It all starts when we are little children growing up in a world that begins to place its expectations on us as soon as we are ready to comprehend them. The rules are written in our minds daily, washing away our innocence and freedom and secretly replacing them with statements on how we should obediently conform to what “they” say about our own lives. Most of us have heard the statements about how important it is to be ourselves; however, this is one of the most difficult feats to accomplish in a world that constantly fills our minds with messages of how we are not being ourselves in the correct way.
Think about the life that you are living now. How much of it is an expression of who you truly are? I’d like you to take a few minutes and think about the activities that fill your every day. How many of them leave you feeling rewarded and fulfilled. Interesting thought, isn’t it? It is shocking to realise how often we put off being who we are just so that we can fulfil the demands that society’s standards have placed on our psyche. With all the noise that fills our days we have become immune to hearing the voice that resides deep within us and whispers the genuine desires of our souls.
I currently have the pleasure of observing my one year old niece as she navigates her way around this brand new realm of existence that we have grown so accustomed to. It is with such admiration that I notice her brazen fearlessness, her insatiable curiosity, her fierce assertiveness, her blatant honesty and her hunger for new experiences. It is then that I am overcome by a feeling of sadness as I realise that most of us have lost our childlike qualities to the harsh reality that we find ourselves living in. I cannot help but think that while we are so busy investing all our efforts into stroking society’s ego, we are drifting further and further away from the essence of who we truly are.
“To be or not to be? That is the question”
Well, my answer is definitely to be. You see dear reader, the stakes are simply too high! There is just too much to lose when living a life of playing small. The truth is that every one of us is a unique being and has the capability to make a difference in their own unique way. Not even the pressures of society are worth sacrificing that for!
I appeal to you to join me as we embark on a journey of unlearning all of the misconceptions that our minds have been bombarded with and to walk with me as we learn to heed the petitions of our truest selves.
I look forward to hearing about the beauty and freedom that you will continue to experience as you wholeheartedly engage in the act of being your ultimate self.
Your Resident Writer,
Nomthi.
riadunnobi 