dobeu - Let your light Shine!

Do be you. I believe it's the greatest gift one person can give another.

I believe it's an honor when you show me who you really are. It means you trust me with the truth of you and that can be a scary thing. It isn't always safe to show yourself or for me to reveal myself either.

However, if we don't, then we can't know whether we're liked or loved or appreciated for who we are. Instead we wonder if people would still love us if they knew us.

So we choose to live a lie - or we risk the truth.

It's important to choose carefully who we trust, because not everyone will honor our human frailties or be able to refrain from criticizing our ways of being different.

My suggestion, if you are vulnerable, is to go slowly and to look for evidence of acceptance or criticism. Importantly, the acceptance or criticism doesn't have to be directed toward you. It's easily observed by watching how people interact with others both to their face and behind their back.

It's a pretty sure thing if they don't respect other people for whatever reason, then they won't be respectful of you.

Do I sound as though I'm telling you not to be you after I've said do be you? Not at all. One of my mentors said it best. Some people you can trust with your money. Some with your life. Some with your body. Some with your feelings. We all have to choose who to trust with what.

That's being in integrity and being smart about who we are as we take care of ourselves.