To Choose Oneself is to Speak Truth

“Telling a true story about personal experience
is not just a matter of being oneself, or even of
finding oneself. It is also a matter of choosing
oneself..”
-- Harriet Goldhor Lerner (author of The Dance of Anger)

Tempering or modifying the words we speak so they are acceptable to others is second nature to most of us. Is this a form of 'self ' denial? And what is the impact of modifying how we feel, what we think, who we are, just to be more acceptable, less visible, less threatening?  Certainly it impacts our self-esteem. It is, in some way, a form of lying because we hide the truth of our being under what we deem to be acceptable or safe. It also prevents others from knowing the the real us.

After years of speaking this way it is easy to mistake one's low self-esteem as the 'real thing'. How can we come to know wonder of who we each are?  We are unique, have purpose and are necessary to the flow of creation. We do matter, who we REALLY are matters. It can take some time to re-learn choosing ourselves. It can take time to discover who it is that we must choose, to know the difference between the image we carry of our self and who we really are. But it IS worth it.  It is always worth it. Trust.  Speak Truth.

Self Reflection:  It takes time to learn to choose myself, to matter to myself. Do I matter to myself?