Friday, February 11, 2011

Pass me the mascara & nobody gets hurt!

I have a natural reaction whenever someone tells me "love and accept yourself as you are." It's called my gag reflex. It just sounds so cornball. Who truly loves themselves, completely? No one does. Well, perhaps people that reached a level of altruism that brought them lifetime & posthumous world name recognition, (i.e. The Dalia Lama, Gandhi, & Mother Teresa.) See? I can only think of three! Watch out, I'm proving my own points...it's scary! 

If we loved ourselves, accepted ourselves, there would be no gyms, tanning beds, no billion dollar plastic surgery, fashion, & makeup industry. We wouldn't pad our resumes or our online persona's, now would we? Who would want to improve or change anything if they were content with the DNA they were given at the roulette wheel of birth?

I'm not pretending that I don't 'fake out' and use every tool available to try to make myself decent and presentable. I love love love dressing up, wearing perfume, and nothing sets my heart aflutter like a shiny brand spanking new tube of lipstick, (in a color that makes my teeth appear whiter!!)
Okay, maybe new jewelry does....or a new pair of heels! Perhaps a just embellished enough, still smelling of quality leather handbag. NO! Wait...a new pea coat, with a nice hounds tooth pattern. OK I digress, now I'm going to go shopping if I don't find a point and attempt to reach it in this century.

I'm not a free range turkey eating, non arm pit shaving, tie dyed skirt wearing, save the earth hippy. I am also not a blatant "waste all the fresh water; who cares about the dolphins I want my tuna; use plastic & Styrofoam every day and what point is neutering your pets? type of person. I'm middle of the road on some things, and other things I just let slide. It depends on what is the most important to me.

As I (age) ahem, mature, and events of life mold and form me into what I hope is a better, more aware, open minded individual, I have developed more sensitivity to the differences between us, and I appreciate them more than I (at one time) resented them. This is America, we are free to choose, and free will is one of our greatest gifts. It takes self discipline in amounts that billions of us don't posses, myself included.

This is not an indicator that I will accept every type of person, like the pit bull fighting Michael Vick imitators of the US, the pedophiles, the racists, or those ignorant because they choose not to utilize their ability to learn, and don't get me started on selfish parents. I WILL NEVER understand selfish parents. I abhor the religion of the insecure, which in my opinion is gossiping/degrading others.

What is one to do? I think, as always, there is a happy midway. I will always love to dress up and be feminine, (i got that from my grand mom!) and I will always love to shop. I will always love irony, and I will never cease to be a devoted Mom & friend.

However, I don't have to 'just accept who I am." I can accept the factors I cannot change, age, race, sex, heighth, etc. But I, nor you, have to accept every single psycho graphic that we were dealt. We can open our minds, attempt to learn and understand one another better, we can atleast just smile at one another. If we would be more accepting of one another, then we would accept ourselves as what we are with more securedness.

I have heard this for years, "It is what it is." Not necessarily. How about this? "It can be what we are willing TO WORK towards it being?" We can apply this adage to our marriages, friendships, encounters with strangers, trips to the shopping mall, our weight, our brains, our careers, our total mind-set. It would change our lives, it has mine.

Do me a favor, throw this out of your mind. Forget you ever heard the words, "I know my limitations." No, you don't. What if the pioneers in multiple fields had lived by that? A world with no creativity, no living outside the box, no free thinking, and no one that is the opposite to keep us balanced? What a sad picture that is in my minds eye.  What if, whomever first thought of something as amazing as the internet itsself thought "I can't do that! My mom/dad/wife/2nd grade teacher told me so!" What a waste.

I personally don't think outside the box. I, like my niece Kaylie, my daughter Moon, & my friends Krysten, Julie & Michele' think outside the triangle. It keeps life from ever being boring. Accept others, and you will accept yourself more readily. Blaze your own trail, be the captian of your own cruise liner. And know that just because you are the way you are, and posess the beliefs you hold dear, doesn't necessarily mean that those beliefs are the only one, true, "right" way to think. People don't have to look, think, smell, worship, study, parent, travel, learn, speak, LIVE the way you do--to be people.

Everyone has a place. Everyone.

11 comments:

  1. Trinidy! Wow this was amazing!! I loved reading this and will probably read it over a few times! I can't wait to read more of your blogs, I love blogs because it is "our" space to share whatever we want, however we see fit! Thanks for this! I hope your 2011 ROCKS!!

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  2. Mary Ligon Clemen--Very thought provoking. Well said!!!!

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  3. Krysten Floyd Butle--Love love love reading your blogs.... and if you just need a good laugh you should check Therese's out.

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  4. Krysten I subscribe to Therese's. She is HILARIOUS! And an extremely gifted writer. And I meant what I said about you in here. Your strength amazes me.

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  5. You are awesome once again. Loved reading it and can't wait for the next. Love you

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  6. Another great one! Thanks for sharing.

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  7. Thank you, Julie! That is so cool to hear from you. I always love reading your posts & comments on facebook, b/c you are "out of the triangle" in the best way! Thanks for the praise...it encourages me to write again! THANKS!

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  8. Susan Atteberry Huf--Excellent as usual...And who is Therese and how can I check out her blogs?

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  9. Thank you, Mrs. Susan. I will send you a link to Therese's blog. She used to write for the Daily Leader, now she's moved to Jackson and writes for the Clarion Ledger. Her writing is hilarious!

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  10. Melinda Bale--Interesting....such a way with words. You have always been intelligent...I am proud of you...

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  11. Thank you, Mimi! I'm glad you're reading!

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