The Language of Letting Go, March 5

Old 03-04-2015, 11:22 PM
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The Language of Letting Go, March 5

MARCH 5

You are reading from the book "The Language of Letting Go."

Be Who You Are

When I meet people or get in a new relationship, I start putting all these repressive restrictions on myself. I can't have my feelings. Can't have my wants and needs. Can't have my history. Can't do the things I want, feel the feelings I'm feeling, or say what I need to say. I turn into this repressed, perfectionistic robot, instead of being who I am: Me.
--Anonymous

Sometimes, our instinctive reaction to being in a new situation is: Don't be yourself.

Who else can we be? Who else would you want to be? We don't need to be anyone else.

The greatest gift we can bring to any relationship wherever we go is being who we are.

We may think others won't like us. We may be afraid that if we just relax and be ourselves, the other person will go away or shame us. We may worry about what the other person will think.

But, when we relax and accept ourselves, people often feel much better being around us than when we are rigid and repressed. We're fun to be around.

If others don't appreciate us, do we really want to be around them? Do we need to let the opinions of others control our behavior and us?

Giving ourselves permission to be who we are can have a healing influence on our relationships. The tone relaxes. We relax. The other person relaxes. Then everybody feels a little less shame, because they have learned the truth. Who we are is all we can be, all were meant to be, and it's enough. It's fine.

Our opinion of ourselves is truly all that matters. And we can give ourselves all the approval we want and need.

Today, I will relax and be who I am in my relationships. I will do this not in a demeaning or inappropriate way, but in a way that shows I accept myself and value who I am. Help me, Higher Power, let go of my fears about being myself.

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Old 03-05-2015, 04:52 AM
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This certainly struck a chord with me...
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Old 03-05-2015, 11:30 AM
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Me too - I always felt like I needed to gauge a new acquaintance to see which initial Firebolt face I need to wear to make them feel the most comfortable. Should I be clown Firebolt, cussing ex auto shop worker Firebolt, listener only Firebolt, impulsive and spontaneous fun Firebolt, or reserved spiritual Firebolt? Which makes them feel the best to be around me? WTF?! Sick sick sick.

Most of my life, I could count on 2 hands the people that really know ME....and I have to say, I am probably not even one of them.

THANK YOU FOR THIS AGAIN HONEYPIG!!!
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