Feline Wisdom: Be Authentic
By
In recent years, I’ve felt an increasing importance to live authentically. I am who I am. In the past I cared (too much) about what people thought of me and made some choices based on whether or not I thought they might judge me harshly. And I’m talking about silly things: the music I enjoy, my sometimes dark and overly silly sense of humor, my love of wildly dancing in the kitchen to the Bee Gees.
I thought perhaps some people would think me less spiritual if they knew that in the same hour, I’d meditated and then posted a crazy photo of a cat licking his behind on Facebook. I finally stopped and said, “What am I so worried about? I’m a joyful, compassionate person who loves to have fun. What in the world is wrong with that? And if someone judges me for any part of what sparks my heart, it’s a reflection of them, not me.
All of this might sound silly to some, but for me, who’d experienced years and years and years and years (you get the picture) of being a top-rate people-pleaser, this was a revelation. Hey! I can openly be who I am without any fear of what others might think! Once that realization finally sunk in, my joy felt an unbridled intensity; I felt like a prisoner finally released from a sentence. I love every part of me, twisted humor and all. Not everyone has to like what I like, but I certainly don’t have to change myself to appease others. It wouldn’t even be possible to meet every single person’s expectation…plus, how completely exhausting!
---
Read the full article, and others like it at: http://edgemagazine.net/2012/05/feline-wisdom-be-authentic/
No comments:
Post a Comment