To each its own. In other words, does it really matter?

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Does it really matter what the person in the other cubicle thinks about you?  Does it really matter if you walk to the beat of a different drum?  Does it really matter?

In a perfect world the answer would be no.  Regrettably we do not live in a perfect world, at least perfect when it comes to the actions of man.  I still believe and will always believe that what the Creator has put together is perfect, unfortunately man has had man's hand in things and mucked it up quite a bit.  That being said, in my perfect world I could care less whether everyone loves me, likes me, or even wants to tolerate me.  I live my authentic self and today I want you to begin to love and live your authentic self.

What do I mean by being authentic?  Let me use an illustration and I hope you will understand the points I am trying to make this morning.  I have recently been doing a renovation to the home I am living in.  It was in dire need of some restoration and I was ready to tackle the project.  I wanted to bring back the charm of this old house, but I knew that most of what was here at one time was no longer available so I would have to make things up as I went along.  Long story short, the house is just about complete on the inside and it looks quite period.  As close as it looks to being original I know it is not.  Why?  Because I had to fabricate much of what was placed into the new "Old" style.  It looks real, but I know it is not.  It is a fabrication, a good fabrication, but not original.  I saved what I could of all the original parts as I was going through the renovation, but sadly some things had to change.

Being your authentic self is being the person you were intended to be when you were created, detached from all other expectations that man has thrown on you over the years.  Authenticity is when you don't give a rat's ass what others say you should do, what you should be like, or otherwise fill their mold of what they think your life should be filled with.  Authenticity is when a thousand horses could not sway you from your chosen path, and there is a knowing inside that you are exactly how you should be, doing the things you know you should be doing.  Authenticity is when you could care less what others think, and you focus on what you know.

If you have allowed others to dictate how you should act, how you should look, what you should be doing for a profession, you might be happy for a while.  You might even experience moments of happiness and success, but deep within the deepest part of your being you will know that you have not been true to your self, and that my friends will eventually drive you mad.  I tried for years to be every thing to every person.  I would set my own desires to the back of the stove and if I was lucky some day I would be able to pick them up again.  I would change my words to correspond with what I thought people expected of me.  I would change how I looked, how I dressed, and how I acted in an attempt to fit in.  In the end I finally had to make the decision to be true to my authentic self and find the happiness that had eluded me for years and years.

Oprah says that had she known about being authentic she would have done it years ago.  Now Oprah is a very successful business women and is quite rich.  But my guess is that rich in this example is not speaking only about dollars and cents, but also rich in knowing that she is walking in her destiny and doing those things that she was created to do.  I do not look at riches and think about all the millions that I have, I look at riches as being able to write, speak, and share about destiny.

Here's the best part of being authentic:  you have the opportunity to be yourself.  You can drop all the demands that others put on you.  You can forget about having to fit a part.  You can simply be who you are.  How much energy do you use each day trying to fit the mold of what others feel you should be?  If you could have all that energy back and place it where it should be, how much more could you accomplish?  Being your authentic self frees you from the expectations of others and in this freedom you will discover just how great life is.  You will feel as though the weight of the world has fallen off of your shoulders and you can finally do what is in your heart to do.

It is time to find your center.  It is time to say "to each its own" and forget about filling a mold that was never designed for you.  You have been trying to fit a square peg into a round hole, and that is never going to be the fit you are looking for.  It may go in the slot, but it is far from being perfect, and if you allow your perfection to be tainted by what others demand of you, by what others think or say about you, or by what others desire from you, then you will never walk in your perfection.  I love being me, and if others want to find fault with anything I do, or try to find fault with who I am, I will allow them to take that up with the Creator of the Universe.  My guess is they will not win that argument.

Authenticity is who and what you are.  There will never be another you, designed to do what only you can do.  Being your authentic self will bring you freedom, and in this freedom you will experience the things that dreams are made of.  Isn't it time you shed off the expectations of others and simply be you?  It is liberating.  It is exciting.  It is all yours if you will just be authentic.  Just be yourself and watch as doors are opened, opportunity arises, and happiness follows you each day.