Day: July 16, 2024

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

It is not always easy to march to your own drum beat. Even at an advanced age I still all too often find myself attempting to be a people pleaser, to stifle my own feelings and opinions in an effort to be polite or to keep from causing trouble. I have to admit that the people that I most admire are those who have learned how to be totally comfortable being themselves. They don’t hurt others or make them feel bad but they bravely present themselves to the world just as they are. Sometimes there is controversy over the lives and beliefs they have chosen so they suffer the slings and arrows of judgement while hanging on to the persons they have decided to be. 

A have a former student who has boldly announced to the world that she is a lesbian. She recently married and flooded Facebook with photos of her beautiful wedding. I am certain that there may be those who do not share her enthusiasm but I know her to be one of the kindest and most loving people I have ever known. There is nothing off putting about her lifestyle. In fact it is beautifully symbolic of the kind of love that we need more of in this world. My admiration for her is unlimited and I wish her well in a world where not everyone is understanding. 

I have another former student who is a gifted photographer who specializes in creating beautiful photos of transgender individuals. I wish that someone would snap a picture of me that so captures the inner beauty as his do of his lovely subjects. His skill with a camera transforms them into something uniquely spiritual. We can see their joy and their inner beauty in each frame. I salute him in bring happiness to people who are all too often shunned by society. He sees their individuality and their loveliness as humans. 

I have a grandson who is so dedicated to the health of our planet that he left a well paying job that required him to work for groups and organizations that are doing damage to our earth. He instead wants to do be part of changing the way we see our roles on this planet. He is willing to live more frugally to steadfastly live the way he believes that we should all be doing to bring about a better world.

I keep in touch with another young man via social media who is determined to make our schools and workplaces and daily lives safer by advocating for gun control legislation. He is a brilliant recent college graduate who might have just launched a promising career and settled into a comfortable life but he has bound himself to the belief that we must do something about the proliferation of guns in our society. He earnestly works to convince those who govern us that having sensible gun control laws will save lives. It’s difficult work and he is often threatened and berated but his courage keeps him pressing forward with his goals.

I know another young man who has a prestigious degree in accounting who might well have found work in a company that would have paid him far more than what he makes providing his services to nonprofit organizations. His dream is not to become a rich man but to provide himself and his family with what they need while also helping in the battles for those who are hungry, homeless and unwell. His faith in God is his guide to everything that he does.

I admire a doctor who toils tirelessly to create vaccines and medicines for the poorest people in the world even as he is threatened with violence for doing so. He is an energetic soul who fights ignorance and continues forward with his research because he knows how many will be saved by his discoveries. Through all of the negativity that is hurled at him he smiles and never gives up. He is most deserving of the highest praise for tirelessly doing what he believes to be work that he was destined to do.

It is difficult being heroic enough to be oneself. I know this because I sometimes waver, bite my tongue, go with the crowd. I worry too much about what people will think of me if they see me stripped bare to the person that I am. I do my best not to give in to denying who I am when peer pressure rises and most of the time I get over the push and pull. Nonetheless there are times when I feel weary and simply hide what I am thinking out of caution. I know that when I am totally and truly myself I sometimes lose people that I thought were my friends. 

We should encourage, not discourage people to be themselves. It should never be up to us to attempt to talk them out of nobly living out their dreams in plain sight. They are the leaders and dreamers who show us the wonderful possibilities of coloring outside of the lines. They are innovators who bravely show us the importance of stepping outside of the boxes that we use to demand certain behaviors from everyone. I glory in their courage.