What it means to find oneself – A poem

It perpetually perplexed me
When hearing people say
“Everything clicked into place,
I think I found myself today.”

I never knew how one could “find themselves”
When the only one who can define
Exactly the person that they are
Is the one who sees inside.

But perhaps the problem lies
In our vision in our eyes
And how we never truly see
Ourselves from the outside.

We don’t see our beautiful moments
And we can’t see others’ point of view.
We’ll never know how we make others feel
Or the value in what we do.

Because we compare everything to our dreams
Kept out of reach in jars
From all the times we made a wish
Upon a shooting star.

I think everyone plants a garden
And we all have more seeds we’ll sew,
Because blooming perfectly isn’t easy
So we all need to learn to grow.

I always believed I knew myself
But it was really an unknown unknown.
I wasn’t aware of what it felt like,
And I had never really flown.

I’ve always worn a smile
Even when I couldn’t see the sun
And while I thought I knew true happiness,
It was just another dream I hadn’t won.

I believe that everyone
Has their own reality
When it comes to the complexities
Of being truly happy.

I’m happy when I’m excited, delighted
Or I feel my time’s well spent.
But I believe that true happiness
Only comes with being content.

It comes from the sheer satisfaction
In knowing who we are
And being able to see all the colours
Exploding from our star,

Without having to endlessly question
Whether the explosion they all see
Is made up of yellows or reds,
Or blacks and blues or greens.

It comes with the acceptance
That fitting ideals has no purpose,
When the reds I paint are perfect,
But without blues I couldn’t make purple.

You were the one who caught my colours
And you were the one who helped me find
The extent of all my purple hues
Blazing from behind.

I was a tiny flower in a pot before,
Looking at the garden where I thought I should be.
But now I’ve filled my pot with blooms
And I’ve simply grown into me.

True happiness is now a fully known known
And I am content without needing to hear words
About all the wonderful colours
That I let seep into the world.

‘Finding myself’ no longer perplexes me
Because now, it’s me who can say:
Everything’s clicked into place,
I’ve finally found myself today.