Being
Yourself
“To
be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and
day, to make you everybody else means to fight the hardest battle
which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting.
e.e.
cummings
We
live in a commercial world. In order to keep it churning out revenue,
advertisers must sow discontent. You must be ever youthful and
beautiful or handsome, even though that standard constantly changes.
You must wear stylish, fashionable clothing, whether or not it suits your body type. You must color your hair, whiten your teeth, and
augment whatever parts of you are not perfect. We are urged to
constantly evaluate our appearance for flaws. We must live in the
right neighborhood and be ever upwardly mobile. None of that is in
our best interest; it is only in the interest of our consumer
economy.
In
adopting a spiritual lifestyle, one comes to understand that all of
the emphasis on appearance keeps us focused on our outer being, and
not what is real within us. There is nothing at all wrong with
putting one's best foot forward, but our first question might be,
“What is authentically me?” In his seminar, A Religion of
One's Own, Thomas Moore suggested three questions for finding the
authentic self: “What is your style? What moves you? What is the
'hot molten rock' inside you?” In other words, “What are you
passionate about?” If you were going to choose one sentence to
identify yourself, what would it be? How would you describe yourself
to a total stranger?
In
this world of cookie-cutter, buy-what's-new, get-with-the-program
mentality, it takes audacity to cut from the pack, and be true to
yourself in all situations. It takes nerve to stand apart without
judgment, and simply be who you are. I believe that we are more
courageous than we think. Today, step into your own style without
apology. Be authentic, and let the chips fall where they fall. You
will know the kind of freedom that has wings.
In
the Spirit,
Jane
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