Rainbow-winged

"What you are is God's gift to you..."
Before one enters a portal new to him, he finds himself at a loss, afraid, and apprehensive as to what is in store for him beyond that door. 
One thing is certain, however. By the time he decides to tread the path leading to that portal, what he has just made is the greatest decision he ever thought of -- the acceptance of self... the first step in achieving great goals.
Sure enough, if he did not take that first step, accepting himself as he really is, he would be an ugly green caterpillar, crawling on the branches of endless uncertainties.
But the caterpillar soon learns the golden message that the stepping stone to achieve great things lies in the threshold of accepting its real self.
That threshold alone spells nothing but courage.
And that same courage is put to real test -- the caterpillar has to lock itself behind the bars of cocoon for a long time... a dark, warm, painful, lonely battle to reach the unreachable.
We, humans, share the same experience... the same struggle. Now, they are brave people in our midst who accept themselves as they are.
And are determined enough to move on from there.
For a long while, the cocooned caterpillar has to end what it has started. And taste the ripe fruits of its toils.
Yes, if there is a beginning, there is an end. But for those who understand its real meaning, the struggle has not died yet.
It only opens a new chapter in life.
As it came out slowly from the cocoon's door, the different creature was greeted with the stillness of the darkness -- the same darkness when it entered that same world.
But the caterpillar -- now, a rainbow-winged butterfly! -- knows, for sure, that the night is different from the night it was once before.
A new horizon is taking shape in the distance.
One wondered, before, what lies beyond that horizon. But the butterfly is certain that ahead of those far-fetched mountains is a new day that is about to unfold before the eyes of the world.
There is a new hope, new life that promises a new beginning.
Now, the butterfly has to flap its wings and see and do new role, new responsibilities that await him.
For us, humans, whose struggle in life is patterned after the cocooned caterpillar's, what we have achieved of late is only a beginning of another higher level of achievement.
Ours is a lifetime quest.
As the sunflowers await the butterflies, the world awaits these promising men and women.
This is where the truth from the saying comes back to heart.
"... what you become is your gift to God!"

Humility in the eyes of a lily

Humility, in the perspective of an erring humanity, is not the absence of pride, arrogance or conceit but the acceptance of having these in one's self that makes one humble. When one says he is humble, do you think he is humble? No, because he is, actually, proud of being humble (spiritual pride); but when one says he is proud, arrogant or conceited, he is humble enough to accept that which is truth within himself. Here begins the road to perfection. For: to be perfect, one needs to recognize, first and foremost, the fact that he needs to be perfected. This is humility; and it draws God to the humble. For, only God can bring to perfection every imperfect human being. Human attempt to perfect his own self only tempts himself to justify or hide his mistakes. Justifying a mistake or hiding it, makes a man think of it often, thus guilt-ridden. It is hard to forget a mistake when, in the first place, it is not forgiven. God, being a Merciful God, is always forgiving; but it is man that cannot forgive himself so that Divine Forgiveness cannot take effect upon his person. Not to forgive is not to forget! And to forgive is to accept. To accept is to confess. To confess is to expose. Expose yourself before God exposes us; but when exposed, be humble enough not to justify so it won't magnify.

Self-acceptance frees self

Be true to yourself. If you are still critical and tend to be judgmental towards a particular person, accept that. Understand yourself. No one is perfect. Remember, all have fallen short of Heaven's glory. Acceptance of this truth will eventually unleash us from the bondage of hypocrisy. Such is the only way. Embrace the beauty of self-acceptance and being true to self. Humility is acceptance of what is true in your person. Humility draws the Divine to your frail yet accepted self. Free yourself. Accept self.

Upgrade

Self-improvement is necessary. Man, in fact, should dream higher dreams; but to achieve such loftiness is far away for those who keep on resenting their present selves. Love yourself. Accept it and do what you are capable of doing. And use what you have in hand to propel you to upgrading yourself. Can you perform well when you do nothing but compare yourself with others?