Embracing the "You" in You

“Conformity is one of the most fundamental dishonesties of all. When we reject our specialness, water down our God-given individuality and uniqueness, we begin to lose our freedom. The conformist is in no way a free man. He has to follow the herd.”
~Norman Vincent Peale


It seems I’ve always walked a few steps out of beat with those around me. I’ve always been a bit of a rebel, but not in a bad way. I guess some might think me a bit odd. I suppose it’s that oddness that opened my heart to this weird and wonderful church I belong to. When I am at church and I see those around me and ponder their unique ways and personalities, I can see that we are all a bit odd, but in a very beautiful way. I’m really quite glad that we are.

I went through a period of time when I was a child at school, and especially in my early teens, that I got teased and bullied mercilessly. I think it was because I was different . . . because I didn’t fit in the same as the rest of them did. I suppose that it was the wolf pack mentality of the others, the law of the herd, that made them feel the need to weed out all that were different, or that they deemed as somehow being weaker. Quiet and sensitive, I was probably a sitting duck for all their slings and arrows.



Looking back, I am quite glad that I was different and I’m glad that I was strong enough to withstand their aggressiveness. They say that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, and I truly believe that through those hard years I learned a lot about compassion and forgiveness for others, and about tolerance and endurance. Thankfully, we moved after a few years, and so the teasing and bullying stopped, but I still carry some of the scars on my heart and in my mind. They are a part of the fabric of who I became and who I am . . .

In my later teen years, I did follow the crowd a bit, all the while trying to maintain as much of my uniqueness and individuality as I could. I was everyone’s friend, even those that nobody wanted to be a friend to. I always had great compassion for those sorts of people, having once been ostracized in much the same way. Besides, secretly . . . deep down, I knew I was still one of them and had just not been found out yet. As I got older too, the bullies were fewer and far-er between . . . and most of the people I knew were starting to strike out a bit more as individuals anyways.



I guess I’ve always known that I was special, even if I didn’t always act like it. I may have taken a lot of abuse from my ex husband, and perhaps I even felt for a time like I wasn’t worth not taking it, but deep down I think I knew that I was special, but I allowed him to squelch it through the years. Every once in a while though, this unique person that I was would stick it’s head up above the mire and wave it’s arms. When you are busy raising a family and taking care of a home, you hardly have time to think about your own needs and wants, your days are so full of taking care of others. It's quite easy to get lost in the business of the needs and wants of others for a time. And as a mother, how can you do anything but?

In my later years, I have come to realize just who I am as an individual, and to embrace that unique and wonderful person, and yes . . . celebrate her for who she is and all with her differences and various talents. I am a special individual, unique in all ways, and I love who I am and who I’ve allowed myself to become. I still walk a few beats out of step from everyone else, but I am quite proud that I do. I love that I stand out in a crowd. I’m still a bit of an odd duck, but I love my oddness. It works for me. I have come to recognize my God-given talents and embrace them, explore them, use them . . . I relish every opportunity which comes my way to share them with others and to help them in some way, if I can and if they'll let me.



I look at my life like a huge piece of embroidery that I have been working on for years, quite different than anyone else’s, but every bit as beautiful and even more so in some ways for it’s individuality. I have stitches here and stitches there, it’s randomness creating something quite wonderful and unique and special, this tapestry of my life. I suppose when it’s finally finished I will be able to look back and count all the stitches and be quite proud of my accomplishment, but in the meantime I’m just enjoying creating it, in my unique and beautiful way.

Just my thoughts this morning . . .



It's strawberry season here as I expect it is in a lot of places in the Northern Hemisphere. I love strawberries. As a child, I spent many hours in the strawberry fields under the hot sun picking punnets and punnets of delicious berries, that my mother would later make into jam, but in the meantime there would be lovely things like bowls of fresh strawberries, still warm from the sun with cold cream poured over them and delicious strawberry shortcakes . . . One year, when my own children were growing up, and we were visiting my in-laws on Prince Edward Island, we took them strawberry picking for a morning. They picked about a dozen punnets of their own and we set them up a strawberry stand at the end of the driveway. They had a great time selling their berries and were thrilled when they got to sell several of the same boxes more than once! Generous neighbours in that neighbourhood of elderly retired people, just wanted to pay them for the joy they received in watching these hard working children revel in their accomplishment, whilst learning the value of hard work. I wonder if my kids ever think about that afternoon like I do . . . happy memories.

They are getting quite cheap in the stores just at the moment and so I picked up a punnet yesterday so that Todd and I could enjoy a couple of these last night as an early summer treat! Ahh . . . watching the film Braveheart, whilst supping on a delicious homemade strawberry milkshake . . . bliss . . . he might be a bit of a kook, but the sight of Mel Gibson in a kilt gets to me every time . . . hmmm . . . I wonder if I can get Todd to run through the house wearing nothing but a car blanket wrapped around his waist yelling "They may take our lives, but they'll never take our freedom" at the top of his lungs??? (the thought boggles the mind!)



*Strawberry Ice Cream Shake*
Serves 2

Life couldn't get any easier or any tastier . . . summer in a glass.

225g of strawberries, washed and hulled and cut in half
300ml of cold milk
3 large scoops of vanilla ice cream
an Extra two strawberries to garnish (optional)

Tip all the ingredients into the blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Pour into tall chilled glasses and garnish with a whole berry.

Sup and enjoy.



PS - This is a piece I posted orignally on my Muses page back in November, well except for the strawberries that is!