[This was actually said by a character called Socrates in Dan Millman’s book ‘Way of the Peaceful Warrior’]
This quote caught my eye on Facebook today. While I think it is applicable to pretty much every aspect of human society, I first interpreted it in terms of myself. (How egocentric? Yes, and gladly so, as you’ll see.)
Reading the quote was a bit of an AHA moment for me. For as long as I can remember, tThere have been many things I wanted to change about myself. Often because I suffer from the plague called perfectionism, but just as often because others wanted or expected me to be different or criticised (part of) who I was.
In the past year or so I have been working on shifting my attitude from ‘trying to be someone or something else’ to ‘liking (and even loving) myself just the way I am’. And to hell with the rest of the world. And to hell with perfectionism, too!
Somehow thinking of change as building something new instead of fighting the old makes a real difference. Fighting is hard. Building, however, is a challenge and a privilege.
My challenge today is learning to love myself. Instead of trying to change the old, I will learn to look at myself with new eyes and figure out what I want to build: new skills, new friendships, new confidence, new joy. And somewhere along the way, I will find back many pieces of myself that I lost along the way, as well.
What caught your eye today?
A gilded yarn 