Conformity

For some reason, thoughts about conformity have been flitting through my mind all day. And not necessarily good ones! 

I am beginning to realize that we are trained to conform from practically the minute of birth. The color of clothing we wear is dictated by others - girls wear pink, boys wear blue - we don't stand out if we look the same. Our sleeping & eating is dictated by the 'norms' of our society, not our biorhythms. As we grow up, we are inundated with the calls to conform to those around us - you know, peer pressure. Though it's not just our peers, but our parents also want us to conform to the standards they have. They want us to be like the always exceptional & extraordinary children of their peers (if they only knew!). You hardly ever see parents encourage their kids to be different - to stand out - to be true to themselves. 

But think of the heartache we all would have missed out on if we had been allowed to follow our spirits & hearts. Just think of how complete & whole we would all feel if we had known we didn't have to fit in with everyone else & could be different. Those awful, crushing, teenage years could have been filled with adventure & excitement & the discovery of true realness in ourselves. It seemed that no matter how hard we tried to fit in, we never could.  Even those that we held up to be the epitome of teenage perfection will tell you now that they never felt perfect either - there was always something that kept them from feeling like they had arrived. That's where fads & trends come from - someone trying to find the piece that will complete the picture of perfection. No one ever really attains it - it is as elusive as the glancing breeze on a summer day. 

Perfection lies within each of us, not without. It does not come from the opinions of others or the malls or the accolades or the money. It comes from our spirit - when we listen to the whisper of the Divine in our heart & not the words coming from another man's mouth. When we follow the labyrinth to the center of our soul & find our own reality & totality. We each came here to fulfill a destiny & then we sabotage it by striving to be what is expected instead of what is real.

As children we hear that calling of the Divine much more clearly than we do as adults. But as we grow, it gets walled in by the expectations of society & by life. Then we spend our adult years trying to knock those walls down & be who we are supposed to be. Or at least, some of us do. Some are content to be what they are told & never again hear that whisper of the Divine longing for her children to come out & play.

But I am finally tuning into that call again - I am running for the path of the Divine - the freedom of being true to me - and each step I take makes me more complete than I have been since birth.  

Conformity be damned! Here I come world! Can you handle me? Do you dare try?