Cheer Up

Please don't misunderstand. I am not suggesting that I never have challenging moments, or even an entire day that felt pretty cruddy. What I am saying is this: I think "we" (as a society in general, but mainly moms in particular) put *WAY* too much pressure on ourselves and others (and we allow others to put pressure on us as well) to be superhuman. 

I have seen sooooo many posts online lately about moms who are "feeling like a failure" or who are "ready to throw in the towel" because they don't feel they are living up to some kind of standard - whether the standard is for being a great mom, homeschooler, human being, you get the idea. 

If I allowed myself to get overly dramatic (as I might have done years ago), I would want to scream at these women. To me, this is just like the pressure to be a certain body size, have a beautiful face, hair, clothes, car, house, you name it. I no longer identify with such goals (or, for some people, obsessions). Some may say that I've given up, that I've lowered myself to that despicable level of mom who has "let herself go".

Maybe I have let myself go, but not for the reasons you might expect. What I have really done is stopped allowing other people to have the power to make me care about their approval.

This is completely different from wanting people to like me. I *DO* want people to like me. I've simply changed my attachment to the outcome of whether or not they like me. What I mean is this: in general, I would love to be surrounded by people who like me. I don't have a set number in mind, I simply like the idea that my close circle will be comprised only of sincere people who genuinely care about me.

Naturally, I cannot always control this variable, especially in the working world.

 I do my best on a daily basis to spread general good cheer, peace-full-ness, help-full-ness, and positivity in my daily interactions with those I do business with. In general, I try to put my best face forward, so to speak, so that my actions are gentle and loving as often as possible. It is just a belief of mine that the more love you spread, the more loving the world around you will become.

In my social sphere, I do what I can to cultivate relationships with people who have a similar outlook on life as I do.  I am a fair, kind, and loyal friend - qualities that I strive to exude. I do not worry if others do not return those qualities, however I do find that I do not spend a lot of time with anyone who would do otherwise.

This allows me to be perfectly happy with ME.JUST.AS.I.AM

Having said all of that (and having gone way off the tangent I began with!)...I would love to see women (in particular) stop worrying about living up to someone else's standard of what it looks like to be a "good mom", "good homeschooler", etc. We are all works-in-progress. We are also all different! What may work for one family may not work for another. That should not make one family better or worse than another!  For goodness sake, we should not be beating ourselves up over some perceived standard of perfection!!!

I am constantly evolving (as are all of you). I do make conscious efforts at self-improvement, but not because I am trying to fit into some mold of perfection. I do so because I appreciate that the more enlightened I become, the higher the frequency I have to give to those around me. The more I learn, the more I find available to learn (which I find incredibly fun and exciting!).  

I want the best for my family just like the next woman. I simply refuse to allow anything or anyone to convince me that because I am not quite to someone else's standard of perfection, 

that I am somehow a failure.  

To fail is to not have tried. To try is to open one's heart and mind to the possibility of great things. To be happy is to let go of those times when our "best" may not look like someone else's.

Just because a butterfly is one of the most beautiful and amazing creatures in the world

 does not make the caterpillar any less magnificent.