Accept Your Contradictions

Start living an authentic life. Stay grounded. Become self-aware. Know who you are. And if you feel like changing, change. You don’t need anyone’s approval but your approval. If someone doesn’t like your tattoo, that says absolutely nothing about you or your tattoo. It only means that they could not picture themselves with that tattoo. That’s fine. Your tattoo represents you so it would be strange if everyone else thought it represented them as well. Promise yourself you will be so strong that other people’s opinions will no longer disturb your peace of mind. A peaceful mind leads to a peaceful life and that is a worthy goal for all of us. 

We can’t become whole by cutting off parts of ourself that are not accepted by someone else. We become whole by integrating all of our parts, even the contrary parts, into our being. As Walt Whitman said, we contain multitudes. Each of us has shiny, sunny aspects and each of us has quirky contradictions. All of these parts make us the beautiful, unique being who we are. 

Waking up to who we are requires us to let go of the people-pleasing traits that we imagined we had to cultivate so that everyone would like us. Having a life where everyone likes us is a child’s fantasy. Be yourself. Let everyone else be theirselves. Stay strong and trust yourself. Cultivate an inner life where you examine you. When you do, you will find that you are much less concerned about the opinions of others. Henry Miller said, “and repeatedly we have been warned that unless the desire for a new life becomes a living conviction for each and every one of us, earthly existence can never be more than a Purgatory or a Hell.” Create a new life for yourself where you live from your own center, your own compass. That is heavenly. #josephpatrickgorman