Being You ~ Being Me

 

 

 

 

 

 

This post was sparked by two events that occurred last week. Last week in class one of my students said that once she explains to people why she responds to situations the way she does they understand her better and don’t (pre)judge her the same or as much; and a few days earlier I posted this on my Facebook page “Why are we following people who are not headed where we want to go – or worse yet – aren’t headed anywhere at all?”

As the week progressed I kept thinking back to these two instances. In response to my student I shared that it is my belief that people who genuinely want to get to know her and befriend her won’t care as much about her background and will instead focus more on who she is today. I don’t believe she or I or anyone else should ever have to spend uber amounts of time giving people historical contexts. I believe these things will come up naturally – over time. Unfortunately, too often our explanations mask themselves as us justifying who we are and trying to convince others that we truly are – or aren’t – who or what they think of us.  I have found myself engaged in endless conversations attempting to help someone understand why I do things the way I do or why my approach is as it is … when in reality my “true” and genuine friends never ask; they accept and learn as we go – as I do for and with them.

And likewise, I have found myself comparing my journey, my style, my approach to those of others … most of who are on a completely different path than me! I am not sure why it has taken me so long to get this, but if and when comparisons, admiration, duplication of any sort occurs it should be to mirror those whose lives represent the life I am working to create. Nothing less.

Each minute of every day I am working on being me and more of it! I am working to embrace those who support me as I am and unintentionally inspire me to be so much more. And I am working to surround myself with images, representatives and objects of my truest affection – those people and things that mirror a better me :-).