AHHH!
That must be the greatest relief in the world...
knowing that I can relax and just BE ME!
Can you imagine? Can you just imagine having a relationship
or a career where you can be purely YOURSELF, no
holding back, no apology? Whoa!
"I
can't be myself"! They
won't like me! he or she will leave! I'll never
succeed if I just be myself!
Ever felt that
way? You just can't be yourself? Maybe in a relationship
or in a job interview or at a party? We project
someone else so that we'll be liked or received
or we'll fit in. That's Upside Down! It's our humanness
that folks actually find themselves attracted to!
I thought I couldn't
be me in my marriage. Then I got mad at her because
I couldn't be myself. How backwards is that? It
was my choice all along. Oh, sure, I had my reasons.
We always have our reasons don't we? But the truth
is, it was my choice all along to "be or not
to be".
Are you reading
this and thinking, "That doesn't apply to me.
I can be myself"?
Reality check:
- Do you do things to keep from rocking the boat?
- Do you find yourself apologizing or explaining
yourself a lot?
- Do you do things or not do things because of
what someone else did?
- Do you react to what others do or say?
- Are you being what you want to be? Are you doing
what you love?
As I mentioned, the first trap to this belief that
you can't be yourself is, you end up feeling bitter
at those ogres who wouldn't let you be you!
You also miss out on alotta life! When I'm me,
then I don't have to hold back. I get to experience
life more fully and completely. God made us as 100
watt light bulbs and so we're just not geared to
run on 60! When we do, we become disillusioned and
frustrated.
Who
were you today? Were you your pseudo-self (trying
to project someone you're not)? Or were you your
100% unaltered "it's all me baby" self?
My
pseudo self is the me who doesn't tell the whole
truth, who
chooses to hold back, who declines expressing.
My pseudo self makes choices based on "how
other's will view me". That's the side of
me who also is consumed with the needs of others
at the expense of my own needs. I lose
myself and eventually am not sure of what I want
or who I am. My pseudo self is not in touch with
myself as much as with everyone else's view
of myself.
"Please
tell me the key to life", the young woman
asked the dying sage. His last words to her summed
up all that he had learned his 85 years on this
planet. His words were simple...
"The
key to all of life my dear child is found in the
simple
act of BEING YOURSELF".
Ironically,
when you're consistently "yourself", then
life around you begins to bring to you the very
things you were trying to force by being someone
else!
