Taking the Risk ~ Daily Om 8/1/08

i subscribe to DailyOm and receive my daily emails, which i always read. even if i might not find a particular day to be too relevant for me, they are very moving and insightful. today's is quite appropriate for the life i have chosen to live over the past several years.

i celebrate WHO i am everyday. and what i'm about. I AM REAL. i am open about who i am and i am honest about how i feel. i don't play games, although i've been faced with the challenge several times over the years and here more recently. i have let it go. i won't get drug down with the negativity. i am a positive person. i am comfortable in my own skin. i can not be anymore than i am or strive to be. i am beautiful inside and out. i celebrate myself, my life, my family and my friends. i am whole. i am love. i am compassion. i am understanding. i am human. i am living.

and so are you.

celebrate life today and everyday and focus on being real. the world would be a much better place if we could all strive a little harder to let our inner souls shine through in everything we do. throw the masks away. celebrate YOU.

August 1, 2008

Taking The Risk

Permission To Be Real

Most of us are familiar with the idea of keeping it

real and have an intuitive sense about what that

means. People who keep it real don’t hide behind a

mask to keep themselves safe from their fear of

how they might be perceived. They don’t present

a false self in order to appear more perfect, more

powerful, or more independent. People who keep it

real present themselves as they truly are, the

good parts and the parts most of us would rather

hide, sharing their full selves with the people who

are lucky enough to know them.

Being real in this way is not an easy thing to do as

we live in a culture that often shows us images of

physical and material perfection. As a result, we

all want to look younger, thinner, wealthier, and

more successful. We are rewarded externally when

we succeed at this masquerade, but people who

are real remind us that, internally, we suffer.

Whenever we feel that who we are is not enough

and that we need to be bigger, better, or more

exciting, we send a message to ourselves that we

are not enough. Meanwhile, people who are not

trying to be something more than they are walk

into a room and bring a feeling of ease, humor,

and warmth with them. They acknowledge their

wrinkles and laugh at their personal eccentricities

without putting themselves down.

People like this inspire us to let go of our own

defenses and relax for a moment in the truth of

who we really are. In their presence, we feel safe

enough to take off our masks and experience the

freedom of not hiding behind a barrier. Those of us

who were lucky enough to have a parent who was

able to keep it real may find it easier to be that

way ourselves. The rest of us may have to work a

little harder to let go of our pretenses and share

the beauty and humor of our real selves. Our

reward for taking such a risk is that as we do, we

will attract and inspire others, giving them the

permission to be real too.

p.s....happy birthday jerry. (thank oceanshaman for your lovely posts and reminding us to celebrate jerry's legacy today)