Do you ever ask yourself that question?

We are created in His image; with a Pure heart, full of Life, Love, and Curiosity. We have the desire to seek, learn, be adventurous, full of Joy and playfulness. We enjoy meeting others and sharing Love… think about it as a child we Love easily and when loved by those we encounter we want to Love in return. It doesn’t take a boat load of STUFF to please us …. enjoying Nature and banging on some pots & pans is great Fun!  We all are creative in some fashion and if encouraged those gifts and talents planted within us grow and become a great Joy and often (in some fashion) a financial means of support in our Lives. STOP and look at you for a moment….OK now, are you asking yourself, “Where is that person?”  Or are you smiling and saying, “ Yep, that’s how my garden has grown”….I Am part of the I Am and Love Me and My Life Thank You, Lord”   It is easy to get lost and take a turn following the pack. I’ve made many a wrong turns in my life then somewhere along the road I catch myself and ask, ” Where do you think you are going?, I don’t like this scene at all or who I am becoming along this path. ”  HELLO! you Know Life is All About Choices..turn around NOW and get back on track before you are Lost entirely” 

Then (depending on how off track I have gone)  my Questions Are : Ok, where is My path?  ” how did I get turned around Again and loose sight of who God created me to Be & where I should be going?”  Even at 62 I journey off down a wrong road, every now and again. This deviation led me to have a few Q & A’s with about 20 people & the answer became abundantly clear…we get derailed for many reasons, wanting to please others, others views of how we “should be” cause to be with them that is how it is, rules of the job, others jealousies, weaknesses, their lost and don’t wanna go it alone so they drag you down Misery lane with them…and You allow yourself to Go. (for whatever that reason may be) This is called: the misery loves company ideology, it’s a belief system. Some even use FORCE you until you conform into who They want you to Be.  That is the worst and hardest to reverse..but, it CAN Be done.  Of course you MUST Step away and dust off your feet, even if you are scared. Trust in God in this situation, He will guide you and open doors to keep you safe and get you back on the Road to Recovery and being who He created You to BE. I can testify to that.. Check out my book, Somewhere in Between, for those testimonies..yes those plural..like I said it takes work to restore and be Reborn to who You really Are and their will be a few more wrong turns in life ” old habits are hard to break but, they CAN be broken. More and more I hear it is others ideologies (belief systems) being Forced on one another. More and more people are bullying to get their way. Now think about that:  how selfish, insecure, and down right mean that action is. This happens thru your parents, relatives, friends, kids at school, society as a whole, and nowadays thru media. This last one being the most ridiculous when you really think about it. You allow a Reality show to determine your Life..seriously & you’re going for that?. If you are lucky 50% of that nonsense is really reality. I still watch old school soaps, why? they are not reality & they do remind me how silly life is when lived in exaggerated living.  Today’s reality shows are NO different than my old school soap operas…there is a little bit of Life’s truth in them…just enough so you relate and a whole lot of exaggerated FICTION. Yet, there are many people conforming their lives to live more like the reality stars lives. Some even putting themselves in serious debt to keep up with the Kardashians (the Jones aren’t living large enough anymore..LOL ) All this said, I pray my post today makes YOU STOP and look at YOURSELF and really look at what road you are on. Are you Enjoying in life? Are you living a life that reduces stress and keeps you living within your means? Or are you stressed out, deep in debt, and loosing site of the Joy, Love, and Happiness within?  Ask yourself; when am I filled with Love, Peace, and Joy? What do I Love doing? Am I living my life the way I really would like to be or conforming to satisfy others? Have I conformed to Fit In with others and society? If so, WHY? What am I missing out on by Not being who I was created to BE? What and Who would I possibly loose in my life if I were to be Me? Is all my STUFF and fitting into the crowd creating Good things in my Life? Is how I am living helping me to Grow? Or am I stuck and getting buried in the muck in my journey?  If you are in relationships that Insist you be who they want you to be or they will leave you, I must ask: what kind of Love is it that would leave you because you want to be yourself? What kind of Love is it that Makes another person be someone else just to be with them? Is that Love? And what has it done for you lately? Allowing yourself to live in someone else’s shoes, is that Loving yourself? If you are living a conformed life what fruit has that produced in your Life? Are You screaming within, “ Stop the madness! I wanna run away and Be Me?”  Or are you saying, ” I love my life and all it is becoming! “

Know this: Life can Change through your Choices, the Past is just that the Past.   The Future is YOURS to Create….The Only way you will sing the song, “ This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine..ohhhhh this little light of mine, I’M gonna let it shine” is when you ALLOW yourself to be Honest with yourself and BE You.  And if you loose some folks along the way, I promise you it will be in your best interest.  Remember, even if you take a wrong turn sometimes and get lost, you can Turn around and get back on the Doin’ it My Way Highway.  Or as some of us would day ” The Way” . The Best Life Now is to stay focused on the road that leads You to fulfill Your Purpose as who You Are…The Best Life for You to go singing down the highway, ” This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine..ohhhhh this little light of mine, I’M gonna let it SHINE!   This life makes you SMILE within and it blesses others too ! That is THE WAY it Should BE.. The road we should All should Be traveling… it only happens when you Allow yourself Be who you are designed to BE.  And Only You can Choose to Live Your Best Life Now.

Here are a few quotes by others I read when I feel like I have taken the wrong road and need to EXIT stage Left.

My Favorite:  “Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one’s definition of your life, but define yourself.”
― Harvey Fierstein

“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.”
― Oscar Wilde

“Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it’s better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring.”
― Marilyn Monroe

“Don’t compromise yourself – you’re all you have.”
― John Grisham, The Rainmaker    

“If you end up with a boring miserable life because you listened to your mom, your dad, your teacher, your priest, or some guy on television telling you how to live your life, then you deserve it.”   ( this one is totally true if you allow yourself to stay stuck when your inner self is screaming this is Not the Way)
― Frank Zappa

“Always be a first rate version of yourself and not a second rate version of someone else.”
― Judy Garland

“About all you can do in life is be who you are. Some people will love you for you. Most will love you for what you can do for them, and some won’t like you at all.”
― Rita Mae Brown

“Follow your heart, listen to your inner voice, stop caring about what others think.”
― Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart    

“Let yourself be drawn by the stronger pull of that which you truly love.”
― Jalaluddin Rumi

“There is nothing more rare, nor more beautiful, than a woman being unapologetically herself; comfortable in her perfect imperfection. To me, that is the true essence of beauty.”
― Steve Maraboli, Unapologetically You: Reflections on Life and the Human Experience    

And I end with my other Fav and saying this, Seek & Cultivate your Hearts Desires within and remember:  “To shine your brightest light is to be who you truly are.”
― Roy T. Bennett

Shalom!