Mar 13, 2012

Be Yourself

"Insist on yourself, never imitate.  Your own gift you can present every moment with the cumlative force of a whole life's cultivation . . ." Ralph Waldo Emerson

I remember hearing Oprah once telling her audience to be themselves, and not to be Oprah; she already had that one taken.  It is good practice to admire and be happy for people who have good fortune, but we cannot be them-- we can only be ourselves.  I think it takes time to listen to oneself to know who we are.  It seems to me that our early familes and experiences in school may cause us to leave parts of ourselves behind; and the path to maturity is remembering those parts and taking them back in.  This takes time to be with oneself, time for reflection, time for meditation, walks in nature.  And where does one find the time?  My son helped me to change my computer so that it is always up and available.  We have our cell phones charged.  We have turned into a plugged-in socieity.  It takes conscious effort and planning to have time for oneself.

Today take 15 minutes to do only and exactly what you want to do.  It is in this honoring of self that we reclaim who we are and can express that fully in the world.

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