INTEGRITY MONTH: DAY 3: “Dare to find your own truth, despite what others say, then have the courage to live it.”― Laurence Overmire
This, for me, is the epitome of a life well-lived. I respect those who do not live to please others, and have worked my entire recovery to do so. Having been programmed since birth in codependent ways, this has been a true healing of old ideas for me.
Many of us have been tainted and trained to please everyone else first, and ourselves last. This explains so many things about life. Why people have “midlife crises”, the divorce rates, suicide, all forms of addiction. They are all socially-driven by a culture that has little respect for those who are focused on doing those things that they are here to do, no matter how different it may seem to the world around them.
I am not talking about self-preservation, selfishness, self-serving. No, those things come with addiction and dysfunctional social mores. Those are the outcomes we are fighting to overcome, not embrace. I am talking about those who have the integrity and courage to walk a path that is theirs alone. To love and be loved in a world that may not look like what other people do. To be so confident of their journey that they do not need to control and manipulate others to be joined with them.
What a lovely quote this is! I am inspired by this kind of life!
Dolphin Hug 