FREE TO BE ME

+ ... and you are free to be you. Here is one of my favorite quotes:

"To be nobody-but-yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else -- means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting" -- E.E. Cummings

Now some would say that this is a me-oriented or selfish way to look at life. It could be. So, it is really important to differentiate the true self from the false self. They may be arbitrary distinctions. All labels can be misleading. But I believe that we must be vigilant seekers of our true selves, constantly paying attention to our identification with ego or false self and striving to detach.

Oh, I know. Some of you will say that ego is not the same as false self. I suppose there are some important differences. But I think we can really grow when we let go of our ego-driven lives and become our true selves, our heavenly selves. Don't you think this is what E.E. Cummings had in mind when he wrote that great sentence?

Who am I? This is an important, no an essential question for the quest. I recently discovered another great quote which has quickly risen to favorite status:

"The quest for a story is the quest for a life.” — Jill Johnston quoted in THE VEIN OF GOLD by Julia Cameron

We all have great stories to tell. We all have great stories to hear. Listen to mine. I promise to listen to yours.

My story:

Well ...

Since we only really have metaphors for our communication with each other, let me use BASEBALL as a main metaphor. I simply love the game. I never learned how to play it well myself but I have enjoyed watching others play it and sometimes I even get to throw the ball, catch the ball, hit the ball, run around the bases. Usually it is make-believe! Especially when I was 10.

Let's see. I was 10 in 1957. That was the last year the Giants and Dodgers played in New York City. I was a Giants fan and stayed loyal even when they moved to San Francisco.

Baseball and New York City. What a combination. The Yankees and Mets continue the tradition. I hate the Yankees! Oops. Shouldn't hate anybody. But It's only a game. I don't really hate the Yankees. But within the game, it's acceptable. Right!

So, my friends, New York City is a big part of my story. Both of my parents were born there. My mom was a Giants fan. My dad was (and still is) a Yankees fan. I love my Dad. Now (how could this happen?), my daughter is a Yankees fan. What did I do wrong?

Fast forward to 1985. We lived in Dearborn, Michigan. On Andy's 8th birthday, June 19, we told him that we were taking him out to dinner. He probably expected us to take him to Bill Knapp's where you could get a free dinner on your birthday with a cake. But we took him to Tigers Stadium and we enjoyed the hot dogs and a Tigers victory. The Tigers surprised everybody in 1984, the year before, and won the World Series. That's the last time they did that. They were in the World Series of 2006 but lost to the Cardinals.

Andy loved baseball, too. I have his baseball cards. If he were still with us, I'm sure we would enjoy swapping baseball stories. Andy died of a brain tumor in 1994. He was a fun loving and creative boy. How I miss him. Sob. Sob. Sob.

Andy would never root for the Yankees!

Just Kidding. How often Andy would say that.

Just Kidding.

Just Kidding.

Just Kidding.

That's waht we need to do a lot more of here on planet earth. Just kid around. Play. Create. Dance. Sing. Cheer. Cry. Smile. Laugh. Love. Love one another.

I guess that's enough for now.

TO BE CONTINUED.

Here on this blog I intend to be free to be me and I invite you to be free to be you wherever you are, whatever you are doing. The real you, the authentic you, is always right.