“Someone elses vision of yourself will never be as good as your own. Live and die with it because in the end that’s all you have.  Lose it, you lose yourself and everything else.” ~Georgia O’Keeffe~

Our life is like a painting.  The way others view it isn’t always the way we painted it; or how we started out when we began our adult life.  How often do we paint a different picture of ourselves to please the one we are with? Are you that Chameleon that morphs into the person you are with just to keep them? Would we recognize your painting?  Or has it changed that much?

We do not always see ourselves changing for the other.  It is usually a slow process, but in doing so , we begin to lose who we really are.  We sacrifice the things we enjoy or loved at one time and brush them off as trivial and unimportant.  We go along with it for a while and often times begin to really believe it; sometimes we have to in order to survive, so we think.   We justify our actions by it; we throw our friends away, and ignore our family at times to be this person that no one knows anymore; all for the person who is really controlling our life.  And sadly, we are letting them:(

I cannot say I haven’t been there.  Most of my relationships before this last one, I gave up who I really was to make it work.  I can in all honesty say in my last relationship I was really me.  It felt good.  If I didn’t like something, I expressed my opinion. I felt free to comment on anything.  I am not saying you can’t compromise on things and issues.  But to make a 360 degree turn from who you really were, isn’t healthy.  It shows your insecurity and fears.

The Chameleon reminds me of the movie “Runaway Bride”  When the reporter asks all the men she was supposed to mary how she liked her eggs.  When he asked her, she didn’t know, because she just went along with whatever They liked.  She lost who she was and had to take the time to find herself again.  She didn’t even realize it until he brought it to her attention; which is why I am bringing it to yours.

Look at where you are now.  Is the real you in plain sight on your canvas? Or are you hiding in someone elses painting?

Let your painting be as individual as you are and smile. Because being the real you is the most beautiful painting.

As always, keep moving forward,

Kimberly Rae