All The Small Things

Mood: Fruity & Fabulous
Listening to: StarFM

Got given this today. Am thinking on it. Feel free to add your thoughts to mine, and together we shall create a virtual hot pot of mental sustanance. I'll stick some carrots in later for a spot of colour. And a touch of parsley for garnish. Yummy.

On being yourself:

You must learn that you cannot be loved by all people.

You can be the finest apple in the whole world - ripe juicy, sweet and succulent - and offer yourself to all. But you must remember that there will be people who do not like apples.

You must understand that if you are the world's finest apple, and someone you love does not like apples, you have the choice of becoming a banana.

But you must be warned that if you choose to be a banana, you will be a second rate banana. But you can always be the finest apple.

You must also realise that if you choose to be a second rate banana, there will be people who do not like bananas.

Furthermore...

You can spend your life trying to become the best banana - which is impossible if you are an apple - Or you can seek again to be the finest apple.

Interesting stuff.

I was given it at a leadership thing that a good friend of mine and I were speaking at today. I had no idea that they had previously been talking about being yourself - We just walked in and sat down and started talking about our topic (which was to give them some insight into our own leadership journey). When we were done the facilitator gave me that on a sheet, and told me that I could have been the person who wrote it.

She meant it to be a compliment I think, because I had been speaking to the group on how I had discovered myself on my leadership journey, and now I am myself in every situation, or I strive to be anyway. I used to be quite a closed up person - I didn't let many people see the "real" me, and now I refuse to hide behind masks. There's no point pretending to be other than you are. It just takes up a lot of energy that could be used for other, more interesting things.

Besides which, if I can't bring the "real" me into my relationships, friendships, work environment, etc, how can I ever hope to have a life that is authentic? I can't.

Being yourself is a risky business though. There is always the possibility that folks wont like you. Boo hoo. If people don't like me that's their loss!!

The biggest gift I ever recieved was when I learned that I am beautiful in my soul, not only because of the nice parts of me, but also because of the damaged bits, and the ugly mistakes I've made. These are the things that built my character, and the grace with which I deal with them adds to me, it doesn't make me less. Whats on the inside is so much more important than whats on the outside, because it lasts.

That may be why I get so indignant with people who judge others by their appearance. Looking at me, you have no idea of the experiences I've had, the strength of my beliefs, the courage that I possess in the face of adversity. You see only a young woman. (If I'm having a good hair day, and have made an effort, you may see an attractive young woman! lol) Yet I, and indeed everyone, is so much more than their outer shell. And an attractive outer shell doesn't necessarily mean an attractive person inside.

Don't know that I'm an apple. If I had to choose I think I'd be a pomegranate. They're interesting, yummy, and there is that wonderful myth about Persephone and the Pomegranate.

I do love being the best pomegranate I can be. And I love pomegranates.

Perhaps one day I'll find someone who loves pomegranites too, my own hottie like Hades? But until then, I sit here contentedly alone in my fruit bowl, blogging.

Sass