“Just trust yourself, then you will know how to live.”  Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

A few days ago, I mentioned how Brené Brown had inspired me when she shared how she worries what people will think when she chooses what to wear.  Oddly enough, just a day later I was chatting with two business women, and one mentioned how she worries about looking “stupid” due to her choice of clothing.  I laughed inside when she said it, because she was very attractive and well put together, and I realized that we are all so much alike.  Why do we worry so much about what people think?

“Try to contact the girl you once were.  She’s your authentic self and she’s waiting to remind you how beautiful, accomplished, and extraordinary you really are.”  Sarah Ban Breathnach

I try to reach back to my ten-year-old self as Sarah suggests, and I’m not sure that I was ever the child that she describes.  I have always been such a pleaser, I don’t know if I ever trusted my own instincts.  So how did I learn to trust them in recent years?  Is it the magic of turning 50?  Perhaps being disappointed too many times by trusting and following the wrong people?  Meditation and prayer?  Reading books like Sarah’s that teach me a lot about myself?  I think it is a combination of all of these things, and I am grateful for the wisdom that comes with middle age.  It is a wonderful place to be.

Shalom!