Be Who You Are

Who are we really?  Who have we been?  Who do we want to be?  How do we become all that we were meant to be?  These are questions I think we've all asked at some point.  I often wonder if people are seeking to become who they are meant to be or if they are simply trying to become someone else.  It's great to look to others as mirrors of how we want to be in the world or don't want to be in the world, but should we want to actually become someone else, or should we seek to become the best us we can be?  Do we want to be a reflection of someone else or do we want to be our authentic self?

It would seem to me that we should strive to bring the best of our self to the surface rather than merely imitating the image of another. If others truly serve as a mirror to us reflecting what we like and don't like about ourselves, wouldn't it make sense then that instead of looking to the reflection we should be looking within our self to see who we want to be?  Instead of merely repeating words of others all of the time shouldn't we be finding our own words.  Instead of acting out what we see others act out, shouldn't we be forming our own role to play?

I watched a Ninja type movie once where the wise old man imparted this wisdom,  "Take the truth and make it your own."  I think of this statement whenever I hear someone simply repeating quotes from other sources.  I think to myself, "Those are beautiful words, but what do YOU think?"  Shouldn't we be discovering what we think and who we really are rather than simply parroting others and trying to fill a role someone else is already playing?

Many of us have similar roles to play, but it would seem more beneficial to take those roles and make them our own rather than acting them out in a manner that someone else is already using.  Not that it's a bad thing to have role models or follow the example of others, but we should be ourselves, not strive to be someone else.

Perhaps we should use our energy to look within ourselves and find our own gifts and present those to the world in our own style instead of looking outside of ourselves to see who we want to be.  We aren't in a competition with each other to fill a role in the perfect way, but we are here to fill the roles in many different ways so that we may reach many different people.  If we were all acting in the same manner the lesson would be lost to many, we need to have some variety and diversity in our approach so that we can help many people find understanding. Our differences help us to reach different people in different ways.  If we were all acting the same what would happen?

I challenge us all to look within ours own hearts to see who we are and who we want to be and then speak from our heart in our own manner.  Let's embrace our differences and share them with each other rather than trying to form ourselves into something we are not. 

Be who you are, that's all we have to do.  How simple is that?