Perfect Being Me

 

December 2

What a cathartic morning. 

Truly. 

I didn't wake planning on making such a move. But the universe called me to do it . . . and it felt so good.

Going through a stack of books I intend to donate today, I came across one that was gifted to me by a couple of former bosses many years ago - at least 5, I am thinking. I worked for a healthcare consulting company at the time, and the more I think about - the funnier it is (that I was working for a healthcare consulting company, and this was what the bosses distributed to all of us. Not a book on business practices, or a book on job focus, organization, or skill building. No.)

They gave a book by Iyanla Vanzant. A book about spiritual strength and personal growth. 

Now, I am not here to slam Iyanla - I think she is brilliant. Truly. An inner peaceful and soulful person who has changed the lives of MANY - a woman who has even said things that have changed mine. I love her. Adore her. I think she walks the talk. Big time. I love her philosophy, her words and her teachings. But I also think that there is a place for it. And I don't know if giving it to your employees as a mandatory reading exercise is one of those times.

I guess it wasn't even the book itself that bothers me - it has rested on my bookshelf since the day I brought it home. From time to time I would pick it up and open the cover . . . but I could rarely get past the inscription. Yes, that is what I felt was most puzzling - the message written inside the book by my then bosses. 

"Leanne, Your willingness to look at your darkness is what empowers you to change." 

Here is what I find most amusing about the sentiment - written by a very new CEO to the company at that time. . . she didn't know me. At all. 

And what I feel now, five years later . . . Is that I didn't need to change. 

Took me five years to realize.

That I didn't need to change.
 

That must come with age - that acceptance of being good with who you are. I think during the many decades of being on this earth - we go through those periods when we are trying to be someone we aren't, when we are trying to be accepted, when we are trying to prove ourselves, when we are trying to make everyone else happy. And then all of a sudden - it hits you. That YOU are pretty great - just as you are. That you are, in your core, a good person. You treat others as you would like to be treated. And while you may not be a size 8, or have the biggest house on the block, or wear the fanciest jewels . . . that you are pretty great as you are.
 

So, today . . . after holding it in my hands and realizing that it was full of bad feelings and brought me no joy what-so-ever, I decided it was time to get rid of this book. But I had to do one thing first. Add my thoughts to that inscription.

note to the giver: (5 years later) I didn't need to change.
note to the next reader:  You are perfect as you are!
- Leanne 

And it made me smile. A big, huge, wide-eyed smile. 

I can't wait to donate it today. And I hope whoever opens the cover will receive it's message with a smile, too.

 

xo xo

 

Side note: Funny . . . the person who was the mastermind behind the distribution of these to the staff only survived one year at the company, was sued for embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from the company, and fled the country. I couldn't have written that story better if I tried. It sort of adds a whole other level into the message, doesn't it?

 

Wishing you Peace, my friends. And remember . . . you are PERFECT just as you are.