How true is this statement?! I'm sure everyone, at some point in life, has realized that it truly is better to live life for oneself than to try to live it the way someone else thinks you "should." And isn't life so much more fulfilling once you realize that? Over the years I have observed my parents come to this realization and have been able to observe the positive changes it has brought about.
While growing up, I was always told..."this is how we live, this is how you should be." But why? Whose rules are those? These questions were usually answered with something like "because" or "that's the way it's always been" or something similarly vague.
As a teen, I watched probably the most hilarious ceremony ever. My sister (who had just moved back from college) had stashed some beer in the 'fridge. Now, mind you, my family had been rather conservative regarding alcohol, smoking, etc. Prior to this, the only alcohol I think we ever kept in our house was for a science experiment when my sis and I were in elementary school. And even then, my parents had received the champagne as a gift for allowing a guy to land a hot air balloon in the front field! So, anyway, my sister had stashed the booze in the veggie crisper in an attempt to keep it from prying eyes. But, alas, the beer was discovered and to her shock & horror, my parents...in a display of parenting "the right way," made her pour every drop down the drain. (Because this was how it had always been. No alcohol in the house!)
And then came the life-changing phone call. It was the week of my 21st birthday, I was trying to decide what I wanted to do to celebrate, when the phone rang. I answered and the voice on the other end asked, "Hey, do you want to go out for margaritas on your birthday? We thought it would be fun!" What?! Who is this?! And, what have you done with my real parents???!!! Yes, it was my mother, the same one who stood by during the beer incident...asking if I wanted to go out for ALCOHOL on my birthday!
It was at that moment that I realized things didn't always have to continue to be "the way it's always been." Life changes, circumstances change, people change. It was that small moment in time that I began to see my parents in a different light. I think it was in this brief moment that they too began to see themselves in a different light. After many changes in life circumstances, I think they began to really question who they were really living for. Whose standards were they really trying to live up to, and were those standards really attainable?
And now when I go to visit them, I notice the occasional alcoholic beverage in the 'fridge or freezer. I notice the changes in behaviors. I notice the acceptance, the happiness, and the ease in which they live their daily lives. And, from that I realize that it is so much better to take the chance of being hated for who you are in reality, than to put up a facade and be loved for being fake.
So, take the time to ask yourself...who am I and who am I living for? If you can't answer either of those questions quickly and honestly...then perhaps it's about time you re-evaluate life and take a chance at being real. It just might make your day more fulfilling!
Peace, love, and happiness!
While growing up, I was always told..."this is how we live, this is how you should be." But why? Whose rules are those? These questions were usually answered with something like "because" or "that's the way it's always been" or something similarly vague.
As a teen, I watched probably the most hilarious ceremony ever. My sister (who had just moved back from college) had stashed some beer in the 'fridge. Now, mind you, my family had been rather conservative regarding alcohol, smoking, etc. Prior to this, the only alcohol I think we ever kept in our house was for a science experiment when my sis and I were in elementary school. And even then, my parents had received the champagne as a gift for allowing a guy to land a hot air balloon in the front field! So, anyway, my sister had stashed the booze in the veggie crisper in an attempt to keep it from prying eyes. But, alas, the beer was discovered and to her shock & horror, my parents...in a display of parenting "the right way," made her pour every drop down the drain. (Because this was how it had always been. No alcohol in the house!)
And then came the life-changing phone call. It was the week of my 21st birthday, I was trying to decide what I wanted to do to celebrate, when the phone rang. I answered and the voice on the other end asked, "Hey, do you want to go out for margaritas on your birthday? We thought it would be fun!" What?! Who is this?! And, what have you done with my real parents???!!! Yes, it was my mother, the same one who stood by during the beer incident...asking if I wanted to go out for ALCOHOL on my birthday!
It was at that moment that I realized things didn't always have to continue to be "the way it's always been." Life changes, circumstances change, people change. It was that small moment in time that I began to see my parents in a different light. I think it was in this brief moment that they too began to see themselves in a different light. After many changes in life circumstances, I think they began to really question who they were really living for. Whose standards were they really trying to live up to, and were those standards really attainable?
And now when I go to visit them, I notice the occasional alcoholic beverage in the 'fridge or freezer. I notice the changes in behaviors. I notice the acceptance, the happiness, and the ease in which they live their daily lives. And, from that I realize that it is so much better to take the chance of being hated for who you are in reality, than to put up a facade and be loved for being fake.
So, take the time to ask yourself...who am I and who am I living for? If you can't answer either of those questions quickly and honestly...then perhaps it's about time you re-evaluate life and take a chance at being real. It just might make your day more fulfilling!
Peace, love, and happiness!
1 Remarks:
I do love a good margarita!
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