Be Yourself

“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.”  - Ralph Waldo Emerson

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I was at my cousin Laura's wedding this past weekend and heard the nicest compliment.At the rehearsal dinner, Laura's sister gave a toast saying that what she learned most from her sister was how to be comfortable in her own skin.

To me, this is high praise indeed.

For so many of us, so much time, effort, and resources are spent trying to blend in to some sort of mold, mode, or model that simply isn't who we've been created to be.  It's refreshing to hear people who aren't pursuing that strategy (and that are inspiring others to do the same)!  Laura doesn't pursue "different" or "counter-cultural" to make a point.  She's just comfortable being herself....so she is.

That's how I want to roll.

That's what I want to impress upon my children.

That's the inspiration that I wish to share with my friends.

That's the way that I want others to feel around me.

If you pay any attention to nature (or much time on Google looking up random facts), you'll see that our world is filled with over 10,000 different species of birds, 7,000 varieties of apples, and 150,000 different types of butterflies. (I believe that God is an over-achiever in the creativity department.)  Imagine what our world would look like if those varieties merged together (1 type of bird, 1 type of apple, etc...).  How dull and tragic our world would be!

I am inspired by Laura to lean into my uniqueness and to embrace the distinctiveness of others.  Shouldn't we all?

I loved the simple message of this video below.  It reminds me that, too often, we just aren't comfortable being who we are....but that is always the best person to be.

When I grow up from Jasmin Lai on Vimeo.

How do you get comfortable in your own skin?  How do you encourage this perspective in others?

Think about it this week.  We can all learn a little from Laura.