Does anyone else remember reading The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom by Don Miguel Ruiz in the early 2000's? I read it too. The agreements still stay with me; Be Impeccable with your word, Don't take anything personally, Don't make assumptions and Always do your best. I'll never forget that time in life as I was graduating from college with a head full of nonsense and I'll never forget that self-help book that transformed me within as long as it took to read it, not very long.
Don't take anything personally stands out in my mind for some reason today. I think it is important to remember daily that not much is actually about me and life will go on without my musings quite easily. That is not to say that I do not have validity but it is a reality. If you are reading this 3 minute read you might think you are inspiring my thoughts. No, it is not about you. See what I mean? Yet you might react to something that I am writing as though I was speaking directly to you. But the you I am speaking to is often myself, within context. We all do this somehow, in someway think that the world revolves around us. I write to my higher self, sometimes to my inner child and often to the confidence within me. To know thyself is a beautiful thing.
In contrast imagine I am fluent in a language and that you are just learning how to pronounce the basic words and you are not pronouncing them correctly. I would not come to you for help in that language. Or I might already know how to read sheet music and have played in a concert band and you have just learned 3 chords on the guitar, I probably will not ask you for help reading music. Do you take these things personally? Why would you take it personally if I give you a complement reaching out the hand of friendship? This is the most interesting human characteristic the ego always feels disgruntled when we do not fully understand ourself. I am the one doing the "liking", it actually has nothing to do with you. To take it a step further how you react is your responsibility. To be a friend though you would be considerate to the other, right. How we receive kindness says a lot about how we view ourselves. Can I be a friend to myself?
In light of " Don't take anything personally" I will bring me to every situation and act with service to the moment. How you react to that is your job. In my belief system God has given me my voice, ideas, experiences, even the path that I am pursuing so for me to not be myself is to waste God's time. Do you know what your belief system is? Can you walk into a situation with inner confidence of who you are? It takes self reflection to know yourself and it takes self correction to accept yourself. I did not come here perfected and I have had to learn many things. I am still trying things, like youtube, how the heck does it work. But I accept myself and I encourage myself like I would any friend. To know thyself, God given self is to not dim my light in any situation, for me. You don't care if I learn youtube and some people think youtube belongs them. Think about this. Once you can follow your own path with confidence, knowing yourself, loving yourself without appologizing for other peoples issues with you is the perfect place to jump into a deeper relationship with the Universal flow. That is the next step.
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