As Oscar Wilde so humorously put it, “Be yourself, everyone else is taken.”

Society has this need to shape and mold us, to make us “acceptable”. Perhaps this has never been more strongly evident than it is in these times.

Becoming our most authentic selves, being fully true to ourselves, is sometimes a lifetime journey. But it does not have to be! We are not born with the masks that society encourages or demands that we wear. We learn to acquire them to get along and fit in.

This may make life feel easier in the short term, but in the long run is it really?

When you do not show who you really are to the world, there is an undercurrent of self-betrayal that you hold inside. Over a lifetime, this can become an unbearable burden.

Being true to yourself is one of the most important ways to fulfill your soul.

Look to nature as an example. There are no false face games being played there. Nature is authentic. No giraffe is wasting his life bemoaning his “too long neck”…

… or his “ugly freckles”, wishing he was a zebra with those marvelous stripes.

No, he’s just living his life, being the best giraffe he can be!

Be Like the Giraffe © Susan L Hart 2020 |  Friendly comments welcome | Photo courtesy Kalz, Pexels, and kolibri5, HowardWilks, Alexas_Fotos, FuN_Lucky, Pixabay