BE YOURSELF!
Everyone Else is Taken!

By Sylvia Brallier

Time to get a little crazy. So often we rein ourselves in in ways that really don't serve us. We get overly concerned about what other people will think, and in the process we lose opportunities to express ourselves and be a little freer, a little more creative, a little more uniquely ourselves.

It starts early. We want to fit in, so we learn how to dress like others, move like others, eat like others, and speak like others whom we know. On one level, this isn't bad thing. We do need to learn how to be social in ways that create harmonious environments. However, when we limit our creative potential, our freedom and our authenticity, now that is just a cryin' shame.

For example, in my workshops, we do a lot of dancing. Dancing is a great way to cut loose release some pent up energy, get a bit creative, and experience the freedom that movement brings. I'm always interested in how people respond to the activity of dance. Some people are totally free when they move, and others are rigid and stuck. I can see how hard it is for them to just move and let their body talk without their mind completely dominating the conversation. We are so acculturated to worry about "how we look" we often totally forget how to move just for the sake of "how it feels."

A while back I was on a radio show along with SARK, well known for her many books on succulent living. She told this hilarious story about how she was at the airport when her flight was delayed by two hours. Did she get a cup of coffee and read the paper? Did she zone out in front of the TV?

No. She BUILT A FORT with a chair, her luggage carrier and a cape and then crawled into it. This is a grown woman I'm talking about here. Now I'm not saying everyone should build forts in the airport. That may not be your thing. However, what I am saying is, wouldn't it be great if each of us could free up the need to fit in for long enough to have some fun, draw outside the lines and be creative, even if it wasn't what everyone else is doing? What if we could love ourselves enough to be authentically who we are in ways that set us free, and give permission for others to be free as well?

Loosen up. Draw outside the lines. Be free...and above all!

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