences of that experience…But that does not mean I should get by on crumbs and not strive for better in my life…I am allowed to have a rich and diverse life…Filled with all sorts of amazing things…I give myself permission to be easy and gentle with myself as I recognize the fact it is OK for me to have that richness…Not to just have enough…I was given emotions and senses to truly experience what it means to be human…I was not given intellect to suppress that experience…Instead I’m allowed to create…I’m allowed to play…I can put down the definition of what is selfish and why it is bad…That definition doesn’t serve me right now….At some point in the future, if I want to pick this belief back up…I can certainly do that… But for now, I give myself permission to enjoy the richness of life and to embrace all the opportunities and experiences available to me with joy and gratitude.