Because I don’t know who I am when I am somebody else!

I am…me.  I am…the best I know how to be.  I am…a soul thriving within this universe.  I am…the only ME I know how to be and the only ME I want to be!

Sly and the Family Stone.  Thank you for letting me be myself.  Again.

Danced my tuschy off to this song on Saturday night..listened to the words this time.  REALLY listened to the words.  Not just danced to the beat after a few drinks of nirvana.  No.  This time, new meaning arose within my mind.  Who can I be except myself?  Who can anyone be except themself?  What happens when we try to be someone else?  Truths begin to unravel.  We hide behind an image or a persona of someone we WANT to be or someone we want to become.  Where is this learned?  Why is ME not good enough?

Watched myself watching those on the dance floor.  Listened to myself struggle with thoughts like”  OMG what is she wearing?”  “Look at them dancing — why don’t they get a room?”  Really??!!  Instead, how about thoughts like “how amazing that she had the courage to wear that dress and show off her body!”  or  “How great that they feel at ease to dance like there’s no tomorrow and not worry about anyone or anything around them?”

Judgement.  That’s what stops us from the courage to be ourselves.  It’s not easy to be yourself, when you can hear the thoughts of others…the thoughts that put you into your place and lead you back to the person you’ve tried to escape.

Courage.  What it takes to block the voices you hear.  The voices that urge you to be the norm; to be the person that lives in a comfort zone; to be the person that doesn’t take any risks; to be the person that never stands out in the crowd.  No fun.  No risks.  No growth!

I don’t know who I am when I am somebody else.  And that’s a good thing!  How often do we scurry down the path that others have defined for us.  We become the person that others have defined for us.  We die a slow, painful death as we live a life that’s been imagined by someone else.

I want to know who I am.  I want to define who I want to be.  I want to climb out of my comfort zone every single day and make a difference.  I want to defy those who tell me that I am something I am not.  I want to be fearless and look for the road that takes me beyond anyone’s wildest imagination.  I want to create a life that is filled with journeys that take me beyond what others have outlined for me.  I want to color outside the lines.  I want to find a simple joy in simple things.  I want to make a difference.  I want to leave a legacy.

The words to this song have never resonated before, yet I’ve heard this song a million times!

Thank you.  Thank you.  Thank you for letting me be myself.

Monica.  Woman.  Survivor.  Dancer.  BFF.  Lover.  Mother.  Daughter.  Sister.  Lover of music.  Hugger of trees.  LIstener, friend, soulmate.  FEARLESS!

Who are you?  Do you defy the lines that confine you?  Do you look into the eyes of the ones who try to control you and defy their expectations?  Do you look for the joy that only YOU can bring to YOU?  Do you look for the joy that comes when you find the strength to be the best you that you can be?

Simple song.  Simple words.  Whole new meaning.

LIsten.  Listen carefully.  Everything takes on new meaning…new clarity.