Ok, so I know this is a fashion blog, but every now and then I have so much on my mind that I feel to write them down and share them with you all. I guess what I like to call, “the deep stuff”. So, here is my first random entry.
I went to the Literary Arts 30th Anniversary that was held in Portland a little over a month ago. There were many presenters including authors, musicians, poets, etc. One particular author who closed the night was Elizabeth Gilbert who wrote the book, “Eat, Pray, Love”. It was amazing to see her in person and her speech left me speechless none the less.
She brought up many interesting topics, but two that have been stuck with me since that night were the following: Curiosities & Greatness. What does it mean to follow your curiosities versus your passions? What does it mean to achieve greatness without being great?
Since that night I have pondered in my mind the things that I could potentially be passionate about and those that I’ve been curious for such a long time. I put this to the test all last week and found that by accomplishing the things I was always curious about, gave me greater satisfaction than doing the same things I’ve always been passionate about. It required me to step out of my comfort zone and take risks. These things gave me a glimpse of a different world I never knew of and made me realize whether I enjoyed them or not. Maybe this is what it’s all about…it’s about taking those risks and discovering something that has been hiding from your life. Maybe even learn something about yourself along the way. Being curious is what drives you and gives you the motivation that you need in order to set forth towards the journey you are meant to take and caring less about the destination.
In regards to greatness, we have this mindset of being absolutely perfect in everything that we do to how we look. But we have heard many times the expression, “perfection is boring.” We are constantly in a battle with the rest of the world of wanting to achieve greatness, but isn’t there the possibility that we have already achieved this from the moment we were born? What makes greatness? It’s about being different and doing the things that make you stand out from the rest of everyone else. Just because you aren’t accepted by some, doesn’t mean that you still aren’t accepted by others. Just because you haven’t reached the status of a legendary musician, philosopher, actor, or even a writer,…it doesn’t mean that you are not already successful in your own way. If your book wasn’t accepted by a publishing company, it doesn’t make it any less great. It just means you haven’t found the right publisher to appreciate your work. If you think about all of the different authors that you have read so far in your lifetime, I can almost guarantee that you have at least a few favorites. Or even musical artists or actors. Why? Because they are all different and unique in their own way. One isn’t better than the other.
It’s not about being in competition with one another to achieve the highest success of all, but it’s about confronting the battle between yourself and accepting who you are. By accepting your imperfections and your uniqueness, that is the biggest accomplishment that you can ever achieve. You want to be remembered? Then don’t change yourself. You have become the person that you are now for a reason…so why change it? Be fierce in your own way and learn to love yourself. Once you love yourself, then it’s all uphill from there.
“Insist on Yourself; Never Imitate.” Ralph Waldo Emerson