The Art of Being You
The journey of your life, will I hope, be a long and enjoyable one. I hope you will experience love, joy and happiness in great measure, and that you will appreciate the fact that you do. Many people fail to recognise that the truth of who they really are may conflict with some of the people you have surrounded yourself with, and that can seriously impact on your journey.
Communicating effectively with yourself is key to understanding who you are today, and who you want to be tomorrow, so don't deny yourself the opportunities for happiness by failing to properly listen to your own inner voice.Many people have one or more people in their life that are (albeit not intentionally) destructive for their own well-being, but although they know this is true, they fail to actually do anything to change it. Maybe they are being kind and do not want to hurt the others feelings, or maybe they are just too shy to speak up. Whatever the reason, even if it originates from a place of kindness, you are denying yourself your own truth if you do nothing about it.
You are effectively saying 'yes' to the other person, whilst at the same time saying 'no' to you - bad move.
Creating the journey of your life so that you can get as much genuine happiness and joy out of it, requires you to be involved, and will require - from time to time- some sacrifices to be made, and/or some difficult decisions to be taken and carried out... that's just the way it is folks!
We are living in a World that is getting more oppressive, whilst masking that oppression with the illusion of freedom and choice and many people are getting sucked into it with by 'wilful ignorance'. For example; Most people know damn well that the cheap Chicken, Pork or Beef they can buy at the Supermarket or Discount Store, could only possibly be that price if the animals have been farmed in a way that they would find horrific if they actually witnessed it. But does that knowledge stop them buying it - no, not for most people it doesn't - because they push the thought from their mind, and just concentrate on the bargain they just achieved! Turning what should be an awful thought, into a self-promoting one as if they just did something good.
We are all very capable of self-delusion, and without realising it consciously, we are all pretty practised at it also, and not just in the shopping arena, but in almost every aspect of our lives!
The art of being you at your best is when you are not deluding yourself, and when you are sufficiently comfortable in your own skin to both know your truth, and live it.
So, take some time out from your normal routine and really look at where you are and where you're going, and check it really honours who you are. If it does, do everything you can to reinforce it and smile, because you're in the minority. If it's not, take stock and start making those tougher decisions that will benefit you in the long run.
This life can pass far too quickly when you're not looking, so make sure you spend your time doing the things that fulfil you, with the people that truly resonate with who you are. The other things and/or people in your life that clash with the real you - let them go...
Iain Merchant