to thine own self be true: six well-known words of wisdom strung together to make a very profound statement. i remember hearing those words for the first time as a child. they held so much meaning for me. immediately, i began to question the way i was told to live my life, the beliefs that had been ingrained in my young mind and the endless options that adulthood would bring me once i got out on my own. i felt myself being pulled away from home into a new world of unknowns and possibility. knowing i would one day be able to speak and choose exactly the way my spirit desired was fascinating and beyond my wildest imagination.

when i turned 18, i left home (geographically), ready to spread my wings and fly off to some magical land that would transform life as i knew it. i soon discovered, as the song communicates, it is a wild world out there. life repeatedly offered up the unexpected on a silver, and sometimes tarnished, platter. eventually, reality hit me like a ton of bricks and assured me i would have to leave my comfort zone in order to become my true authentic self.  

inquisitive by nature, i started questioning all the things i had been taught up to this point and realized i would have to unlearn everything i knew and start all over again, forming my own ideas, creating my own philosophy. it was not going to be the easiest task i ever had tackled, but by far the most rewarding. where would i start? i do not believe what i had been told about religion, i do not believe marriage will make me complete, i do not believe in following the respectable road that had been mapped out for me and i absolutely refuse to conform to the expectations placed upon me as a woman. 

it took a while, and much disappointment, to find the courage to completely abandon the belief system i was expected to trust. i was leaving the only place i had ever been. i searched high and low, looking for some kind of answer. i was lost and lonely and confused as i made my way into uncharted territory. i felt like running back to what i knew but something deep inside told me to stay, to pave my own path. i listened to the sweet voice of my spirit speaking ever so gently to me. 

i began reveling in my solitude and savoring silence. i was no longer seeking approval from the people around me or depending on things outside myself for happiness. i was learning to trust myself. i was learning to love myself unconditionally. i was learning that the answers to every question i have lies within me. 

in our over-stimulated society, we are all too often conditioned by dogmas that lead us astray. we have the freedom to accept those theories as our own or find out for ourselves who we are and what we want to do with this precious life we’ve been given.

you already have what you need. paint your own picture. listen to your true nature. follow your own way.

Tags: follow your own way, words

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 2nd, 2008 at 10:55 am and is filed under Freedom. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.