Every day I realize that the people right next to us, right there sharing the Subway bench with us, blowing their nose at the table to the right of us, eyeballing us as we wait in line for a mocha latte, has experienced a school-bus size worth of pain and problems and poisonous moments in their life.

Yet, we hardly know a twinkle of any of it. But when you ask or they tell, know this: we all suffer, we all shake, we all find the most creative and beautiful ways to move along, move forward, laugh ourselves silly once again.

I know you know this, sometimes. But it hits me hard every day when I meet someone who tells me something I’d never know about them and I think, “Wow. Whoa. You too? Yeah, I guess you too.”

We’re all human. Whether we show it or hide it or bring it out occasionally to dance in the center of a conversation as ears stay still and listen.

In case you haven’t heard this in a while, you are a mighty mess of a million things. Pat yourself on the back more often for finding ways to button it all up underneath your sweater and then channel all that life into the most pom-pom shake-worthy powerful things.