Day 252 - To thine own self...

I saw a girl with "To thine own self be true" tattooed on her arm.

Before you think about that... how weird does the word "tattooed" look? Doesn't look right, not at all. But Google assures me it is. Strange.

Anywho...

When I saw this tattoo, I almost instantly build up the scenario. It was an overreaction to a break up. Having her heart broken by a louse masquerading as her soul mate, she decided that the best thing to do was to write a note to herself in the most invasive and ill-advised way possible, to remind her not to be fooled again.

It just a snap conjecture, but I'm pretty sure that's how it went down.

I think I'd have put a Post-It on the bathroom mirror.

Still, I found myself thinking about that tattoo today, well, the words actually, not the tattoo.

It's easy, at least for me, to not be true to myself. I am ever so easily drawn away from my best judgement for the sake of making someone else happy.

It's taken me a good chunk of a lifetime to understand that even though it seems like a good thing to do everything, and I mean every, damn, thing, for others, it's not really healthy.

There's a little voice inside each of us telling us what is right, what we should do, what we want. Problem is for many of us, that voice is very quiet. We usually don't hear it. And even when we do, it's so faint and weak, we don't pay much attention to it.

For those people, I say, give that voice a megaphone! Listen to it. Give it serious attention. And make sure that if you don't follow what it's trying to tell you, you have a damn good reason.

I'm not saying you have to become completely selfish. But a little selfish is ok.

And may I recommend a running routine to help you find that voice. Taking a few minutes each day, or just most days, or as often as you can, and devoting it to fitness, self-exploration, self-examination, and listening to what your mind and heart and body are telling you, is a fantastic way to give that voice a podium from which to speak, and to put you in the right frame of mind to listen.

Good running,
Doug

Numbers: 1.4 miles, still nursing these finicky heels.