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Columns Cyndee Peters Thank You!
Columns Cyndee Peters Thank You!
| Thank You! |
| Skrivet av Cyndee Peters |
| 2009-11-30 08:41 |
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”What I hate most about you, Cyndee, and what I most admire about you, is that you know what you want!” “If a Swedish woman was as ugly and fat as you are, she’d never have gotten as far.” These are two of the best compliments I have received. No, I am not kidding you. It took me a while to understand it myself. The first one was fired at me over a desk at a meeting that had gotten out of hand. The second one was sent the cowardly way, in an anonymous letter. Both left me hurt then and confused, but nonetheless they were gifts in disguise. The circumstances that brought on these outbursts are not that important for you, the reader, to know. Here’s what is important. I have come to realize that both these individuals felt threatened by me being me. Or rather by me daring to be me. Daring to be who you are can be like a red flag for a lot of people, so get use to it. Many think Nelson Mandela is the author of these words, but he was in fact quoting my lady Marianne Williamson, in his first official speech as South Africa’s President: “Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightening about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.” It usually takes most of us a long time to know who we are and what we want. So the second you do know, start acting like it. There is a spiritual law that says: “We are responsible for what we know.” Yes, responsible = response-able. Neale Donald Walsch wrote: “The goodness of life does not come to you from someone else. When you see this you will be free… for what you seek is not outside yourself, it is not a gift from another person…let no one, therefore, hold you hostage.” The Staples Singers put it clear and simple: “Respect yourself!” It took me many years to understand that these ill-meant words were indeed compliments in disguise. In spite of the handicaps and shortcomings they saw, I still dared. It’s all about perception. As the saying goes: “One man’s poison, is another man’s cup of tea.” Having the audacity to be the unique individual you are comes with both responsibility and privilege. When we are young, we usually think other people’s opinions are more important than our own. We may constantly seek approval, and believe me approval is never free. But with age, with a true desire to be who and all you can be, and if you have dumped those Jante-laws down the crapper…something called clarity descends upon you and life is never the same again. Dare to be,  Cyndee This article is the property of Cyndee Peters AB, Stockholm, Sweden and may not be used or
duplicated without the expressed permission of the author. www.cyndeepeters.com March. 2009
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