That’s the exact opposite of what everyone will tell you to do. “Never show your true self to anyone; Be brave; Show courage in the face of adversity; Hide your emotions; Don’t let them take advantage of your weakness” – These are the phrases that you get to hear, and you convince yourself that this is the way to live.
But, somewhere deep within, you long to be seen, to be who you are, to show your real self without any veil. You want to feel whole in yourself, you want to accept the person you are, and not someone that the world believes should be.
However, you fear to embrace the truth. After all, you live in a society that keeps telling you that you are not good enough, you are not beautiful enough, or you are not rich enough. And, when you are constantly reminded of your scarcity and the hole in your basic set-up, how would you ever feel complete in yourself? How would you ever do justice to your existence when you don’t even own up to your follies, weaknesses and emotions?
Not that I didn’t live by the idiom or the society’s dictate, but my perspective towards being true to myself changed when I saw the TED video of Dr. Brené Brown’s The Power of Vulnerability a few years ago. Dr. Brown’s video opened up a new perspective that the way forward to live is to be vulnerable, and to stop controlling and predicting your life. She rightly says, “Let ourselves be seen, deeply seen, vulnerably seen. To lov with our whole hearts even when there is no guarantee. And to say that I am enough.”
But, is it easy to say that I am complete in myself? While the instant answer seems to be a ‘No’, you may soon realise that it is not that difficult to achieve a holistic self as well. All you need to do is to embrace the person you are. And, the best way to do so is by accepting your vulnerabilities. Contrary to popular belief, vulnerability is not about avoiding shame, fear and uncertainty. It is more about being authentic, truthful and courageous.
When you become true to yourself, you act as per your inner belief and the intrinsic person that you are. As you cannot love anyone else unless you love yourself, to be true to others, you need to be first true to yourself. Although, it might sound difficult, being true to yourself is all about the courage to accept who you are, and not pretend to be someone that the society or people want you to be.
Often, for gaining popular acceptance you may indulge in being a person that you are not. For instance, you may behave in a certain manner that is not acceptable by your inner self, but you still pursue it. And, that’s when the problem starts. When you are not genuine with yourself, you will end up being confused and not happy with yourself. Further, you will not even gain your own self-respect, as you will not be acting according to your fundamental nature.
Being true to yourself helps you develop your individuality and maintain your uniqueness. While you respect the opinions of others, you also stop conforming to the stereotypes of the society.
Unmasking yourself takes courage, sincere and open-minded effort, however, it is worth the effort to be yourself!
#Buddha #Buddhism #Zen #Life #Lifestyle #wisdomwinds
No comments:
Post a Comment