Be All You Can Be

Today’s title is more than a U.S. Army recruiting slogan from a few years back. It’s an admonition and suggestion that holds wisdom.  

I pulled a quote from the Internet; this one is signed but illegible so I cannot properly assign credit for it; just know it is not my original idea. Here it is:

“Be weird. Be random. Be who you are. Because you never know who would love the person you hide.”

Powerful words, no? You are you in all of your doubt and splendor. Let it be. Explore it. Dare to show it. Growth comes from letting it happen. And the evolving person – spirit – will surprise and delight! 

Ellen DeGeneres said it this way:

“Find out who you are and be that person. That’s what your soul was put on this Earth to be. Find that truth, live that truth and everything else will come.” 

That is hard work to do, but it is worth the effort. It also is fun. Like a treasure hunt and the prize is – you! Unraveling the knotted mass of thoughts and impulses is a real person with purpose and destiny. Learning what that is excites all sorts of thinking and creativity. You are not inventing yourself really, just learning who you are and what you can be. The process, by the by, is not just for the young; it is for each of us. So many phases we live through, each new to us as we encounter the phase for the first time. You might be nine or ninety at the time. Still, it is a new experience from which we can learn much. Be not afraid! Let these things unfold. 

It will turn out OK in the end. You need to experience the newness of exploration. You will make missteps. And others will talk; sure they will. But why should we care? 

Medea (Tyler Perry’s created persona, not the Greek Medea!) stated it succinctly:

“Honey, folks are gonna’ talk about you till the day you die…,and aint’ nothing you can do. Let Folks Talk. It ain’t about what they call you, it’s what you answer to. You remember that. You hear me?” 

We talk to ourselves, don’t we? Inside talk. Private talk. “What did I do that for?” “What does that mean?” “I just wish I could……”  A lot of private thoughts ramble around our brains. In some ways it’s the real me – you. These are the thoughts that can build toward full personhood. They are the inner sparks that need nurture – permission – to mature to working ideas upon which lives are built. These voices are precious. Protect them. Value them. 

Uncovering what is important to you is a core activity. It is often put off. It is left undetected. Key moments dredge them up for consideration. Crisis is often a key moment. It is a test. We don’t know what is happening, or at least why it is happening. We search for meaning and cause and a way to manage it. We struggle. We worry over it. Don’t we? We are being honest here, right? We do struggle with these things, right? These inner voices which form the core of who we are, who I am, at any given moment? 

To me this is the grist of life, the grit, too. It is the hard kernel that needs cracking and milling to be of value, of use to me. Or to anyone else, as well.  

Such is the stuff of life that gives us meaning and, ……worth. Purpose. Even belief. Dare I say the word ‘religion’? 

A wise man said,

       “When I do good, I feel good. When I do bad, I feel bad. That’s my religion.”

 – Abraham Lincoln 

You have to love Lincoln’s simplicity, directness. Just keep doing good as best you can; and avoid the bad as best you will. The rest will happen as it is meant to be. And along with it you will become the jewel your were destined to become. Let it shine. Let it sparkle. 

I wish you well on this path. This is your journey. We each have one of our own. Tread it carefully or with courage. Whatever you do, tread it. Follow its path. All the way to its end.

May 29, 2012