This Thanksgiving had me hard-pressed to feel grateful. Different playing yourself than being yourself. Probably we push too much to be what society only expects of us. I am not printing what is expected of me now. The reason is that I want to be honest.
Please understand, until quite recently I was not feeling well, probably from stress. Stress is a terrible thing. Yes. Not wanting to upset people, I tried to carry on. “Trying” cannot really represent what I was doing in effort. With too much stress, I became someone I didn’t like.
Now I feel good about not blaming myself. My first challenge was to accept that I am only human which means I am not perfect. Life’s challenges got the best of me, but I forgive my human flaws. My second challenge is to persevere with the idea that I come out on the other side stronger. In time perhaps I will grow to view these challenges as character-defining, but presently I am pushing to no longer feel like a shadow of my old self.
I do not share these thoughts so that you will feel sorry for me. I am grateful in many ways for all that I have. I share these sentiments as a message for anyone else struggling to fit the mold society expects of us. I want to encourage us all to be more raw and authentic in our expressions of how we feel.
I want to be honest in saying that not every season in life is good. This past year did not lend itself to much celebration and that’s okay. I am choosing now to be open about the struggles because I want to lessen the stress and just be me. I am sure everyone has felt this way at some point so I hope my vulnerability encourages you to be more honest about what you are going through. Stress, anxiety, sadness – they don’t make you weak and they are nothing to be ashamed of. Don’t just play yourself…..Be yourself.