to be seen

yesterday i had an experience of being seen. and it made me think about the various ways that we hide ourselves. who do we show our selves to? how many different selves do we have? whom do we show to the ones we love?

"i wonder what that means, being loved for who you are. i know it doesn't mean physical appearance - weight, skin, clothes, hair. it means, i think, the qualities that cannot be weighed or measured. the texture of the soul."

being seen and feeling heard are what makes us feel known and loved. but i wonder how much of our true selves we really show, even to those closest to us, and how much we continue to hide for fear of being judged, or disliked. 

“How would your life be different if…You stopped making negative judgmental assumptions about people you encounter? Let today be the day…You look for the good in everyone you meet and respect their journey.” ― Steve Maraboli

i spend a great deal of time judging myself. how would my life be different if i trusted showing myself to the world - allowing myself to be seen? perhaps the people who love me wouldn't judge me. perhaps the people who would judge me aren't worth my time and energy. 

“If you do not tell the truth about yourself you cannot tell it about other people.” ― Virginia Woolf

telling myself the truth about myself isn't easy. it's too hard to face the truth when you're busy trying to be someone else. being someone that you're not might be appealing but it is also exhausting. 

i leave you with this thought ...

“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” ― Oscar Wilde

be kind to yourself, 

xoxo