I’ve loved this photo from the first day I saw it. That would be me hanging upside down during a ballet class. I never took any ballet classes when I was little. First, we didn’t have the money and second, my mom knew me well enough to know I could never pay attention long enough to get through a class with such a structured environment. Back when I was growing up there was no ADHD or ADD given as a diagnosis. I was just me being me. Rebellious. Sassy. A potty mouth — descriptions of me being me then and I would say those same descriptions hold true for me now — I would add “Real” though. Rebellious. Sassy. Potty Mouth. Real. Me being me. Gratitude for all things they say. I am definitely grateful to be me.
How about you? Are you being you or are you being someone you think you’re supposed to be — for someone else? I did that stint, too. “Me being me” took a back seat for several years; the “me thinking I needed to be what someone else thought I should be” taking front and center stage. Whew, am I ever glad that era is over.
It took a good friend, a group of wonderfully spiritually-oriented people, and a greeting card to get me back on track. The good friend remained steadfast through the many alliterations of me and continues to be a life force friend to this day; the group of people are still around, too, only dispersed throughout the world these days (each of us knowing we could call on one another and we’d be there in a heartbeat); and the greeting card that arrived in the mail one day. All that was handwritten inside were three words, “Where Are You?”
Those three words changed my life. I made an about-face; made the lifestyle changes required for me to begin being me again and voila’. I am here. Me being me.
The invitation is always present. Where Are You? May I have this dance?
