Becoming someone...

The thing that is really hard, and really amazing, is giving up on being perfect and beginning the work of becoming yourself.
-Anna Quindlen

Have you ever watched a person from a Third World country work your lawn, paint your house, cook for you, or clean your dirt?

Have you ever helped them when they work your backyard? I’m not saying ‘have you supervised them’ or ‘have you given them instructions’. What I’m saying is, have you knelt on the ground and shared the same tools, sweat under the same sun, and drink the same warm water on a similar dirty plastic cup?

Probably not…

And if I ask you ‘why’, you would probably think or say ‘because I don’t have to’.

If so…then YOU HAVE TO.

Life, God, or perhaps destiny, has been gracious enough to you that you have lived a blessed life of comfort. You have been blessed enough that you probably haven’t had to leave your children, career, friends, family, and the land you grew up behind in order to clean the plates where someone else eats. Much worse, you haven’t left all that behind to have that someone look at you with disdain, or even treat you as if you were less.

You may have a rough time at work trying to get a raise or to grow in worth to your company, but at least you CHOSE to work where you do.

So if you ever feel another person needs some help to ‘become someone’ then pause your life for a moment, think again, and BECOME SOMEONE.

Lesson learned: The closer we walk at the bottom the closer we are to the top.

Express yourself...

'...so you can respect yourself, hey hey'

-Madonna, lyrics for Express Yourself

How do you define expression?

According to the American Dictionary, expression is the act of conveying or representing in words (art, music or movement) a manifestation.

Musicians, actors, and other famous artisans are well known for their multiple expressions, and are seen or heard by the masses.

Now, what makes you so different from them? Are you free to express yourself fully?

It’s funny, that we live in a society where freedom of speech and expression us valued highly, yet we can rarely exercise that freedom.

Are we truly free, then?

Expression can also be defined as the outward manifestation of a mood or disposition.

When was the last time you expressed something, whatever that was, and felt a great weight lifted up of your shoulders? You finally felt free, even if just for a single, brief moment.

Remember that feeling? If you don’t, then you are surely holding yourself back, shielding yourself from the warm light of freedom.

Curiously, even mathematicians understood the value of expressions. They define expression as a statement that has a value.

It is not just a matter of communicating what you want to say, but to have it appreciated, considered, or even acknowledged by the recipient.

Are you being listened to? Are you being valued by others? More importantly, how much to you value yourself?

Lastly, expression has also been defined as the act of pressing or squeezing out.

You have surely felt like squeezing out the life of someone who is making life hard on you, oh, we all have felt that way once or twice in our lives.
What I want to convey is that you need to squeeze the last ounce of worry, of sentimentalism, of grudging, out of your system. You should use all your strength to break those chains that bound your freedom. Only then will you be free enough help those who cannot express themselves, be it due to politics, hardships, status, or low self-esteem.

After much struggling, you will see it was not too hard, for those chains have been set by yourself, and only you have the strength to break free.

Lesson learned: Whatever you leave trapped inside will become stagnant water. Express yourself and you will walk more freely.