Who Is the Real You?

As hard as I find this is, I’ve been working a very long time at trying to be just who I am, the genuine or real me like when I was a young kid, no matter who is in a room with me.  I don’t know about you, but I’ve found it too tiring to try and appear to be who I think other people want me to be, or simply trying to be perfect and without flaws in front of others.  Don’t believe that’s you sometimes?  Well think about it for a moment.  Do you speak and behave the same whenever a senior person in your organization, perhaps it’s your immediate boss, is in the room as you would if it were your spouse or best friend?  For most of us, when we are really honest, we probably have plenty of room to grow here.  We grow up learning to ‘compare’ ourselves and our sense of worth and value with how we stack up against others.  Perhaps its grades, athletic abilities, our physical appearances, or how much money we have, what position we hold, what car we drive, or where we live.  If we aren’t tops there, we look for being tops somewhere else or if that doesn’t work, we learn how to appear as if we are.  We hope that no one will find out the truth.  And, if we don’t match up in others, much less our own eyes, we feel less than worthy of love. 

The truth is we are all fine just the way we are, intrinsically of equal, honestly infinite, value as a human being.  The diversity and uniqueness of every one of us is simply miraculous.  Can’t we simply embrace this magnificence in all of us, foibles and strengths, and not work so hard to hide the real us?  Truth is, I’m a complete mess.  Just ask my wife and colleagues.  HA!  Yet I’m confident I have a few strengths to offer others as well and I’m seized by being able to serve others in this way as much as possible.  While I may not always show love toward myself like I should, and consequently show love to others, I know deep down that I’m worthy of my own love, as well as that of others.  I know I can’t truly love others unconditionally if I can’t even love myself.  I promise you we are all plenty enough and more, certainly worthy of anyone’s love, certainly our own.  So, I challenge you to first love yourself so you can unconditionally love others. 

Answer me this:  Who is the real you?  Are you willing to show yourself to whomever is in the room with you?  I hope so, ‘cause when we do, it’s like magic.