An Invincible Summer - A Woman's Journey

I desire to be an authentic person. Authentic people practice the following: 1. They don’t fake their feelings. Highly authentic people don’t hide their feeling or pretend they are feeling something they are not. If they are upset, they show it. If they like someone, they let them know. They express their feelings honestly and openly without fear or prejudice.  2. They don’t worry about pleasing everyone. Highly authentic people strive to show compassion and understanding to everyone, but they don’t strive to live up to others’ expectation or bother to please everyone. They know you cannot please everyone and you shouldn’t even try. 3. They don’t lie. People who are not self-aware and self-assured tell lies so easily and readily that it becomes second nature to them. However, highly authentic people tell the truth always because they know lies destroy trust and relationships. Tell the truth even when it is difficult to do so and you will never have to ...

This slogan is a good one to write about today as I spent last evening doing just the opposite. So much easier to point the fingers the other way, isn't it? Disappointed in myself for reverting without recognizing it and grieved by the pain I cause someone else, clearly some soul searching and research was in order. I did some reading in "How Al-Anon Works" and found this timely and helpful: “When we are tempted to blame others for our problems or to justify our own poor behavior by pointing to the poor behavior of others, this slogan reminds us where our focus rightfully belongs…. ‘Let it begin with me’ is a way to change the things we can—especially our own attitudes—instead of waiting for everyone else to change to suit us. This is like going hungry while waiting for someone who doesn’t cook to make dinner. ‘Let it begin with me’ might suggest that we go ahead and cook for ourselves, go out for dinner, or make plans with someone who cooks. In short, we take respons...