Deep thoughts for a Monday morning

I saw a bumper sticker this morning bearing the message:

"Be what you are."

And it made me think. a lot.

At first glance, I thought it was a nice reassurance to simply "be yourself." And then I started to think about how difficult that is... how your self is an ever-changing process. And how difficult it was to truly know your self, accept your self and really embrace your self. I struggle with it a lot, and those close to me are struggling even more. But I thought it was a "call to arms," so to speak... be what you are. don't be ashamed. be proud, whatever you might be.

And then I thought further, and deeper... I found it interesting how the message stated be "what" you are and not "who" you are. Hmmm... that one word replacement can change the entire meaning of that simplistic statement.

Be WHAT you are. SO now I'm starting to question...what am I? The term "what" adds to the dimension of feeling labeled; categorized. What am I, exactly?

I am a person, woman, wife, daughter, sister, aunt, grandaughter, co-worker, acquaintance and friend. I am an artist, scrapbooker, photographer, planner, do-er, dreamer, dancer, critic, author, lover, singer, procrastinator. I am all of these things and more.

These are some of my definitions, but only when seen all together do they even begin to define who I AM. But I think that people forget that they have control over their own "definitions" and how people see WHAT they are. Because, while the "who" is somewhat more elusive, the WHAT is seen more readily in our actions, our behaviors. They are easier to express and pick up on, and use to categorize ourselves. Sometimes the categories/labels are not our choosing, but usually they are. And we usually have the power to change any one of these categories/labels ourselves.

I won't get into any mini-vents here that are swirling around my head at the moment, but will say this. You CHOOSE your life, however it turns out. Yes, some things out of your control will happen to you. But you have the ability to CHOOSE your reactions, and thus, your ACTIONS. Even inaction is a choice made by you.

If you are unhappy by what you currently are, you have two choices...embrace it, or change it. When all is said and done... you need to simply be what you are.

Comments

[Betty]

Well stated!