Making It Easy to Be Whoever You Are
By Dr. Manijeh Motaghy
We humans are everywhere—sitting at airport gates, walking through aisles, behind car windows, holding metal poles on trains, lounging on benches. I often look at them and wonder: what are they thinking, hoping, or dreaming of? I imagine their struggles, insecurities, and their silent desire to feel empowered, loved, nourished, respected, and successful. With that thought, my eyes shine through a smile: you can be whoever you are.
Angels on the Road
There are moments on every journey when someone helps me find my way; other times, I become the one offering comfort or clarity. I call us “angels on the road.” On a recent flight to Las Vegas for a book festival, I met a young African American soccer coach who wanted to focus on mental health for her players. When she saw me holding my book, It’s Not Easy to Be Human, she asked what it was about. As I described the lessons of inner guidance, emotional intelligence, and self-love, her eyes lit up. “This would help my athletes so much,” she said, eager to join the Making It Easy to Be Human Club, a free membership that supports readers in applying these lessons in daily life. With each encounter, I realize how growth and empowerment are possible through simple, open connections.
Raising Resilient Future Generations
The taxi driver who took me back to the airport was from Ethiopia. He spoke of his two young children and was curious about why I had flown to Las Vegas for just a few hours. When I told him about the book festival and my work, he smiled wide. “A manual for life,” he said, “that’s something everyone needs.”
He talked about the pleasures and difficulties of being a father, his fears and uncertainties of modern life, and his aspirations for raising resilient, responsible children.
“Oh, resilience would be less needed if they were trained in life intelligence,” I told him. “They’d be effortlessly living with the flow of life and not take natural difficulties personally. They’d have the life manual to be calm, objective, patient, and compassionate. For example,” I continued, “if they could see their own thoughts as just thoughts—not as facts—they’d be ahead of the game. If they could feel their emotions and know they are energies in motion, not stories to believe, they’d be calm and patient. If they could listen to silence, watch things as they arise and pass, they would learn how being attached to wants and ideas could bring them unhappiness. They could see how everything in life is serving them. From this road with all that it took to build, the wheel in this car helping you steer, their shows, books, water, food, their bed, their breath, and everything in between are serving them. They’d make fewer mistakes and have fewer reasons for regret.” His mouth opened in wonder. “That’s beautiful,” he said softly.
We Can Lead Happier Lives as Empowered Humanity
Every human being, whether in an airport or a taxi, whether leading a team or caring for a family, a local or a global woman, carries the same longing: to feel seen, loved, and be capable. The more we develop and connect through inner peace and empathy, the easier it becomes to be whoever we are. Seeing others as precious humans—while some are more developed than others—is true empowerment. The kind that fuels peace, tolerance, and collective growth. That’s what my book and community invite us to do: join us in making it easy to be human, together.
For more topics from Dr. Manijeh Motaghy, search other Global Woman Magazine articles.
To learn more about Dr. Motaghy, visit her LinkedIn profile.
