Just be Yourself

How often do we tell each other to Take care of yourself, be yourself, look after yourself, watch yourself.'?
The short poem I quoted the other day by Emily Dickinson tells us this too
Here it is in case you missed it,

The heart is the capital of the mind;
The mind is a single state;
The heart and mind together make
A single continent.

One is the population, -
Numerous enough,
this estatic nation
Seek - it is yourself.

Someone famous  (will edit this later when I remember who it was) said that there is only one thing you can change about the world to make it a better place and that is yourself.

Eleanor Roosevelt, famously said, yes I know it was her, that if anyone makes you feel inferior you only have yourself to blame. It's one of the catch phrases of today's mini philosophy, to quite blaming other people for your problems.

It's not that simple though is it? People and situations can make us feel we have lost ourselves, that we are not who we feel we are.

I was watching one of the last of the feel good Christmas films that are so frequent on television at this time of year and it was about an angel called Tom. His job was to help a young woman who was about to marry someone who wasn't bringing out the best in her. She had found herself in a situation that wasn't right for her.
She wasn't herself anymore. She was doing things out of character, like being ruthless and hard. So Tom brought back the woman's adolescent self, and then later in the film her older self to try and remind her of who she really was, loving, caring and kind.

It all ended happily, you will be relieved to know and she marries the man that will bring out the best in her, let her be herself.

For most of us the best place to be yourself, where the best in you can shine out, should be at home and with your family and best friends.

Even small children can find this delicate state of being yourself is upset.
One of my favourite ways to feel myself is to put on music from my youth and dance away ( in private of course), or have a chat with someone who really likes you whatever your shortcomings.
Actually I've been thinking that there is enough material on this subject for a whole book and more, a friend of mine told me recently that she only feels herself when she goes back home to her country of origin. When you live in a country that's not yours it's like being a guest, maybe a welcome guest, but still a guest.

My wish for today is that you are able to bring out the best in yourselves today, the people you meet will help you do that.