Why Are You Not You?

"In the coming world they will not ask me, 'Why were you not Moses?' They will ask me, 'Why were you not Zusya?' "

-- Zusya

We all have heros and role models. At least, as children we did. We all know people whose lives, on one dimension or another, look a whole lot better than ours. We all see qualities and characteristics in others that we would love to find in ourselves. And yet, our task is not to become any of them, or even to become like them. Our task is to become ourselves.

Don't worry, I'm not about to give you the old "you're unique, like a snowflake" crap. It's February, and from my perspective, there are way too friggin' many of those damn, unique snowflakes piled up out there already! I will remind you, though, that attempting to become someone else, be it Moses, Angelina Jolie, Martin Luther King, Jr., or Georgia O'Keefe, is a monumental waste of time.

One of our challenges is that we can see the past but not the future. It is easy to attempt to be what we can see. It is much harder to be what we can't see, or can only vaguely envision.

You are unfinished business. No matter what your age, no one knows how you're going to turn out. You are constantly evolving, changing, and each new twist of the kaleidoscope gives us a whole new, beautiful perspective on you.

There are no blueprints, no seven easy steps, no Ten Commandments, even, that can tell you, or show you, how to become you. It's an inside job, all done intuitively. You may not be able to picture you, or put yourself into words, but on a very deep level, you know you. You know when you are being you and when you are faking it, or attempting to be someone else. You know the voice of intuition; you just have to turn down your I-Pod long enough to hear it!

So, beginning today, alter your focus a bit. Don't look outside yourself for what you want to become. Feel within yourself for what you truly are. Let yourself unfold as an individual, not as a clone. The world doesn't need a second anybody. The world needs, longs for, and supports, a one and only you.