A lot has been going on within the last couple of weeks and a small break was in order. No, it's not a move, but a shift in focus again. I'll go into more detail about this later, but today is about reflection on being who we are. How many of us are being the person we feel we SHOULD BE instead of being the person we truly ARE?
As a small child I had an uncle who made a great impact on my way of thinking. Not one that I realized until just recently, but affective nonetheless. This came as quite a shock since we live on separate coasts and really don't get to see each other that much. He's a scientist and just about as book smart as you can get. Ignorance isn't tolerated and those who are scholastically challenged are looked on as being questionable.
My parents did not share this view and taught us that all are valuable no matter the "status of their minds" or the degrees they hold, but for some reason this uncle's philosophy stuck. I suppose it was because this view was so foreign to my realm of understanding and after all...this guy was smart and surely he knew what he was talking about. I remember questioning my validity since there was so much I didn't know at the time.
Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago...New opportunities have come my way, but old thoughts from long ago kept popping up. "I don't know enough. I don't have a degree in that. I'm not in the industry, how can I possibly do that? And, did I mention this - I don't know enough." And there it was. The thought that unless I have a specific degree or credentials of letters tucked in behind my name, then I don't have anything of worth to contribute.
Now, to my uncle's credit, this is nothing he said specifically. He's a very kind man of many talents and embraces life more than most. You have to remember that this notion of what my uncle believe was taken in by a child processing the world as she knew it. It's so strange how these untrue thoughts can linger until they are challenged.
So the last couple of weeks have been spent just having gratitude for who I am. I'm not perfect by any means, have challenges just like anyone else, can be as stubborn as a mule at times and once in a while speak before thinking, but I was born with gifts and God intends on my using them (:
Oh, but this little annoying voice from my past was creeping in and causing doubt, so a decision was made to let my freak flag fly (: I am perfect just the way I am, warts and all. I may not be where I WANT to be, but I am exactly where I NEED to be at this moment.
Every day offers a new opportunity to embrace the divine that is in each of us. We are all special and offer something unique to this world. Our stories can inspire others who may be facing the same journey. We don't have to know everything, we just have to be brave enough to share what we do know.
So today reach out and let your freak flag fly! Embrace who you are, not who you think you should be. Offer a gift of gratitude to yourself because when you allow the light of who you are to shine, it warms those around you.
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